Photographer and Author

About Mia McPherson

I'm Mia McPherson. I became seriously passionate about bird photography while living in Florida. After my move West in 2009 I spent much of my time photographing birds in Utah, Idaho, Montana, and beyond. Now I photograph in primarily in east central Oklahoma and Arkansas. As a nature lover, bird and wildlife photographer, I have a passion for capturing the beauty and grace of birds and wildlife in their natural habitats.
Life is good.

Swainson’s Hawk with Damage to the Feathers of the Underwing Coverts

By |July 15th, 2017|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I simply don't know what caused this kind of feather damage and I hope that someone can give me a better idea of what was going on with this Swainson's Hawk.

Adult Red-naped Sapsucker Feeding its Chick at the Nesting Cavity

By |July 14th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Although photographing the Red-naped Sapsuckers at the nesting cavity has been frustrating at times it has also been very rewarding to observe all the action of the sapsucker family.

Mountain Bluebird On a Rustic Pine Fence – Life is Good

By |July 13th, 2017|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Mountain Bluebirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today's post is just a simple bird. A sky blue Mountain Bluebird perched on a rustic pine fence railing taken on a bright beautiful morning in the Centennial Valley of Montana.

Targhee National Forest Red-naped Sapsucker Feeding Young

By |July 12th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Targhee National Forest|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Jackpot and frustrations... I'll explain the jackpot first and get to the frustrations later about the Targhee National Forest Red-naped Sapsucker feeding its young.

Five Different Centennial Valley Red-tailed Hawks

By |July 11th, 2017|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Red-tailed Hawks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Red-tailed Hawks were my most photographed species yesterday morning in the Centennial Valley of southwestern Montana and I had fun with them.

Dabbling Duck Shuffle – Plus White Geese Become Gray Geese

By |July 8th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Cinnamon Teals, Gadwalls, Northern Shovelers, Snow Geese|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

A few more changes in the Fifty-Eighth Supplement to the AOS Check-list have to do with dabbling ducks and "white geese".

Red-naped Sapsucker in the Uinta Mountains

By |July 7th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Summit County, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This male Red-naped Sapsucker was photographed last year in the high Uintas, a mountain range that is east of Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Mountains I can see from where I live.

Eight-spotted Skimmer & Variegated Meadowhawk

By |July 6th, 2017|Categories: Box Elder County, Dragonflies, Eight-spotted Skimmers, Utah, Variegated Meadowhawk|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I enjoyed photographing the Eight-spotted Skimmer and Variegated Meadowhawk while also taking photos of Red-tailed Hawk juvenile.

Photographing A Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk – Remembering To Breathe And Relax

By |July 5th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I needed time out with the birds yesterday and this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk helped me to relax, breathe and remember that things have a way of working out.

No Willet Split Plus Other Nerdy Bird News

By |July 2nd, 2017|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Northern Harriers, Northern Shrikes, Pinellas County, Utah, Willets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Just because Willets weren't split this year doesn't mean they won't be split in the future, who knows what changes will be made a year from now.

Red-tailed Hawk Fledglings And Some Sad News

By |July 1st, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I spotted two of the other Red-tailed Hawk chicks that I have been following since early spring and was delighted that they have now fledged and have both learned to fly.

Juvenile Eastern and Western Kingbirds – Their Ranges Overlap Here in Utah

By |June 30th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Eastern Kingbirds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Western Kingbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

The ranges for these two species of kingbirds overlap here in northern Utah but I see more of the Western Kingbirds than I do the Eastern Kingbirds.

Prickly Poppies, Bees and a Grasshopper

By |June 29th, 2017|Categories: Flatbud Prickly Poppy, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wildflowers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Each Prickly Poppy flower is about 3 to 5 inches across with yellow centers of clustered stamens and delicate petals that look like white crepe paper.

Mountain Bluebirds with Juveniles in Summit County

By |June 28th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Mountain Bluebirds, Summit County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The young Mountain Bluebird turned and snatched the cricket from the male quickly before any of its siblings could reach the branches.

Perched Gray Flycatcher Eating A Damselfly

By |June 27th, 2017|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Gray Flycatchers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As I watched the Gray Flycatcher it flew towards me, snatched a damselfly from mid air then landed on a dead branch not too far away and proceeded to eat it while I photographed the bird.

Buck Pronghorn Close Up On Antelope Island – Worth the Gnat Bites?

By |June 22nd, 2017|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Pronghorn, Utah, Wildlife|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

My best photos of the day were of a buck Pronghorn that was very close to the dirt road I was on, he was so close I had trouble keeping all of his head in the frame.

Approaching Chicks Too Close – When Something Should be Said or Done

By |June 20th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Glacier County, Great Horned Owls, Montana, Nesting Birds, Wildlife Ethics|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I know that what this person did was not right and the 8 moderators of that group should have said something but in 15 days they haven't said a word about them being too close to the owl chick.

Female Red-naped Sapsucker With a Bill Full of Ants

By |June 18th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Summit County, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Maybe next year I'll have better opportunities with these Red-naped Sapsuckers and maybe they will chose to place their new nesting cavity in a location that is easier to photograph.

Short-eared Owl – Comparing Early to Mid Morning Light On My Subject

By |June 17th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Short-eared Owls, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While this final image shows a beautiful Short-eared Owl, nice sharpness and details when I compare it to the first photo it just isn't as visually appealing to me as the first photo which was taken in softer light.

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