Scored a double whammo when the Horned Lark decided to feed close to the Longspur that I happened to be photographing at point-blank range with an extention tube attached (see previous post). Not as strong visually, and I wish the wind hadn't blown those feathers awry...but I'm not sure I'll ever be as close as three feet to this species again, so I'll take it!!
Very, very nice Dan! Great opportunity! Love the face sharpness and eye contact! Hindsight being 20/20, you probably could have got away with ISO 1600 and f11 for more DOF, or ISO 400 wide open and thrown the OOF feathers more OOF! But, I know how it is in the heat of the battle, you take what you can. Great pic.
Your care and love of birds come through again, Daniel. You achieved eye contact and a sharp head; I can almost feel the cool smoothness of the bill.
Just wondering: What would have happened if you'd had a longer lens, had been therefore lying farther back from the bird, narrowed down your aperture, shifted up the ISO some, stabilized your camera, and prayed that the bird would remain motionless? Wouldn't you then have achieved more depth of field and perhaps got more of the lark in focus?
Even if the answer is yes, I know full well how difficult it is to think of all these things (let alone effect them) in the heat of battle. You made excellent choices in any case and got a fine result. Congratulations.