Horned Lark.

[Daniel Cadieux]

These guys are the true harbingers of spring here locally, and sure enough we are now finally getting temperatures above the freezing mark and snow is slowly melting away. From the techs check out how bright the light was...only during the winter can one photograph birds in strong sunlight with still appealing results (thanks to the snow acting as a reflector)! This fella, walking on the snow bank, was in quite close proximity to the bounced light from below. It stayed there for a good while and never did lift up its tail!!

Canon 7D + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/2500s., f/8, ISO 400, small crop for comp, handheld from car (the snow bank was just about eye level - how convenient), eye work (darkened pupil), although the bill is still dirty I did clean up the worst crud, audio used.

[William Dickson]

Vey soothing image Daniel. You couldn't wish for a better perch, nor BG to show off the beautiful colours on the bird. I really like how the head is in front of the darker BG which blends with the yellows perfectly, Love it. Great work all round

[Derek_Lauzon]

Great shot of a Horned Lark Daniel, perch and background are terrrific.

[Sharon Hallowell]

This is very nice. The gradient blues of the bg really set off your well exposed snow and lark nicely. Catching that little bit of "horn" up is great, too! Our weather really made a turn for the better, here in PA, too :) Sharon

[mohammad reza shahab]

Great shot Daniel.beautiful BG, Snow perch and Good Exposure.

[Robert Kimbrell]

Beautiful colors here Daniel, I like the transitions in the Blue, I enjoy the simplicity of the image, The lack of vegetation works well here.

[gail bisson]

oooh...I like this one.
Beautiful blues in the BG and love the elevated snow perch.
Excellent IQ.
So nice to see the feet so well.
Well done,
Gail

[Raybel Robles]

Super! Lovely details, the snow is just perfect not too much that would overpower the bird and love that BG!

[Kirk Benson]

As technically superb as this image is, it is equally as beautiful to look at for the fantastic BG and snow perch setting here Daniel. I've enjoyed it for several minutes. Exposure is so perfect.
The HL could not be presented any better... although by mentioning that the tail never came up, I'm guessing that you hoped it would... does it stick up like a wren's at times?
Huge congrats on this encounter, you made the most of it.
Masterful work during both capture and processing.

[Grace Scalzo]

I know we're supposed to say why we like an image when looking at photos here, but this one speaks for itself. The best image that I have seen of this species. Just perfect.

[Walker Noe]

Great BG. Exposure looks good, and I like the comp. Not much not to love about this one!

TFS
Walker

[sasan nejadi]

Hi daniel , i like this , beautiful color , excellent BG and good snow perch and exposure , and ... and ... and .... thanks for sharing

[Bill Dix]

Lovely shot with perfect perch and BG. Well exposed. Well done all around.

[Mike Poole]

I like the way the snow bank in the foreground leads you up to this lovely little fella. Nice alert pose, and just enough of a catchlight. Good work

[Binu John]

Fabulous shot, Daniel! I really like the pose, perch, POV and BG. Excellent exposure and processing. TFS

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Daniel! I like the snow perch, IQ, details, exposure, composition and BG.