By Mia McPherson, on May 16th, 2012% This is another image that reminds me of the day I photographed it and the great memories of that photo session. Ron and I sat with this Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) for several minutes on the auto tour loop of Bear River National Wildlife Refuge in Box Elder County, Utah.
My Nikon D300 is giving me the fits, I’ve had it checked out locally and they can’t replicate the issues I am having of the exposure going wonky intermittently, my shutter speed will go from 1/1000 or higher and then drop to 1/4 to 1/60 resulting in pure snowy white images. Yuck. At any rate right now I am using my backup D200′s until I can get the D300 sent to Nikon.
 Black-crowned Night Heron lift off - Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 350mm, natural light The day didn’t start off looking great, it looked like it might be cloudy but the light stayed over the refuge while to the south it didn’t look great. There were birds, birds and more birds on the auto tour loop and we were able to catch some wonderful action.
This heron was standing on a little spit of dry land at the edge of a marshy pond, for a bit it just stood there, then it preened a while. Before too long Ron and I could see the bird was going to lift off and fly away. We were ready!
I took a nice series of images as the Black-crowned lifted off and flew past us, I really liked the position of the wings, the look at the intensely red eye and those big, dangling yellow feet in this frame.
After leaving the refuge we stopped at the Maddox Drive In for great Hamburgers and fries.
Birthday Boy Ron appeared to have an awesome day but why wouldn’t we? Great light. Plenty of birds. Super company. I was a happy camper!
Mia
*I pre-scheduled this post because I am away, please feel free to share this with your friends & family!
More Black-crowned Night Heron images
By Mia McPherson, on April 28th, 2012%  Black-necked Stilt male - Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus) have returned from their wintering grounds to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and other locations in Utah. Black-necked Stilts are black and white shorebirds with long pink to reddish legs, thin black bills and lovely red eyes.
I photographed this male Stilt as he fed in front of me on April 16th in a marshy area on the auto tour route. Note the glossy black back with a slight iridescence.
 Black-necked Stilt female - Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 314mm, natural light Female Black-necked Stilts have browner backs than the males as shown in the image above.
Black-necked Stilts can live up to 19 years, their diet consists of small fish, frogs, clams, worms, flies, shrimp, tadpoles and snails. They breed around marshes, shallow ponds, lakes and manmade water areas. Black-necked Stilts are social birds and they are often seen in flocks of 25 or more.
Currently their status us secure but increased use of pesticides and loss of wetlands could cause this species to decline.
Mia
By Mia McPherson, on April 21st, 2012% During the winter months I miss seeing large flocks of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) soaring in the thermals, in the past few weeks I have been delighted to see them again.
 American White Pelicans soaring on a thermal over the Great Salt Lake - Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light It is hard to explain to a person who has never seen American White Pelicans circling on the thermals how amazing it is to see a large flock seemingly disappear from the sky and then a split second later see them reappear. It is just a matter of their body angle at certain times that makes them nearly invisible as they turn but it sure feels magical to me.
I photographed the pelicans above soaring on a thermal over the Great Salt Lake from Antelope Island State Park last week. There were three separate flocks soaring at first but all of them joined together as I watched and photographed them. American White Pelicans are known to soar to high elevations when soaring in the thermals, they can become invisible to the naked eye and to a person using 10x binoculars.
 American White Pelicans lifting off - Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light Early this week I spent some time camping at Locomotive Springs, a very desolate, arid and uninhabited area north of the Great Salt Lake and many miles west of I-15. The area is managed by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) that is only accessible by gravel roads. I photographed these pelicans as they lifted off from one of the springs near the campsite. While the springs are natural they have been altered (improved?) by the BLM and fish are stocked in some of them.
 Fluffed up American White Pelican - Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light There is a large breeding colony of American White Pelicans on Gunnison Island in the Great Salt Lake, approximately 10 to 20% of the entire population of American White Pelicans breed in that area.
Because the Great Salt Lake is too saline for fish to live in the pelicans fly from Gunnison Island to locations such as Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (aka Bear River National Wildlife Refuge) about 30 miles to the east to find food. The freshwater areas there do contain fish and large numbers of American White Pelicans can be found there.
*Access to Gunnison Island is restricted to protect the nesting birds.
The pelican in the image above has not yet gone into breeding plumage, it does not have the “horn” or “carbuncle” on the bill typically seen in breeding American White Pelicans. I photographed this pelican from the auto tour route this past Monday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
 Adult American White Pelican - Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/3200, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light This adult American White Pelican; also photographed this past Monday at the refuge, is in breeding plumage as indicated by the “horn” or “carbuncle” on the bill and the solid white head.
During the summer American White Pelicans are commonly found at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, often they can be seen in large numbers feeding in the impoundments, along the marshes and while along the road to the refuge on the Bear River.
I’m glad that the American White Pelicans are back in Utah. Seeing them always delights me.
Mia
More American White Pelican images
By Mia McPherson, on March 18th, 2012% American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana) are birds that I look forward to seeing in spring, I have already seen some from a distance this year. They are not year round residents in Utah although I have seen them as late as December a few times.
 American Avocet foraging in a shallow pond - Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light Avocets are long-legged shorebirds that forage in the shallows of the lakes, ponds and marshes in Utah. They also breed here in areas near where they find their prey. I have seen them numbering in the thousands just by making one loop of the auto tour at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
 American Avocet at the edge of the marsh - Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1500, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light I photographed these birds last year in May after the Avocets had begun their mating rituals and were in the process of selecting nesting sites. Unfortunately the roads to the auto tour loop were closed from the end of May until September due to road construction that took most of two summers and that meant not seeing the birds on the nest or their young.
Although the paved road is nice I feel that I (and many others) missed out on seeing a lot of wonderful birds and animals during that time period and that perhaps the road could have been created without blocking complete access to this incredible area for the public. My opinion might not be popular but roads have been built before that didn’t block traffic for months.
 American Avocet in the grasses _ Nikon D200, f9, 1/800, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light I do hope that I will be able to photograph these graceful, elegant birds and their young this year at the refuge, see them foraging in the ponds and listen to their calls at Bear River this year. They are fascinating shorebirds.
Mia
More American Avocet images
By Mia McPherson, on January 8th, 2012% 
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) in Cattail fluff ~ Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, Utah
Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
I photographed these male Marsh Wrens during breeding season when they were calling on their territories, while the male and female are alike in most aspects the exception is that only the males sing. And sing they do! Individual western males often have more than 100 songs and they are especially vocal when they are trying to attract a mate.
Marsh Wren male perched on a Cattail
Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Marsh Wrens are year round residents in Utah except for the northern most portion of the state. They prefer fresh and saltwater marsh habitats where there are grasses, reeds, sedges and cattails present. It can be a challenge to photograph Marsh Wrens in the open but during breeding season the males often perch high on the vegetation while they are singing. They also move very quickly so it can be hard to keep track of them.
Male Marsh Wren singing
Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1500, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Though Wrens are small in size I find that they have big attitudes. When I lived on the east coast I had Carolina Wrens that nested underneath my kitchen window where my sink was located, when I “dared” to wash my dishes the adult would sit on the windowsill and voice its displeasure. Loudly! That still makes me chuckle.
Marsh Wrens are amusing to observe, photograph and listen to. There is never a dull moment with them.
Mia
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Photographing a Tricolored Heron from a tidal lagoon
Focusing on Wildlife Contributor
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