{"id":166661,"date":"2026-01-10T05:35:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T11:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=166661"},"modified":"2026-01-10T05:40:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T11:40:18","slug":"eastern-meadowlark-photos-from-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/01\/10\/eastern-meadowlark-photos-from-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Eastern Meadowlark Photos From Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EasternEastern Meadowlark foraging in a field \u2013 Canon R7, beanbag, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 1000, +0.3 EV, Canon RF 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

While I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge yesterday, I was delighted to photograph an Eastern Meadowlark as the bird foraged in a field in morning light.<\/p>\n

Eastern Meadowlarks aren’t lifers for me. I have seen and photographed them before. However, these photos are my best of this species to date and meet my standards.<\/p>\n

\"EasternEastern Meadowlark with prey in a field \u2013 Canon R7, beanbag, f8, 1\/640, ISO 1000, +0.3 EV, Canon RF 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I thought the meadowlarks in the field were looking for seeds to eat, but this winter has been warm enough that the birds are still finding insect prey in the soil!<\/p>\n

\"ForagingForaging Eastern Meadowlark in winter \u2013 Canon R7, beanbag, f8, 1\/800, ISO 1000, Canon RF 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

In the distance I could hear the Snow Geese calling and the whoosh of blackbird murmurations but my focus was locked on the Eastern Meadowlarks I was finding in the damp fields.<\/p>\n

\"EasternEastern Meadowlark in a field at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge \u2013 Canon R7, beanbag, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 1000, Canon RF 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Eastern Meadowlarks prefer grasslands, meadows, hayfields, pastures, prairies, and airport fields with low vegetation.<\/p>\n

During the warmer months at the refuge, I’ve noticed that I don’t see the meadowlarks as frequently, which makes sense because the corn, wheat, and soybeans grown there are taller than what they prefer.<\/p>\n

And the Johnson grass<\/span><\/a> found on the refuge? That stuff overgrows and chokes out any open fields. For my Utah friends, Johnson grass is the Oklahoma equivalent to phragmites. Tall, fast growing, and highly invasive.<\/p>\n

I had fun photographing the Eastern Meadowlarks<\/span><\/a> at the refuge yesterday. I hope I get to do that often!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see my Eastern Meadowlark photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge yesterday, I was delighted to photograph an Eastern Meadowlark as the bird foraged in a field in morning light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":166645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,17062,13973,13974],"tags":[13984,17065,1124,4136,4060,14044,4824,4825,4246,4059,4106,17066,373],"class_list":["post-166661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-eastern-meadowlarks","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-bottomlands","tag-eastern-meadowlark","tag-field","tag-foraging","tag-icterids","tag-johnson-grass","tag-meadowlark","tag-meadowlarks","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-phragmites","tag-prey","tag-sturnella-magna","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/eastern-meadowlark-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4273.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-Hm5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":119012,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/14\/western-meadowlark-and-a-windy-morning-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":166661,"position":0},"title":"Western Meadowlark And A Windy Morning At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 14, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I didn't photograph many birds at Bear River MBR yesterday because it was windy. I did take photos of this handsome Western Meadowlark at the refuge though.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Meadowlark on a windy morning, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/western-meadowlark-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-9689.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/western-meadowlark-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-9689.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/western-meadowlark-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-9689.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Grasshopper","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The first bird I photographed last week from the side of the road in the Kamas Valley was this scruffy Western Meadowlark with a grasshopper.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Meadowlark with a grasshopper, Kamas Valley, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/western-meadowlark-grasshopper-messy-mia-mcpherson-7791.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/western-meadowlark-grasshopper-messy-mia-mcpherson-7791.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Meadowlarks showing courtship behaviors in January, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/western-meadowlarks-farmington-bay-wma-mia-mcpherson-3548.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/western-meadowlarks-farmington-bay-wma-mia-mcpherson-3548.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/western-meadowlarks-farmington-bay-wma-mia-mcpherson-3548.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/western-meadowlarks-farmington-bay-wma-mia-mcpherson-3548.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-6550.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-6550.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-6550.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-6550.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38755,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/04\/25\/a-western-meadowlark-bathing-in-a-puddle\/","url_meta":{"origin":166661,"position":5},"title":"Western Meadowlark Bathing In A Puddle","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I was able to photograph a Western Meadowlark bathing in a puddle in a gravel road on Antelope Island State Park under mostly sunny skies.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Meadowlark about to bathe, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-bathing-mia-mcpherson-2882.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-bathing-mia-mcpherson-2882.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-bathing-mia-mcpherson-2882.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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