{"id":37135,"date":"2016-03-15T05:05:59","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T12:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=37135"},"modified":"2025-12-13T05:44:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T11:44:22","slug":"a-western-meadowlark-take-off-photo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/03\/15\/a-western-meadowlark-take-off-photo\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Meadowlark Take Off Photo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WesternWestern Meadowlark take off – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Working on moving my photos to my new galleries has been exhausting but because of that work I have found images I had forgotten about, some of them are gems, some are not.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I found this Western Meadowlark take off photo that I took last year on Antelope Island State Park<\/span><\/a>. Getting images of Western Meadowlarks in take off positions or in flight has been challenging because these birds move so fast.<\/p>\n

Let me clarify that by saying it is challenging to get sharp images of them taking off. I have taken plenty that are a blurry mess.<\/p>\n

Even at 1\/2500 I still have motion blur in the wings in this photo but I like the pose, the great eye contact, and how the background color echos some of the hues in the meadowlark’s plumage.<\/p>\n

The meadowlarks here in northern Utah sing most of the year but lately they have begun to sing louder, longer, and more exuberantly. They know that spring has arrived, even though it snowed yesterday, and that their mating season has too.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Yesterday I found this Western Meadowlark take off photo that I took last year on Antelope Island State Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165702,"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":[511,27,1022,26,371],"tags":[4004,4052,4122,4282,4824,4825,4289,4061,3792,4308],"class_list":["post-37135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-utah","category-western-meadowlarks","tag-adult","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-lift-off","tag-meadowlark","tag-meadowlarks","tag-rabbitbrush","tag-sturnella-neglecta","tag-take-off","tag-western-meadowlark"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-flight-mia-mcpherson-1982.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-9EX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101020,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/25\/western-meadowlark-singing\/","url_meta":{"origin":37135,"position":0},"title":"Western Meadowlark Singing","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The song of this Western Meadowlark that I found two days ago on Antelope Island State Park was a wonderful springtime melody that I needed to hear.\u00a0","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 singing in spring, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/western-meadowlark-spring-song-mia-mcpherson-4421.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/western-meadowlark-spring-song-mia-mcpherson-4421.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/western-meadowlark-spring-song-mia-mcpherson-4421.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/western-meadowlark-spring-song-mia-mcpherson-4421.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8411,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/05\/22\/western-meadowlark-in-flight\/","url_meta":{"origin":37135,"position":1},"title":"Western Meadowlark In Flight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This Western Meadowlark lifted off from a Sagebrush and I was able to track it and capture this image as soon as it was airborne. I've found it difficult to get images of Western Meadowlarks in flight because they move so quickly.","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 in flight, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/western-meadowlark-flying-mia-mcpherson-7525.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/western-meadowlark-flying-mia-mcpherson-7525.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/western-meadowlark-flying-mia-mcpherson-7525.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday there was a springtime chorus being sung almost every where on Antelope Island and the flute-like melody of the Western Meadowlarks resonated the loudest.","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":"Landing Western Meadowlark, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-landing-mia-mcpherson-2381.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-landing-mia-mcpherson-2381.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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