{"id":18607,"date":"2015-01-16T05:44:35","date_gmt":"2015-01-16T12:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=18607"},"modified":"2026-02-01T12:58:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T18:58:40","slug":"a-meadowlark-and-kingfisher-catching-some-sunshine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/01\/16\/a-meadowlark-and-kingfisher-catching-some-sunshine\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Meadowlark And Kingfisher Catching Some Sunshine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WesternWestern Meadowlark in early morning light – Nikon D810, f13, 1\/200, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

There was actually some sunshine yesterday morning while I was out in the field and it felt marvelous. Early on there was soft morning light on Antelope Island where I photographed this Western Meadowlark<\/span><\/a> perched on sagebrush with fog that hung over the Great Salt Lake in the background.<\/p>\n

The meadowlark was singing as if it were springtime and although the song delighted me it also concerned me because it is too early for them to think about nesting season.<\/p>\n

Not too long after this image was taken the lake fog crept over the island and the light was dimmed. The fog on the causeway was so thick that familiar landscape looked foreign and it was time to find more sunshine.<\/p>\n

\"BeltedBelted Kingfisher at Farmington Bay WMA – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Farmington Bay WMA had some sunshine too. The Bald Eagles were too far out on the ice to photograph and the harriers and red-tailed hawks kept their distance but this handsome Belted Kingfisher stayed perched on a post long enough for me to take a nice series of images of it.<\/p>\n

This is a different kingfisher than I posted yesterday<\/a><\/span> so that means there are at least two in the area now if not more. There is still open water in several locations at Farmington Bay WMA and surrounding areas which is why the Belted Kingfishers are still around.<\/p>\n

It was lovely to see the sunshine yesterday and to have the Western Meadowlark and Belted Kingfisher in my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my bird photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was lovely to see the sunshine yesterday and to have the Western Meadowlark and Belted Kingfisher in my viewfinder. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":168153,"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":[511,500,27,697,26,371],"tags":[4004,2432,4021,3981,4934,4933,4062,4824,4825,3008,4099,4104,4394,2817,4057,4018,4061,4308,8917],"class_list":["post-18607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-belted-kingfishers","category-avian","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","category-western-meadowlarks","tag-adult","tag-belted-kingfisher","tag-bird-photography","tag-davis-county","tag-kingfisher","tag-kingfishers","tag-male","tag-meadowlark","tag-meadowlarks","tag-megaceryle-alcyon","tag-morning-light","tag-perched","tag-post","tag-sage","tag-sagebrush","tag-sky","tag-sturnella-neglecta","tag-western-meadowlark","tag-wooden-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-mia-mcpherson-4581.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-4Q7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46058,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/04\/08\/female-and-male-western-meadowlarks\/","url_meta":{"origin":18607,"position":0},"title":"Female And Male Western Meadowlarks – A Glimpse Into Their Mating Behaviors","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Three days ago while out on Antelope Island State Park under cloudy skies I was able to observe a glimpse into the mating behaviors of a pair of Western Meadowlarks.","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":"Female Western Meadowlark rattling, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, 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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 "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 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, 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