Bald Eagles

Adult Bald Eagles are large bodied and have white head and tails, dark brown bodies and wings and yellow legs and bills. It takes about 5 years for Bald Eagles to develop their adult plumage.

Small in the Frame – Bald Eagle

By Mia McPherson|January 20th, 2013|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Golden Spike National Historic Site, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, Box Elder County, eagle, eagles, Golden Spike National Historic Site, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, lichen, perched, raptor, rocks, small in the frame, snow, snow covered, snowy day, Utah, winter|

Yesterday Ron, Brian Gatlin and I went to Bear River National Wildlife Refuge and the Golden Spike National Historic Site area in bad light, falling snow and lake fog looking for birds to photograph and we came up pretty much empty-handed but we did find this adult Bald Eagle perched on some snow-covered rocks going towards the Golden Spike National Historic Site Visitor Center as the snow fell.

25

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge – Christmas Day 2012

By Mia McPherson|December 26th, 2012|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, Bald Eagle, eagle, eagles, flight, Great Blue Heron, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, heron, herons, ice, landscapes, marsh, marshes, nature photography, Promontory Mountains, Promontory Point, river, snow, Utah scenery, winter|

Christmas Day of 2012 turned out to be as beautiful as I hoped at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge because of bright skies, snow on the ground, birds and the expansive views.

22

Images of Christmas Past – Happy Holidays

By Mia McPherson|December 25th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Australia, Bald Eagles, Birds, Burnie, Common Mergansers, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Miscellaneous, Northern Harriers, Roseate Spoonbills, Tasmania|Tags: Bass Straight, bird photography, birding, Burnie, Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, Davis County, fog, Gray Ghost, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Marsh hawk, Mergus merganser, nature, nature photography, Northern Harrier, Pinellas County, Platalea ajaja, sandman, snow man florida style, Tasmania, wildlife, wildlife photography|

Yesterday I took a stroll down memory lane, actually I looked for images I have taken either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day in my files but in a way that is taking a stroll down memory lane.

34

Winter’s First Snow

By Mia McPherson|October 25th, 2012|Categories: American Barn Owls, Antelope Island State Park, Bald Eagles, Birds, Coyotes, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Mallards, Prairie Falcons, Salt Lake County, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: American Barn Owl, Anas platyrhynchos, Ardea herodias, Bald Eagle, Canis latrans, Coyote, Falco mexicanus, Great Blue Heron, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Mallard, Prairie Falcons, snow, Tyto furcata, White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys|

As I write this the first snow of winter is falling outside my living room window. For the past week I have seen the snow on the mountain tops and I had been looking forward to seeing the snow covering the Salt Lake Valley.

26

Birds, Beasts and Bits About Me – My 500th Blog Post

By Mia McPherson|October 4th, 2012|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Burrowing Owls, Coyotes, Dunlins, Florida, Laughing Gulls, Little Blue Herons, Loggerhead Shrikes, Pronghorn, Reddish Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Sanderlings, Utah|Tags: bird photography, bird watching, birding, Coyote, Dunlin, Florida, Laughing Gull, Little Blue Heron, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Harrier, Pronghorn, Pronghorn Antelope, Red-winged Blackbird, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, Sanderling, white morph|

Wow, this is my 500th blog post and it has been great fun to share my images and the stories behind them. I thought I'd share a few images and bits about my thoughts on photography.

66

Bald Eagle Close Up – 4 Year Old

By Mia McPherson|May 21st, 2012|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: 4 year old bald eagle, Bald Eagle, close up, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature, landing, marsh, pole, sky, subadult, wetlands, winter, young|

A few years ago I had some wonderful photo ops with this 4-year-old Bald Eagle at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area

20

Bald Eagles In Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|March 26th, 2012|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, eagle, eagles, fish, flight, flying, four year old, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, landing, marsh, prey, raptors, sky, sub-adult, subadult, wetlands, winter|

Normally during the month of February Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area has hundreds of Bald Eagles within its boundaries but that was not the case in February 2012.

