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.

Pronghorn Are In Rut On Antelope Island SP

By |September 21st, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Pronghorn, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Early last week I thought that the Pronghorn bucks on Antelope Island State Park might be in rut, later in the week a buck's behavior confirmed that they are.

When It All Falls Into Place – Bison Bull On A Hill

By |September 18th, 2012|Categories: American Bison, Antelope Island State Park, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Three days ago things finally fell into place, a bull on a hill top, good light, eye contact and a clouds in the background.

Male Short-eared Owl in low light

By |September 16th, 2012|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Short-eared Owls|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I don't always get what I want though; for example, I wanted this male Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) I photographed at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Montana in good light.

4 Years Ago Today When Hurricane Ike Stirred Things Up At Fort De Soto

By |September 12th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Black Skimmers, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Laughing Gulls, Pinellas County, Reddish Egrets, Ring-billed Gulls, Willets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Four years ago today Hurricane Ike was out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and the waves that it generated made a strong splash at Fort De Soto County Park.

Resting Black Skimmer Juvenile – My Banner Image

By |September 11th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Black Skimmers, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Wildlife Ethics & Etiquette|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Several people have remarked on how much they like the resting Black Skimmer juvenile image that was in my rotating banner at the top of this blog so I thought I would post it to show the whole bird.

Caspian Terns

By |September 10th, 2012|Categories: Caspian Terns, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia) are North America's largest tern with a wingspan of 50 inches and weighing in at 1.4 pounds.

More Raptor Rapture – Red-tailed Hawk Juvenile

By |September 9th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

These juvenile Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) images were taken on two consecutive days last week. I'm always excited to have a bird in my view finder and when I can photograph hawks for two days in a row... I feel raptor rapture.

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk In Landing Pose

By |September 5th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I had fun yesterday photographing this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) as it perched on rocks and hunted for prey. This image shows the Red-tailed coming in for a landing.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron or Orange-eyed Day Heron?

By |September 4th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Yellow-crowned Night Herons|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Despite having "Night Heron" in their name Yellow-crowned Night Herons (Nyctanassa violacea) are not strictly denizens of the dark, they can and do stalk their prey during the daylight hours too.

Bathing Laughing Gull in breeding plumage

By |September 2nd, 2012|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Laughing Gulls, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I photographed this adult Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla) in breeding plumage while it bathed in the shallow waters of a tidal lagoon at Fort De Soto's north beach a few years ago.

Springtime Eastern Kingbird

By |August 31st, 2012|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Eastern Kingbirds, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The scientific name of Eastern Kingbirds is Tyrannus tyrannus, Tyrannus means "tyrant" and they are well named because they will harass any bird that comes near their nests including crows, ravens and much larger birds like hawks.

Savannah Sparrows in Glacier County, Montana

By |August 29th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Glacier County, Montana, Savannah Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

During my travels in Montana earlier this month I saw loads of Savannah Sparrows and although there were many in southwestern Montana I only photographed the ones on the farm in Glacier County.

Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk in Beaverhead County, Montana

By |August 28th, 2012|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Not only did I see numerous Red-tailed Hawk juveniles on my recent trip to Montana, I also saw quite a few Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) juveniles too.

White-tailed Deer doe in Glacier County, Montana

By |August 25th, 2012|Categories: Glacier County, Montana, White-tailed Deer|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

In Utah I don't often have the opportunity to see and photograph White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) because they have a very limited range here so I was thrilled to have the chance to photograph this doe close up as she fed between the gravel road and a barley field in Glacier County, Montana.

Fun With A Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk

By |August 24th, 2012|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Red-tailed Hawks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While I was away in Montana for eight days starting last week I had a fantastic time photographing this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.

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