Feb 152012
 

It’s hard to go anywhere in Utah’s desert and deserted areas and not hear the beautiful songs of a Western Meadowlark.

This little 9″ bird is not a member of the lark family.  It’s actually belongs to the Blackbird family.  Known for it’s song it is quite common in areas near my home.  Stop just a few miles from home, turn off the engine and the radio and I am serenaded by these cuties.  They are very shy.  Most approaches even in a car  are met with the fast fly away of the Meadowlark.  With the advantage of a very long lens, a 1.7 teleconverter and some tricky driving I captured this beauty in flight.

Don’t try this at home.  Should only be performed by experienced foolish photoraphers desperate for a new shot of a common bird!

A little trial and error.  I drove by the bird at the posted speed and he didn’t fly away.  In fact he only flew when I cam to a full stop in my car.  Simple solution. Shoot while driving.  I know there is a law passed about texting and driving or at least being distracted while driving.  I think driving and photographing are OK.  Here is the deal.  I was antelope island.  I have a Wimberley head on a window mount for my car.   I mounted the camera and lens on the Wimberley and drove very slow by the Meadowlark.  Probably 2 MPH.  Drove with my knee while I shot the bird.  No cars in sight in either direction.  Hey I got the shot!!!!!

 Posted by at 10:56 PM

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