Song Bird

[David Gancarz]

One of my favorite birds, the Meadowlark. We saw lots of these in the late afternoon at Duda & Sons Ranch adjacent to River Lakes Conservation Area, Brevard County, FL. Lighting was terrible, so we returned next morning to the sound of cows, sandhill cranes, and unseen meadowlarks. Just as we were leaving, we heard this guy behind us on the fencepost where he landed and began singing. Nikon D300, 300mm f/4 with 1.4 TC, f/8 at 1/320 s. PP included removing a thistle stuck to his upper mandible, cropping, and sharpening. I deliberated over the barbed wire -- finally deciding it put the pic in its proper context. The background suggests how these birds blend into their environment, which they most certainly do if you've ever watched them foraging in the grass! C&C most welcome and instructive.

[ChasMcRae]

I use to discard birds on perches with droppings ,but now if I like the picture I clone out the "white stuff".
I would advise cleaning the perch(post) with PS. Of course in my home set up I use an actual tooth brush as much as possible.
You caught the bird in full song and I like that and the BG is great.I'm not sure if I like the barb wire in the pic, so perhaps others will comment.
Chas.

[joel quenneville]

Welcome to BPN David! I really like his pose, good job on catching him in full song. Although barbed wire looks great in many photos, I feel that a tighter crop that would remove the wire would strengthen your composition. The soft BG tell us about the lark's habitat without distracting from the subject. The similarity of tone between the BG and the bird lets us guess that this bird is a master at camouflage. Looking forward to more images.

[Graham Smith.]

Great Shot David, I share your affinity for these birds, but I haven't gotten close enough (with the same setup) to get nice shot like this. I like the context that the barbed wire brings, so I'd vote to leave it in.

[Lance Peters]

Hi David - well done - I like this a lot. Good HA and singing pose, BG is spot on. Might desat the yellows a tad - mind you I have never seen on of these guys so I could be way of base there :) :)