{"id":9682,"date":"2013-10-02T03:45:47","date_gmt":"2013-10-02T09:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=9682"},"modified":"2026-04-28T06:34:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:34:38","slug":"autumn-horned-lark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/10\/02\/autumn-horned-lark\/","title":{"rendered":"Autumn Horned Lark"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PeekabooPeekaboo preening male Horned Lark – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I went out photographing yesterday for the first time in a week and being where I could see birds, mountains, the Great Salt Lake, and mountains was good for me.<\/p>\n

Seeing and being able to photograph birds makes me feel connected to the earth, sky, and the air.<\/p>\n

One of the subjects I photographed yesterday was this male autumn Horned Lark that was preening in the morning light on Antelope Island State Park.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Horned Lark with an itch\u00a0– Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I like how in this frame the “horns” of the lark are visible and how I was able to get eye contact from the lark even though it was scratching.<\/p>\n

Most of the time I’ve found the birds either turn away or close their eyes when I am photographing them in a scratching pose.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Horned Lark all fluffed up\u00a0– Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Summer has changed to autumn and the behaviors of the Horned Larks<\/span><\/a> that have been seen through the summer but have been difficult to get close to have changed.<\/p>\n

They will start their days warming up on the boulders and rocks on the island and they are less skittish in the chilly dawn.<\/p>\n

Yesterday was a delicious morning with cool air, a cloudless sky, and lovely light. Summer has left the valley and the slopes of the mountains have begun to glow with the red colors of the oaks in autumn.<\/p>\n

Saying goodbye to the hottest summer on record<\/em> here isn’t difficult to do at all especially when I know more birds are on their way.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Summer has changed to autumn and the behaviors of the Horned Larks that have been seen through the summer but have been difficult to get close to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":166566,"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":[511,27,1022,436,26],"tags":[4004,970,4021,4181,4309,1327,6433,2136,4062,4019,4541],"class_list":["post-9682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-horned-larks","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-bird-photography","tag-eremophila-alpestris","tag-fluffed-up","tag-horned-lark","tag-lark","tag-larks-2","tag-male","tag-preening-2","tag-scratching"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/hordned-lark-scratching-mia-mcpherson-7927.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2wa","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3290,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/10\/10\/prolonged-male-horned-lark-preening-session\/","url_meta":{"origin":9682,"position":0},"title":"Prolonged Male Horned Lark Preening Session","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I came across this very cooperative male Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris). This male bird preened for a full seven minutes and I took 256 images of it.","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 warms up, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-mia-mcpherson-2840.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-mia-mcpherson-2840.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-mia-mcpherson-2840.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-mia-mcpherson-2840.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":9682,"position":1},"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, 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2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I was delighted to be able to photograph this male Horned Lark perched high on dried sunflower seed heads as it ate.","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 eating sunflower seeds, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/horned-lark-male-eating-mia-mcpherson-4600.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-eating-mia-mcpherson-4600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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