Month: October 2021 - Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Happy Halloween From The Headless Hawk

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-31T15:10:28-05:00October 31st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, headless, Headless Horseman, immature, leaves, mythical figure, perched, preening, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, three, young|

Our eyes can play tricks on us and that is what happened with this "headless" Red-tailed Hawk that I photographed last October at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Resting Western Grebe With Reflections Of Fall Colors

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-30T05:52:26-05:00October 30th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Western Grebes|Tags: adult, Aechmophorus occidentalis, autumn, autumn colors, fall, fall colors, grebe, grebes, marsh, reflections, resting, Western Grebe, wetlands|

I went to Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning where one of the birds I photographed was this resting Western Grebe with reflections of fall colors.

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Semipalmated Plover Images

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-29T06:02:44-05:00October 29th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Semipalmated Plovers|Tags: adult, beach, Charadrius semipalmatus, coast, coastal, head turn, inquisitive, lagoon, low tide, mud, plover, plovers, resting, sand, Semipalmated Plover, shorebirds, summer, walking|

While rifling through my archives I came across some of my Semipalmated Plover photos that I took on the north beach at Fort De Soto County Park in 2008.

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Fall Song Sparrow Photos

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-28T05:35:52-05:00October 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Song Sparrows, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, desert, fall, feeding, Melospiza melodia, perched, rabbibrush, rabbitbrush fluff, seeds, seep, Song Sparrow, sparrow, sparrows, wildflowers|

Earlier this month I had an opportunity to take a few fall Song Sparrow photos while way up in Box Elder County in northern Utah.

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Well Crap – Another Cloudy Day

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-27T05:21:43-05:00October 27th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, autumn, cloudy, crap, crapping, defecating, fall, field, flats, Great Blue Heron, hatch year, heron, herons, immature, juvenile, marsh, pooping, refuge, wading birds, weather, wetlands, young|

I selected this hatch year Great Blue Heron photo to share today because it showed the young bird taking a crap on the flats of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Autumn Common Loon Memory

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-26T06:21:27-05:00October 26th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Loons, Utah|Tags: autumn, Bear River, Common Loon, fall, Gavia immer, loon, loons, migrating, migration, nonbreeding adult/immature, water, water bird, wetlands|

Almost one year ago I spotted a Common Loon floating on the Bear River after a somewhat disappointing morning for birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Ring-billed Gull In Flight And Erratic Autumn Weather

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-25T06:07:55-05:00October 25th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, clouds, erratic, fall, flight, foreboding, gull, gulls, incoming, Larus delawarensis, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, Ring-billed Gull, skies, sky, storm, stormy, weather, wetlands|

Changing weather is what was happening when I photographed this Ring-billed Gull last month flying over the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA.

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My Growing Concerns Over This Years Crop Of Douglas Fir Seeds Because Of Our Drought

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-24T06:45:41-05:00October 24th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, alpine, autumn, branch, checking out, chickadee, chickadees, cone, cones, Douglas fir, eating, fall, feeding, fir, fir tree, fir trees, firs, foraging, mature, Mountain Chickadee, mountains, needles, nuthatch, nuthatches, Poecile gambeli, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Rocky Mountain Douglas Fir, scales, seed, seeds, Sitta canadensis, sky island mountains, spot, sunlight, trees|

My trip out into the sky island mountains of the West Desert last week caused my concerns about this years crop of Douglas Fir seeds to grow.

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It Is Time To Look And Listen For Tundra Swans In Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-23T05:47:36-05:00October 23rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, clouds, Cygnus columbianus, eagle, eagles, feeding, flight, flying, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature, marsh, mountains, on the wing, Promontory Mountains, raptors, scenery, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

This morning I noticed in my Facebook memories that I saw and heard my first of season Tundra Swans at Bear River MBR on this date in 2015 and that made me happy.

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Ferruginous Hawk In The Changing Light Of Dawn

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-22T05:30:28-05:00October 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, dawn, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, morning, perched, raptors, wooden post|

The first bird photos that I took yesterday morning in the desert were of a Ferruginous Hawk perched on a fence post in pre-dawn light.

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White-faced Ibis Close Up

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-21T05:15:23-05:00October 21st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, White-faced Ibises|Tags: adult, autumn, close up, fall, ibis, ibises, marsh, migratory, mobile blind, nonbreeding plumage, Plegadis chihi, portrait, red eyes, wading birds, water, wetlands, White-faced Ibis|

I'd almost forgotten about this White-faced Ibis close up photo that I took at the end of last month in the wetlands of Farmington Bay WMA.

