{"id":46365,"date":"2017-04-18T05:53:31","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T11:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=46365"},"modified":"2025-10-25T05:05:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T10:05:55","slug":"lark-sparrow-with-an-ant-on-antelope-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/04\/18\/lark-sparrow-with-an-ant-on-antelope-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Lark Sparrow with an Ant on Antelope Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"LarkLark Sparrow with an Ant – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I have seen a few reports that Lark Sparrows are returning to northern Utah on the UBird group and I thought I saw one fly by me the last time I was on Antelope Island but it was such a quick look that I am not 100% sure that is what I saw.<\/p>\n

I am very fond of Lark Sparrows because of their harlequin faces, their song and how early on in the breeding season they perch on top of rocks and sagebrush which allows me very nice views of these large sparrows. Lark Sparrows are only here for a few months a year and I hope that this year I will be able to add more photos of these sparrows to my portfolio.<\/p>\n

Lark Sparrows are commonly seen west of the Mississippi but populations to the east are in decline due to reforestation and urbanization. They are another one of the bird species I quite often hear before I see them.<\/p>\n

Listen to Lark sparrow singing here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The day I photographed this Lark Sparrow with an ant on the boulder right next to it the light wasn’t the best for bird photography but when I reviewed the images and saw the ant I knew I had to keep this photo. I have images of Larks Sparrows with grasshoppers and caterpillars but this is the first one where I captured an ant in the frame with a Lark Sparrow. This isn’t my best photo of a Lark Sparrow but it is unique.<\/p>\n

Antelope Island<\/span><\/a> provides plenty of the habitat Lark Sparrows prefer on their breeding grounds and it is an excellent location to find, hear, observe and photograph this unmistakable and easily identified sparrow species.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

The day I photographed this Lark Sparrow with an ant on the boulder right next to it the light wasn’t the best for bird photography but when I reviewed the images and saw the ant I knew I had to keep this photo. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":161656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[511,27,1022,1465,26],"tags":[4004,4515,4138,4073,4372,4098,5143,9070,1539,4104,4735,855,4195],"class_list":["post-46365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-lark-sparrows","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-ant","tag-boulder","tag-breeding-season","tag-chondestes-grammacus","tag-desert","tag-harlequin-face","tag-island","tag-lark-sparrow","tag-perched","tag-song","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-with-ant-mia-mcpherson-2369.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-c3P","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38803,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/04\/26\/a-few-lark-sparrow-facts\/","url_meta":{"origin":46365,"position":0},"title":"Lark Sparrow Facts","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I thought I would share a few Lark Sparrow facts, a sound recording and of course an image of a Lark Sparrow on the ground.","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":"Adult Lark Sparrow on Antelope Island State Park in Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/lark-sparrow-ground-mia-mcpherson-2862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/lark-sparrow-ground-mia-mcpherson-2862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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on a boulder, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-7133.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-7133.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-7133.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-7133.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8592,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/14\/lark-sparrow-behaviors-and-a-grasshopper\/","url_meta":{"origin":46365,"position":2},"title":"Lark Sparrow Behaviors And A Grasshopper","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It was great to get back out into the field yesterday and even better that there were some cooperative Lark Sparrows in my viewfinder.","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":"Close up of a Lark Sparrow with a grasshopper on a rock, Antelope Island State Park, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-grasshopper-mia-mcpherson-8276.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-grasshopper-mia-mcpherson-8276.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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