{"id":18522,"date":"2015-01-12T06:35:08","date_gmt":"2015-01-12T13:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=18522"},"modified":"2025-12-12T12:37:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T18:37:31","slug":"its-a-hard-knock-life-western-meadowlark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/01\/12\/its-a-hard-knock-life-western-meadowlark\/","title":{"rendered":"Its a Hard Knock Life – Western Meadowlark"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WesternWestern Meadowlark fluffed up from the cold – Nikon D810, f11, 1\/800, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

This Western Meadowlark image was taken January 2nd on Antelope Island after a snow fall and it made me think of how hard life can be for these birds. During warmer months Western Meadowlarks eat insects but during the winter they have to scramble for seeds. When the snow is thick on the ground it must be even harder for them.<\/p>\n

This meadowlark was along side of the road where it had been plowed and that probably brought some of the fallen seeds to the surface.<\/p>\n

There are times though when I don’t see the Western Meadowlarks<\/span><\/a> on the island so they must move a bit south when the snow gets too thick.<\/p>\n

I know that they are better equipped to handle the bitter cold than I am 24\/7.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Western Meadowlark photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Western meadowlark image was taken January 2nd on Antelope Island after a snow fall and it made me think of how hard life can be for these birds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,27,26,371],"tags":[4004,4021,3981,4094,4824,4825,2326,5179,4050,4061,4308,373],"class_list":["post-18522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-utah","category-western-meadowlarks","tag-adult","tag-bird-photography","tag-davis-county","tag-marsh","tag-meadowlark","tag-meadowlarks","tag-road","tag-road-side","tag-snow","tag-sturnella-neglecta","tag-western-meadowlark","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/western-meadowlark-snow-mia-mcpherson-1444.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-4OK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101020,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/25\/western-meadowlark-singing\/","url_meta":{"origin":18522,"position":0},"title":"Western 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