{"id":18238,"date":"2014-12-28T05:22:55","date_gmt":"2014-12-28T12:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=18238"},"modified":"2025-12-12T07:55:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T13:55:33","slug":"stretching-western-meadowlark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/12\/28\/stretching-western-meadowlark\/","title":{"rendered":"Stretching Western Meadowlark"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-165641 size-full\" title=\"Stretching Western Meadowlark, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7751.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7751.jpg\" alt=\"Stretching Western Meadowlark, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah\" width=\"850\" height=\"607\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20607%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7751-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7751-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7751-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7751-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7751-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7751.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Stretching Western Meadowlark &#8211; Nikon D810, f13, 1\/500, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Two days ago this Western Meadowlark kept me from being skunked at Farmington Bay WMA because there weren&#8217;t many other birds to photograph up close. It was cold enough that this meadowlark was sticky and stayed on the post while I photographed it from a mobile blind.<\/p>\n<p>I screwed up a few of the images I took because I accidentally turned the dial to increase my exposure when I meant to change my aperture. I think I will be able to recover the details in most of those images but I do wish I had been paying more attention when I turned that dial. Stuff happens! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>Any how I caught my mistake and was able to capture a series of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Western_Meadowlark\/lifehistory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Western Meadowlark<\/span><\/a> stretching its wings and this is one of those frames. I love how this shows the transparency of the primaries.<\/p>\n<p>Life<em> is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/western-meadowlark-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my Western Meadowlark photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two days ago this Western Meadowlark kept me from being skunked at Farmington Bay WMA because there weren&#8217;t many other birds to photograph up close.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1022,697,26,371],"tags":[4004,4021,4824,4825,4050,3964,4061,4308,373],"class_list":["post-18238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","category-western-meadowlarks","tag-adult","tag-bird-photography","tag-meadowlark","tag-meadowlarks","tag-snow","tag-stretching","tag-sturnella-neglecta","tag-western-meadowlark","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7751.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-4Ka","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":79643,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/02\/21\/february-western-meadowlark-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":18238,"position":0},"title":"February Western Meadowlark Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I took a series of Western Meadowlark photos three mornings ago at Farmington Bay WMA while the sun was shining.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Meadowlark singing on a February morning, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-adult-fence-singing-mia-mcpherson-3917.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-adult-fence-singing-mia-mcpherson-3917.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-adult-fence-singing-mia-mcpherson-3917.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-adult-fence-singing-mia-mcpherson-3917.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1601,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/12\/10\/western-meadowlark-on-a-cold-utah-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":18238,"position":1},"title":"Western Meadowlark On A Cold Utah Morning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Not too long after I had gotten to my location I spotted a Western Meadowlark hunkered down on a rock trying to warm up with the rays of the rising sun.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Davis County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Davis County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/davis-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western Meadowlark shaking off the cold, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-shaking-6310.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-mia-mcpherson-shaking-6310.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-shaking-6310.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120258,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/30\/western-meadowlarks-at-farmington-bay-wma\/","url_meta":{"origin":18238,"position":2},"title":"Western Meadowlarks At Farmington Bay WMA","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Much like the Great Blue Herons I shared yesterday, the Western Meadowlarks I found at Farmington Bay WMA two days ago were also behaving as if it were spring.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Western 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 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34271,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/12\/19\/western-meadowlark-in-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":18238,"position":3},"title":"Western Meadowlark in Snow &#8211; Stretching, Preening and Resting","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I had a great time photographing a Western Meadowlark in snow yesterday on Antelope Island State Park near the White Rock Bay campgrounds.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antelope Island State Park&quot;","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 on a puff of snow regaining its balance after a stretch, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-snow-mia-mcpherson-8845.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-snow-mia-mcpherson-8845.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-snow-mia-mcpherson-8845.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-snow-mia-mcpherson-8845.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18607,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/01\/16\/a-meadowlark-and-kingfisher-catching-some-sunshine\/","url_meta":{"origin":18238,"position":4},"title":"Western Meadowlark And Kingfisher Catching Some Sunshine","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It was lovely to see the sunshine yesterday and to have the Western Meadowlark and Belted Kingfisher in my viewfinder.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antelope Island State Park&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Belted Kingfisher at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-mia-mcpherson-4581.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-mia-mcpherson-4581.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-mia-mcpherson-4581.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-mia-mcpherson-4581.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8287,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/05\/04\/bird-sampler-for-april-28-through-may-4-2013\/","url_meta":{"origin":18238,"position":5},"title":"Bird Sampler for April 28 through May 4, 2013","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I wanted to share a sampler of bird images that I have taken over the past week in Davis and Box Elder Counties.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antelope Island State Park&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Killdeer on a rock at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-farmington-mia-mcpherson-3449.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-farmington-mia-mcpherson-3449.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-farmington-mia-mcpherson-3449.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}