14

The Bald Eagles are Returning to the Valley

By Mia McPherson|December 19th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Portraits, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, close up, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, four year old, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, over wintering, perched, portrait, raptors, Salt Lake Valley, sky|

During the summer months I don't often see Bald Eagles unless I go up into the high country or travel north of Utah to Idaho, Wyoming or Montana but in the Salt Lake Valley many Bald Eagles come in to spend the winter.

10

High Key Fun

By Mia McPherson|December 14th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Mallards, Rough-legged Hawks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Anas platyrhynchos, Bald Eagle, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, ducks, female, flight, flying, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, hen, high key, immature, lift off, low light, Mallard, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, snow, snowy, winter|

It seems that people either love high key images or they hate them. Personally; I believe that when a high key image is done well that they can be very appealing and have a place for them in my portfolio.

7

Iowa Bald Eagle Nest Cam

By Mia McPherson|March 16th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: Bald Eagle, bird photography, Decorah, eagle, Eagle nest cam, eagles, eggs, flight, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Iowa, nest, nesting behavior, sky|

Yesterday a friend of mine sent me a link to an Eagle nest cam in Decorah, Iowa that I have been having fun watching so I thought I'd share it.

21

An Amazing Encounter…Or Two With A Young Bald Eagle

By Mia McPherson|February 17th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: Bald Eagle, bird photography, birds of prey, close up, eagle, eagles, fence, fence rail, flight, flying, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature, juvenile, juveniles, marsh, mountains, one year old, perched, portrait, raptors, snow, winter, yearling, young|

I've found Bald Eagles difficult to approach most of the time which is why a long lens is often needed. But not this one year old bald eagle.

4

Bald Eagles – Age Progression From One To Five Years Old

By Mia McPherson|February 16th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: 80 inch wingspan, adult, age progression, aging, aging bald eagles, Bald Eagle, bald eagle age progression, bill, bird ID, development, eagles, first year, fourth year, growth, growth stages, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, plumage, plumage phase, second year, third year, under wing|

A simple guide to aging Bald Eagles by their plumage development, legs and their bills with images showing the age progression.

21

The Importance of Honest Self Critique in Bird Photography

By Mia McPherson|January 24th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Critique Forums, Self critique, Utah|Tags: Bald Eagle, birds of prey, close up, critique, eagle, eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, marsh, nature critique forums, portrait, raptors, self critique, Utah, winter|

I've enjoyed photography for a long time but for quite awhile I didn't understand the value or importance of honest self critique.

3

Bald Eagle – Second Year

By Mia McPherson|January 6th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: Bald Eagle, Davis County, eagle, eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, ice, marsh, raptors, seond year bald eagle, wetlands, winter|

This is a second year Bald Eagle, and while the adult birds are probably the most photographed, I enjoy photographing all ages & phases of plumage of bald eagles.

Comments Off

Bald Eagle and Depth of Field

By Mia McPherson|December 30th, 2010|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Utah|Tags: adult, aperture, background, Bald Eagle, bird photography, birds of prey, bokeh, depth of field, eagle, eagles, f-stop, foreground, grasses, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, ice, leaning, lens, marsh, mountains, perched, raptors, settings, vegetation, wetlands, winter, wooden post|

I believe these two eagle pictures illustrate what changes the depth of field settings can have on the appearance of an image.

2

Low Light Bird Images

By Mia McPherson|August 28th, 2010|Categories: American Kestrels, Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Low light, Utah|Tags: Bald Eagle, bird photography, birds of prey, eagles, Falco sparverius, falcons, fog, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hoar frost, low light, mood, photos, pictures, raptors|

What I appreciate a great deal about my avian photography is working with the light, not fighting it in the camera or in post processing, so I am presenting these images below as what they are, photos taken in low light.

1