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Immature White-crowned Sparrow Photos In Fall

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-20T05:25:57-05:00October 20th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: autumn, autumn colors, desert, fall, fall colors, Fragrant Sumac, immature, leaves, perched, Rhus aromatica, seep, shrub, sparrow, sparrows, sumac, White-crowned Sparrow, young, Zonotrichia leucophrys|

When I was way up north in Box Elder County three days ago I had the opportunity to take immature White-crowned Sparrow photos with fall colors in the frames.

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Fall Wild Turkey Hen Foraging On Desert Ranchlands

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-19T05:47:35-05:00October 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Wild Turkeys|Tags: adult, branches, desert, female, hen, Meleagris gallopavo, ranchlands, rocks, standing, turkey, turkeys, upland game birds, Wild Turkey, wildflowers, yellow wildflowers|

The first photos I took with my newly refurbished Nikon D500 with a new shutter assembly were of this Wild Turkey hen foraging on desert ranchlands.

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Autumn Loggerhead Shrike

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-18T11:46:49-05:00October 18th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Loggerhead Shrikes, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, autumn colors, desert, fall, fall colors, Fragrant Sumac, Lanius ludovicianus, Loggerhead Shrike, Nikon D500, Rhus aromatica, shrike, shrikes, sky, sumac|

This adult Loggerhead Shrike perched on a Fragrant Sumac was among the birds that I found yesterday morning way up in northern Utah.

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Fall Hooded Merganser At Farmington Bay

By Mia McPherson|2021-12-10T05:49:28-06:00October 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Hooded Mergansers, Utah|Tags: autumn, autumn colors, colors, diving ducks, duck, ducks, fall, female, hen, Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus, marsh, merganser, mergansers, mirror, Nikon D500, pond, reflections, shutter replacement cost, small in frame, water, wetlands|

This morning I am sharing a simple image of a Hooded Merganser I found two days ago on a pond at Farmington Bay WMA that had autumn colors reflected on the water.

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How I Found This Secretive Virginia Rail At Farmington Bay

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-16T05:35:26-05:00October 16th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Virginia Rails|Tags: adult, autumn, bill, cattail, cattails, cold, cover, Davis County, fall, Farmington Bay WMA, flapping wings, heading, marsh, morning, open, preened, rail, rails, Rallus limicola, reflection, stretching, sunlight, tiptoes, Utah, Virginia Rail, water, wetlands|

Today I wanted to write about how I found this secretive Virginia Rail in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.

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Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and Earth Shadow Memories

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-15T05:08:51-05:00October 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, atomospheric conditions, Belt of Venus, coast, coastal, dune, earth shadow, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, low light, pre-dawn, predawn light, preening, sand, sky, wading birds, walking, wind, windy|

Thirteen years ago this morning I photographed a Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and the Earth Shadow on the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park on the west coast of Florida.

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Snow Dusted Views Of Utah’s West Desert Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-14T06:47:43-05:00October 14th, 2021|Categories: Tooele County, Trees, Utah, West Desert|Tags: Abies concolor, autumn, canyon, cone, cones, Douglas fir, dusted, fall, fir, firs, ice, juniper, junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, landscape, mountains, peaks, Pseudotsuga menziesii, rabbitbrush, rock, rocks, sage, sagebrush, sky, snow, snowy, tree, trees, Utah Juniper, views, water droplet, White Fir|

I saw snow on Utah's West Desert mountains for the first time since late spring so I thought I'd share a few views of what I saw while out there yesterday morning.

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On The Lookout For My First Of Season Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|2022-04-26T09:25:16-05:00October 13th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, barb wire, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, fence, fence post, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, mountains, perched, raptors, road, rock, rock pile, rocks, Rough-legged Hawk, snow, winter|

I am now on the lookout for my first of season Rough-legged Hawk. I hope to spot one soon.

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Merlin Memories

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-15T03:57:43-06:00October 12th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Merlins, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, branch, Falco columbarius, falcon, female/immature, first of season, fog, foggy, high key, marsh, Merlin, prairie subspecies, raptors, snow, snowy, tree, wetlands, winter|

I noticed in my Facebook memories that four years ago this morning was when I found my first of season Merlin out on the mudflats at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Autumn Wild Turkey Hen Portrait

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-11T05:47:59-05:00October 11th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: Acer negundo, autumn, Box Elder, canyon, close up, fall, fall colors, female, hen, Meleagris gallopavo, mountains, portrait, shadows, Stansbury Mountains, turkey, turkeys, upland game birds, Wild Turkey|

I found this Wild Turkey hen last autumn as she walked out of the shadows of the forest and into the bright morning light.

