{"id":3993,"date":"2012-01-13T07:25:04","date_gmt":"2012-01-13T14:25:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=3993"},"modified":"2026-01-12T06:41:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T12:41:34","slug":"friday-photos-horned-lark-and-western-meadowlark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/01\/13\/friday-photos-horned-lark-and-western-meadowlark\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Photos ~ Horned Lark and Western Meadowlark"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Horned\u00a0Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) male\u00a0 –\u00a0Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 800, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The image above shows what harsh conditions even the smallest\u00a0birds in Utah have to endure during the winter, the male Horned Lark has frost on its rump and tail. The sun had been up about 25 minutes when I took this photo of the bird sunning itself on a rock.<\/p>\n

Yesterday the thermometer showed 3 degrees Fahrenheit on the island, the coldest temp I have seen so far this winter. No wonder the lark had frost on it.<\/p>\n

Horned Larks are year round residents in Utah. It isn’t very often that I don’t see or hear them when I am out photographing birds and wildlife on Antelope Island.<\/p>\n

I look for them\u00a0on the\u00a0sides of the\u00a0road, in the tall grasses\u00a0and perched on the rocks. I love to hear them calling, the sound is very soothing to me.<\/p>\n

\"Western\u00a0Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)\u00a0 – Nikon D300, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 800, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Western Meadowlarks are also year round residents of the island and can be found perched on rocks, Sagebrush, dried Sunflower stalks, on Mulleins or trees. At this time of the year they form loose flocks and there have been times I have seen well over 50 of them in small areas.<\/p>\n

Their call; while not as soothing to me as Horned Larks, reminds me of the Eastern Meadowlarks of my childhood and brings back pleasant memories spent wandering through fields near my home.<\/p>\n

Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks are birds that I enjoy photographing all year long in Utah and yesterday they gave me some wonderful opportunities.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks are birds that I enjoy photographing all year long in Utah and yesterday they gave me some wonderful opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":146374,"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":[511,1022,436,26,371],"tags":[5180,4181,1327,6433,2136,4062,4824,4825,4104,4289,4921,4061,4308],"class_list":["post-3993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-davis-county-utah","category-horned-larks","category-utah","category-western-meadowlarks","tag-back-view","tag-eremophila-alpestris","tag-horned-lark","tag-lark","tag-larks-2","tag-male","tag-meadowlark","tag-meadowlarks","tag-perched","tag-rabbitbrush","tag-rock","tag-sturnella-neglecta","tag-western-meadowlark"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/western-meadowlark-mia-mcpherson-6550.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-12p","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8035,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/04\/05\/a-lark-or-two-or-four\/","url_meta":{"origin":3993,"position":0},"title":"A Lark, Or Two, Or Four","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The only native true lark that lives and breeds in North America is the Horned Lark.","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":"Male Horned Lark displaying on a rock in the West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-display-mia-mcpherson-4302.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-display-mia-mcpherson-4302.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-display-mia-mcpherson-4302.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-display-mia-mcpherson-4302.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8749,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/30\/and-we-have-lift-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":3993,"position":1},"title":"And We Have Lift Off!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I wanted to share some bird lift off images today so I rounded up a few that showed different styles of lift offs.","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":"Swainson's Hawk - Squat and push lift off","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/swainsons-hawk-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2621.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/swainsons-hawk-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2621.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/swainsons-hawk-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2621.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/swainsons-hawk-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2621.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":166438,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/01\/06\/horned-lark-meet-the-2026-aba-bird-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":3993,"position":2},"title":"Horned Lark – Meet The 2026 ABA Bird Of The Year","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Meet the Horned Lark, chosen by the American Birding Association as the 2026 ABA Bird of the Year. A bold pick, and honestly a great one.","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":"Early spring Horned Lark male on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-2132.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-2132.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-2132.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-2132.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1887,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/02\/14\/horned-larks\/","url_meta":{"origin":3993,"position":3},"title":"Horned Larks In Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday was awesome for Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris) in Tooele County, Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Alert Horned Lark male perched on a rock in the West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-alert-mia-mcpherson-3829.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-alert-mia-mcpherson-3829.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-alert-mia-mcpherson-3829.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-alert-mia-mcpherson-3829.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10059,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/11\/02\/male-horned-lark-in-the-west-desert\/","url_meta":{"origin":3993,"position":4},"title":"Male Horned Lark In The West Desert","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In the West Desert of Utah there are a few places in Tooele County I can almost be sure to find Horned Larks warming themselves in the morning light on rocks and boulders.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Horned Lark crouching to take off from a rock in the West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-hunched-down-mia-mcpherson-4358.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-hunched-down-mia-mcpherson-4358.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-hunched-down-mia-mcpherson-4358.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-hunched-down-mia-mcpherson-4358.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6270,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/10\/05\/horned-lark-on-a-poopy-perch\/","url_meta":{"origin":3993,"position":5},"title":"Horned Lark On A Poopy Perch","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Most of the Horned Larks I photograph are perched on rocks or boulders, this one is perched on a dried pile of Bison poop. Some might think this is a crappy perch and they would be right!","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":"Horned Lark bison pooh perch, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-poop-mia-mcpherson-9029.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-poop-mia-mcpherson-9029.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-poop-mia-mcpherson-9029.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-poop-mia-mcpherson-9029.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3993","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=3993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}