{"id":56481,"date":"2019-03-08T06:07:33","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T13:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=56481"},"modified":"2024-09-09T15:05:51","modified_gmt":"2024-09-09T20:05:51","slug":"close-up-western-meadowlark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/03\/08\/close-up-western-meadowlark\/","title":{"rendered":"Close Up Western Meadowlark"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CloseClose up of an early spring Western Meadowlark – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This close up of a Western Meadowlark was taken nearly two years ago on Antelope Island State Park<\/span><\/a> while the bird foraged on the ground. The snow in that area had melted and I could just barely see some fresh, green shoots of new grass poking out of the soil along with the tiny, red unfurling leaves of red-stem filaree that grows among the grasses on the island. The sun was welcome after many gray winter days.<\/p>\n

The “human” calendar still said it was winter but the meadowlark and its behavior told me it was early spring. There were times when the meadowlark seemed to be attempting to hold itself back from calling out in song but a soft “chup” would escape from its bill anyway. These birds don’t care about our calendars or the time of year or day that we proclaim it to be, they know by instinct and hormones when it is the best time to start calling out to attract a mate.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. The weather here isn’t, but life is.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

This close up of a Western Meadowlark was taken nearly two years ago on Antelope Island State Park while the bird foraged on the ground. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":134294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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":""},"categories":[511,27,1022,26,371],"tags":[4142,6402,4824,4825,165,4061,4308],"class_list":["post-56481","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-close-up","tag-early-spring","tag-meadowlark","tag-meadowlarks","tag-spring","tag-sturnella-neglecta","tag-western-meadowlark"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/western-meadowlark-close-up-mia-mcpherson-2850.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-eGZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101020,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/25\/western-meadowlark-singing\/","url_meta":{"origin":56481,"position":0},"title":"Western 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McPherson","date":"April 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"During the spring Western Meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta) can be easy to locate and then approach because they spend so much time singing from the tops of boulders, bushes, posts and other manmade objects.","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":"Portrait of a 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-mia-mcpherson-8144.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-8144.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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