Bird of the year

The ABA (American Birding Association) has named the Horned Lark as its “Bird of the year”. Horned Larks are certainly not rare, but they present some challenges to get nice images. They are primarily ground dwellers preferring open areas where they forage for seeds in the dust. Sometimes solitary, but other times traveling in large flocks. The primary problem for me is that, because they are small and prefer the ground it is difficult to get low POV shots. This image is from Fiesta Island where there is a large off leash dog walking area. As a consequence, the Horned Larks that spend the winter there are accustomed to people and dogs. Because of this, the birds become predictable often returning to the same area they were in when disturbed. I set up with the tripod flattened and the camera and lens about 6″ off the ground. I simply waited in an area where the birds were feeding and had been disturbed. After about 15′, the birds returned and I was able to capture a number of images. The biggest problem I had was trying to get up again after laying for 30′ on the ground. Not as easy as it used to be. Shot with Canon R5 ii, 840 mm lens, about 50% FF. Bird brightened as I deliberately underexposed it so I did not blow out the yellows and whites. Otherwise little done.