Horned Lark

[Warren Spreng]

Not the best IQ, etc, but just a fun bird to discover. They can easily be mistaken for a sparrow hopping around on the ground until you look more closely. I wish I had gone with f/8 for more DOF to get the second horn in focus. Often times the horns are laying flat so I was happy to catch one with both of them up! This little guy was just on a small green space on a parking lot but luckily I was able to get close enough to not have to worry about the cement curb right in front of him!
Canon 7D Mark II, Tamron 150 - 600 mm, f/6.3, 1/1000, ISO 800, 600 mm, HH, AF. Cloned out some grass that was in front of the main body.

[Diane Miller]

Nice sharpness and detail on an interesting new bird for me. Nice head angle and alert pose. An artistic branch would be more appealing but if they are ground dwellers this is probably more appropriate.

You might clone out the light OOF grass stem that is coming out of the lower throat / upper breast area.

I had semi-successfully pursued a Kildeer a few months ago at a nearby waterbird area, and then a few days later I drove into our local airport and pulled up to the restroom building outside the back gate to our hangars, and was amazed to see a pair hopping around on the lawn. No camera, though.

[Warren Spreng]

Nice sharpness and detail on an interesting new bird for me. Nice head angle and alert pose. An artistic branch would be more appealing but if they are ground dwellers this is probably more appropriate.

You might clone out the light OOF grass stem that is coming out of the lower throat / upper breast area.

I had semi-successfully pursued a Kildeer a few months ago at a nearby waterbird area, and then a few days later I drove into our local airport and pulled up to the restroom building outside the back gate to our hangars, and was amazed to see a pair hopping around on the lawn. No camera, though.

Thanks Diane! Like Killdeers I have never seen one of these ever perched in a tree. Good suggestion on that blade of grass, now that you pointed it out it looks like it is stabbing him in the chest!

I tried for a Killdeer shot as well on a sand play area by the community pool but it had to be through chain link fence and that just didn't work at all! Yesterday I walked by again and they had destroyed the nest getting the playground ready for the season.