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October West Desert Views Of Clouds, Mountains, And The Moon

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-10T06:19:13-05:00October 10th, 2021|Categories: Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: canyons, cirrus clouds, clouds, desert, foothills, junipers, landscape, moon, moon set, mountains, peaks, sage, sagebrush, scenic, sky, sky island mountains, slopes, snow, Stansbury Mountains, trees, west desert|

Today I wanted to share these photos of some West Desert views of clouds, mountains, and the moon because I'd like to be out there seeing and photographing them all.

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Dark and light morph Red-tailed Hawk Photos

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-09T06:00:23-05:00October 9th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, cliff, cliff face, dark morph, desert, fall, female, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lichen, lichen covered, lift off, light morph, male, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, resting, take off|

I almost missed finding this adult dark morph Red-tailed Hawk last Sunday because when I first spotted the hawk he was behind a tree in dark shadows but I recognized the shape and form of the raptor.

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Changes At Farmington Bay WMA And Glover Pond

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-17T07:01:20-05:00October 8th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Conservation, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: autumn, blackbird, blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbird, calling, construction, Euphagus cyanocephalus, fall, feathers, fence post, freeway, Glover Pond, loss, male, noise, perched, pollution, pond, shaking, water, West Davis Corridor, wooden post|

Every year when I make my first trip to Farmington Bay WMA in the fall I dread the changes that inevitably happen.

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Fall Yellow-rumped Warbler – Urban Birds

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-07T06:12:27-05:00October 7th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Jordan River Parkway Trail, Salt Lake County, Utah, Yellow-rumped Warblers|Tags: autumn, branch, defensive behavior, defensive posture, diet, fall, home, migrate, migration, nonbreeding plumage, open bill, perched, Setophaga coronata, sky, urban, warbler, warblers, wood-warblers, Yellow-rumped Warbler|

This has been a weird fall so far and because of that I haven't been out to look for urban birds like this Yellow-rumped Warbler I photographed last year close to home.

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Flying Canada Goose With Snow Covered Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-06T05:22:52-05:00October 6th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, flight, flying, geese, goose, mountains, Salt Lake County, snow, snow covered, Wasatch Mountains, winter|

Last evening when I walked outside to move my Jeep into the driveway I glanced towards the east to view the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains.

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Phragmites Fix Or Fail At Bear River MBR?

By Mia McPherson|2023-11-10T09:51:12-06:00October 5th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Conservation, Utah|Tags: auto tour loop, auto tour route, cattle, conservation, control, controlled burn, fail, fall, fix, ice, introduced, invasive, marsh, mitigation, phragmites, Phragmites australis, phrags, Promontory Mountains, sky, snow, southwest corner, spraying, spring, summer, wetlands, winter|

Phragmites fix or fail? I think my photos through the years provide the answer.

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Autumn Townsend’s Solitaire Plus Snow In The 10 Day Forecast

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-04T05:20:05-05:00October 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Townsend's Solitaires, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, desert, fall, fall colors, Fragrant Sumac, hidden, leaves, Myadestes townsendi, perched, Rhus aromatica, seep, solitaire, solitaires, sumac, thrush, thrushes, Townsend's Solitaire|

I found quite a few birds yesterday in far northern Utah and of all the photos I took this autumn Townsend's Solitaire was my favorite.

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October Marsh Wren

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-03T04:55:18-05:00October 3rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Marsh Wrens, Utah|Tags: active, adult, autumn, Cistothorus palustris, cocklebur, fall, fall colors, marsh, Marsh Wren, perky, secretive, wetlands, wren, wrens, Xanthium strumarium|

Four years ago I found a Marsh Wren perched on a Cocklebur on a bright October morning in the wetlands of the refuge.

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How I Found A Flock Of Clark’s Nutcrackers Yesterday

By Mia McPherson|2022-04-26T09:48:15-05:00October 2nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Clark's Nutcrackers, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birding instincts, canyon, Clark's Nutcracker, corvids, Douglas fir, ears, eyes, fall, fir, firs, juniper, junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, mountains, Nucifraga columbiana, nutcracker, nutcrackers, paying attention, Pseudotsuga menziesii, skills, sky island mountains, tree, trees, Utah Juniper|

My eyes and my birding instincts didn't lead me astray because there was a Clark's Nutcracker perched at the top of the fir.

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Monthly Archives: October 2021