Horned Lark

[Isaac Grant]

In honor of this months theme, here is a Horned Lark in the snow. Typically it is extremely difficult to get anywhere near these birds in New York. For some reason the only flock that I know of on Staten Island has been quite tame as long as I am extremely careful with my approach. What that means is that I get to within about 100 feet of them and then slowly crawl towards them on my belly and through the snow. As the temps in NY have been really cold there has not been much to shoot so having these birds accessible has been a real treat. Temps at the time of this shot were 9 degrees F, with sustained 20+ miles per hour winds. Took me about 30 minutes of crawling in the snow to get this close.

Canon 1dxii and Canon 500 f4 ii + 1.4x iii. ISO 800, F7.1, SS 1/3200. Processed with DPP 4.7 and PS.

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Adorable. I liked the Head Angle and Nice horizontal line at the bottom

Just wish I could see the feet as well.

We also have Horned Larks in Utah. Specially in Antelope Island but they are extremely difficult to approach here.

Thank you for sharing the Image.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Isaac, excellent low perspective for the monthly theme, and what a great pose and HA too. The colours pop nicely against the winter BG, and I like the inclusion of the foliage.

[Roger Smith]

Great image. We have these here in San Diego in the sandy and grassy areas near the coast. Really appreciate the effort to get down low and be patient with this bird. Well done.

[annmpacheco]

Hi Isaac, well done! I don't mind the feet not being seen bc it "reveals" the blowing snow. That lark sure is plumped up and both of you were frozen Im sure. I like the scant dried grass and the overall white background...

[David Salem]

Nice shot of this Horned Lark Issac. We get them during the winter but they look much better in the snow as opposed to a plowed dirt field. Well done

[Daniel Cadieux]

Vehicle as a blind, freshly dusted snowbanks along the road, and a bit of audio = better luck with these guys around here...otherwise I agree about them being flighty! Your hard work really paid off with a very appealing low-angle image of this guy. Perfect head turn, and the bits of grass poking up add a lot of interest.

[Alex Becker]

Great low profile and I also love the bit of grasses included. The bird pops well against the snow. Nice head angle and catchlight. Checks all the boxes for me. TFS

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the low angle, setting, HA, composition and dedication. Chilly story Isaac!