Samples from a Meadowlark Show - One bird, multiple poses.

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     Two days ago I found and photographed a very cooperative Western Meadowlark perched and singing on a post of the fence that surrounds the parking area at the Sharptail Ridge Open Space off Roxborough Park Rd. About a 30 minute drive from our condo, Roxborough Park road usually has light traffic and has been a moderately productive birding spot for me during the summer months when we scheduled our time in Colorado in previous years. But this year we arrived in December and I have seen very few birds in this area until Tuesday. Spring seems to have arrived on Roxborough Park road. The Meadowlarks were singing and the American Kestrels were diving into the grassland from the power line wires.   

     Seven samples of the various postures the Meadowlark exhibited while I was watching are shown below.

Click on the images to see a larger view.

Olympus E-M1 Mark II camera and 300mm f/4 IS Pro lens
1/1000s, f/4.5, ISO 800  handheld

Olympus E-M1 Mark II camera and 300mm f/4 IS Pro lens
1/1600s, f/4.5, ISO 1250  handheld

Olympus E-M1 Mark II camera and 300mm f/4 IS Pro lens
1/1000s, f/4.5, ISO 800  handheld

Olympus E-M1 Mark II camera and 300mm f/4 IS Pro lens
1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO 2000  handheld

Olympus E-M1 Mark II camera and 300mm f/4 IS Pro lens
1/1600s, f/6.3, ISO 2000  handheld

Olympus E-M1 Mark II camera and 300mm f/4 IS Pro lens
1/1000s, f/4.5, ISO 800  handheld

Olympus E-M1 Mark II camera and 300mm f/4 IS Pro lens
1/1000s, f/4.5, ISO 800  handheld

     Regular viewers of my blog may have noticed that these photos were not taken with a Nikon D500. I am considering switching over to using the Olympus E-M1 Mark II camera and 300mm f/4 IS Pro lens for those birding outings that involve hiking more than short distances from my car. The major precipitating factors were age and weight. At age 80, my body complains at the end of long walks carrying a tripod with the D500 and 500mm f/4 lens (8.5 pounds) attached and a backpack with water bottles, another camera body and additional lenses. The Olympus 300mm lens weighs 2.8 pounds. Attached to the Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera the field of view is equivalent to that of a 600 mm lens attached to a full frame camera. Adding the Olympus 1.4x teleconverter would produce a field of view equivalent to that of an 840mm lens. I am not ready to dispose of my Nikon gear. I have only begun to use the Olympus system. I do hope I find it to be a suitable substitute on outings when using the car as a portable blind is not an option.

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.