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 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.

Short-eared Owls photographed in fog and evening light

By |January 20th, 2014|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Glacier County, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Short-eared Owls|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Both images are appealing to me because I enjoy the foggy softness of the female Short-eared Owl image and the warm, golden tones of the male Short-eared Owl photo.

Snow Birds – Rough-legged Hawks

By |January 17th, 2014|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

But for me the "Snow Birds" I have grown to love here in Utah are Rough-legged Hawks who only visit in the winter and spend the rest of their lives breeding in high subarctic and Arctic regions.

Ring-billed Gull – Light on Dark

By |January 16th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Ring-billed Gulls|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

The day I photographed this Ring-billed Gull at Fort De Soto's north beach there were baitfish in the hundreds of thousands running just off shore and pelicans, egrets, terns and gulls were all in a feeding frenzy.

Red-shouldered Hawk In Flight

By |January 14th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Red-shouldered Hawks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This Red-shouldered Hawk photo was taken in Florida in November of 2008 just after the hawk lifted off from an old snag near a Great Blue Heron I had been photographing.

Resting Northern Harrier

By |January 10th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Farmington Bay Waterfowl Area used to be my "go to" place for photographing Northern Harriers but this winter they are hard to find.

Male American Kestrel Resting Near The Shore Of The Great Salt Lake

By |January 9th, 2014|Categories: American Kestrels, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was going to do a post about a Bald Eagle this morning but at the last minute had a change of mind and decided to work up this male American Kestrel that I photographed resting near the shore of the Great Salt Lake.

Chukar On A Bright Winter Day

By |January 7th, 2014|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Chukars, Davis County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The weather forecast for today isn't as bright as it was on the day last January when I photographed this Chukar walking across a field of fresh snow instead the forecast for today is rather dreary.

Eye Level With A Northern Harrier

By |January 6th, 2014|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Even though I have been a bird photographer for some time now I still get a thrill when I am eye level with a bird of prey because it feels as if I am more strongly connected to the raptor when they fly in close at eye level.

Great Blue Heron’s Gift

By |January 5th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

In January in Florida the Great Blue Herons are already going into breeding plumage and have begun courtship displays and have started building their nests.

Red-tailed Hawk Juvenile In Low Light Conditions

By |January 4th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

In the winter I shoot a lot in fog, smog and low light conditions here in northern Utah but if you follow my blog you probably already know that and have heard me mention it a time or two (or four or a hundred).

Ring-necked Pheasants ~ A Splash Of Color In A Field Of White

By |January 2nd, 2014|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-necked Pheasants, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Male Ring-necked Pheasants add a vivid splash of color against a field of white at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, I photographed this male a few days ago as it foraged in the snow.

Seeing The Tail End…

By |December 31st, 2013|Categories: American Barn Owls, Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Ring-necked Pheasants, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Turkey Vultures, Utah, Western Grebes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Seeing the tail end... of 2013 on this last day of December.

Song Sparrow Foraging On A Cold Winter Morning

By |December 30th, 2013|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Song Sparrows, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While photographing Barn Owls last January I caught a small movement out of the corner of my eye and noticed a Song Sparrow foraging for seeds on the snow covered ground.

Short-eared Owl in Glacier County, Montana

By |December 29th, 2013|Categories: Birds, Glacier County, Montana, Short-eared Owls|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two years ago I photographed this male Short-eared Owl in Glacier County, Montana on a fence post on the perimeter of some CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) land on an August evening.

Rough-legged Hawk lifting off

By |December 27th, 2013|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Rough-legged Hawks are among my favorites of the raptors that over winter in the Salt Lake Valley of Utah because I only see them at this time of the year while they wait to head back to the subarctic and Arctic to breed.

Barn Owl Blur

By |December 26th, 2013|Categories: American Barn Owls, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last week I did a post on the many nicknames used for Barn Owls and among them was "Ghost Owl" and for some reason when I first looked at this frame I thought the blurred wings did make it look "ghostly".

One Gray Ghost A Leaping

By |December 23rd, 2013|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I couldn't find Ten Lords a Leaping to photograph or in my archives but did locate one Gray Ghost a Leaping which tops the Lords for this bird photographer.

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