{"id":58750,"date":"2018-04-27T05:48:35","date_gmt":"2018-04-27T11:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=58750"},"modified":"2018-04-27T06:16:22","modified_gmt":"2018-04-27T12:16:22","slug":"western-meadowlark-how-do-they-do-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/27\/western-meadowlark-how-do-they-do-that\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Meadowlark – How Do They Do That?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meadowlarks often perform a pretty neat little trick\u00a0while they’re landing on sagebrush.<\/p>\n

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1\/8000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

I photographed this singing Western Meadowlark three days ago on Antelope Island. The photo is\u00a0fairly typical of a meadowlark in springtime because this time of year they’re such inveterate singers but there’s something interesting about that perch and how the bird got there.<\/p>\n

In some habitats preferred by meadowlarks sagebrush is one of\u00a0the\u00a0few perches available to them but they’re heavy-bodied birds\u00a0whose weight normally can’t be supported by those spindly vertical twigs left over from last year. But there’s one trick (if they can manage it) that will allow them to\u00a0perch on them. A single twig or even several\u00a0won’t support their considerable weight but a half-dozen or more pulled together by their feet\u00a0into a clump will get the job done. The question becomes how do they manage to pull that many twigs together during the landing process? Most of them really aren’t that close together.<\/p>\n

I often see them hover very briefly over the twigs while landing but that’s usually from a distance and the purpose of\u00a0them doing so was unclear until I thought about it after seeing many close-up photos of them perched with large clumps of sagebrush\u00a0stems grasped in their feet. They must be hovering briefly to gather in enough stems with their feet\u00a0to support their weight.<\/p>\n

And I think that’s a pretty neat little trick for any bird but\u00a0especially\u00a0for one that’s so chunky and not normally\u00a0known for its agility in flight.<\/p>\n

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1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, canvas added for composition,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

About an hour after the previous\u00a0shot was taken I photographed this meadowlark soon after takeoff. The photo reveals what\u00a0may be one of their adaptations for gathering in groups of sagebrush twigs during the landing process – long legs and long, spindly toes with\u00a0sharply curved claws that seem perfectly designed\u00a0for accomplishing that daunting task\u00a0while they’re briefly hovering.<\/p>\n

Some of what I’ve said above is only speculation on my part but it makes sense to me. I can’t help but wonder about this kind of thing as I observe birds in the field and then attempt to put pieces of the puzzle together as I look at my photos.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

PS – And here’s some more speculation. Occasionally when I see a meadowlark hovering briefly over sagebrush it gives up and flies off instead of landing. Perhaps that’s because they’ve failed in their attempt to gather in enough twigs to support their weight? It can’t be easy to do…\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meadowlarks often perform a pretty neat little trick while they’re landing on sagebrush.<\/p>\n

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