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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nThree days ago my\u00a0first trip to Antelope Island after the fire was mostly a bust for bird photography. Except for the weasel\u00a0I photographed as I left the island this young Western Meadowlark was my only cooperative subject. This bird seems to be quite young and probably very recently fledged. I like to photograph birds in all stages of development and plumage conditions\u00a0so I was\u00a0happy to get\u00a0this image\u00a0taken soon after the bird lifted off from sagebrush.<\/p>\n
I like the takeoff posture, the position of those large feet and legs, the light on the bird overall, the clean, slightly wispy\u00a0background and the excellent eye contact.<\/p>\n
From a distance this bird would appear to many to be “just” another adult meadowlark in sage but notice that it lacks\u00a0the black V-shaped band on the breast and\u00a0the vibrant colors and bold face pattern of the adult. And to my eye its plumage\u00a0appears to have a soft, silky appearance that I don’t\u00a0see in adults.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS\u00a0USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Here’s an adult in a similar pose for contrast. Up close like this I think the differences between adult and young juvenile are striking.<\/p>\n John James Audubon gave the Western Meadowlark its scientific name, Sturnella neglecta<\/em> – neglecta<\/em> because he thought early settlers and explorers had overlooked this common bird and Sturnella<\/em> because of its\u00a0similarity to starlings. I’m not fond of that comparison because\u00a0I’ve never been a big fan of starlings and that opinion was reinforced last week when a young starling fell down the\u00a0vent of the furnace in my home and ended up in the ductwork. Its claws on the ductwork sounded like there was an angry\u00a0Tasmanian Devil caught in\u00a0the furnace and I spent\u00a0half of a day tearing the furnace apart to get it out. I\u00a0was not\u00a0a happy camper.<\/p>\n But in the end I released the starling (minus all<\/em> of its tail feathers) and it flew off to cause more mischief.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n Note: My disparagement of starlings was mostly tongue in cheek – after all it’s not their<\/em> fault\u00a0they’re here…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The differences between juvenile and adult Western Meadowlarks often go unrecognized by observers in the field but when you see them up close through a lens those differences become striking.<\/p>\n