Photographer and Author

About Mia McPherson

I am Mia McPherson. I became seriously passionate about bird photography while living in Florida. After my move West in 2009 I have spent much of my time photographing birds in Utah, Idaho, Montana, and beyond. 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.

American Bittern – Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron Comparison

By |October 21st, 2016|Categories: American Bitterns, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

To the untrained eye American Bitterns and Black-crowned Night Herons can be confused so I thought I'd visually compare the two species with other keys to aid in their identification.

Waiting For The Impending Arrival of Tundra Swans in Northern Utah

By |October 18th, 2016|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge hosts up to 13,000 Tundra Swans during November through December where they utilize the freshwater wetland habitats on the refuge.

Great Blue Heron Resting In A Canada Goose Nest At Farmington Bay WMA

By |October 15th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago when I found this Great Blue Heron resting in the goose nest I knew I had to photograph it because of the autumn colors in the background.

Migrating American Pipits in Utah – Pipits Everywhere!

By |October 14th, 2016|Categories: American Pipits, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

American Pipits are migrating through Utah in large numbers right now and yesterday morning at Farmington Bay they seemed to be everywhere!

American White Pelican In Flight Over Farmington Bay WMA – They Are Migrating

By |October 10th, 2016|Categories: American White Pelicans, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

If you would like to follow some of the American White Pelicans from Utah on migration a few of them have been fitted with solar-powered GPS transmitter backpacks and the PeliTrack map shows their locations.

Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge – Celebrating National Wildlife Refuge Week

By |October 9th, 2016|Categories: American Avocets, American Barn Owls, American White Pelicans, Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Black-necked Stilts, Box Elder County, Redheads, Rough-legged Hawks, Sandhill Cranes, Tree Swallows, Tundra Swans, Utah, Virginia Rails, Western Grebes, White-faced Ibises|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This is National Wildlife Refuge Week and in celebration I wanted to do a pictorial essay that includes some of my images of the Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

Close Up American Herring Gull In Flight With A Sea Urchin

By |October 7th, 2016|Categories: American Herring Gulls, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was able to lock on to the Herring Gull in flight with a sea urchin in its bill when it was close enough to me to fill the frame, it was almost too close at that point.

Great Egret With The Catch Of The Day That Didn’t Get Eaten

By |October 6th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Egrets, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The Great Egret struggled to swallow the large fish and even though it readjusted the fish in its bill several times it never swallowed the fish before it dropped it into the lagoon and flew off.

Northern Shoveler Drake and Hen

By |October 2nd, 2016|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Shovelers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This beautiful Northern Shoveler drake in breeding plumage was photographed in one of those no hunting areas on New Years Day 2015 at Farmington Bay.

Esther the Eaglet – Cover Photo

By |October 1st, 2016|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I like that Esther the Eaglet is written with children in mind and that it might inspire the children who read it to become rehabilitators, biologists, ornithologists, nature lovers, birders, environmentalists or even bird photographers like myself.

Red-tailed Hawk Nesting Maintenance Behavior in the Fall

By |September 27th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I enjoyed seeing the Red-tailed Hawks yesterday and observing their nesting maintenance behavior in the Fall, I don't see it very often so it makes it special to me.

Farewell To The Swainson’s Hawks – I’m Looking Forward To Rough-legged Hawks

By |September 25th, 2016|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Even though I am saying a fond farewell to the Swainson's Hawks I'm also looking forward to Rough-legged Hawks gracing my life for another season.

Juvenile Brown Pelican Portrait on the Shore of the Gulf

By |September 24th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Brown Pelicans, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It was wonderful to be close to the juvenile Brown Pelican and to be able to take portraits of it plus I also enjoyed being able to see all the fine details of its plumage, the texture of its bill and look into its dark eyes.

Elegant Forster’s Tern In Flight With A Touch Of Added Canvas

By |September 23rd, 2016|Categories: Birds, Florida, Forster's Terns, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I've always loved this image of a Forster's Tern in flight because the pose is wonderful and the tern looks elegant against the gray of a distant storm cloud.

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