Hawks, Eagles, Ospreys and Vultures – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Golden Eagle Flying Over A Hill On Antelope Island

By Mia McPherson|February 9th, 2021|Categories: American Bison, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: adult, American Bison, Aquila chrysaetos, birds of prey, Bison, Bison bison, buffalo, bull, close up, clouds, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, Golden Eagle, grass, grasses, Great Salt Lake, hill, lake, male, portrait, raptors, sky, water, winter|

It has been a couple of years since I have found a Golden Eagle on Antelope Island so when I spotted an adult on a grassy hill yesterday I was excited.

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World Wetlands Day 2021

By Mia McPherson|February 2nd, 2021|Categories: American Barn Owls, American Bitterns, American Coots, Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Black-crowned Night Herons, Blue-winged Teals, Brewer's Blackbirds, Centennial Valley, Checkered White Butterflies, Cinnamon Teals, Common Mergansers, Conservation, Eight-spotted Skimmers, Environment, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Greater Scaups, Green-winged Teals, Halloween Pennants, Hooded Mergansers, Least Sandpipers, Lesser Scaups, Long-tailed Weasels, Marsh Wrens, Montana, Moose, Muskrats, Northern Harriers, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Pectoral Sandpipers, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Red-breasted Mergansers, Red-winged Blackbirds, Reddish Egrets, Redheads, Ruddy Ducks, Rusty Blackbirds, Sandhill Cranes, Scarlet Skimmers, Snowy Egrets, Spotted Sandpipers, Tricolored Herons, Trumpeter Swans, Tundra Swans, Utah, Variegated Meadowhawk, White-faced Ibises, Wildflowers, Wilson's Phalaropes, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: birds, critical, insects, plants, protection, water, wetlands, wildlife, World Wetlands Day|

February 2nd is World Wetlands Day to raise global awareness about the critical role of wetlands for people, wildlife and our planet.

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Rufous Red-tailed Hawk Female Memories

By Mia McPherson|January 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Box Elder County, buteo, Buteo jamaicensis, cliff, cliff face, desert, female, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, resting, rufous, shrub, stretch, stretching, Utah|

This morning I wanted to share a few photos of a stunning rufous Red-tailed Hawk female that I photographed over a period of a couple of years.

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Urban Raptor Photography

By Mia McPherson|January 17th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: accipiter, Accipiters, adult, Astur cooperii, Bald Eagle, bird, birds of prey, branches, breakfast, Cooper’s Hawk, eagle, eagles, eating, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, home, living room, low light, neighborhood, raptor photography, raptors, tree, urban, window, winter|

When I first moved to Utah in 2009 I never expected to be able to do urban raptor photography from my living room window.

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Photographing Winter Birds

By Mia McPherson|January 15th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Bald Eagles, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Canvasbacks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Pied-billed Grebes, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Coot, Anas platyrhynchos, Aythya americana, Aythya valisineria, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, Black-crowned Night Heron, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Canvasback, chase, close up, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, coot, coots, dabbling ducks, dicks, displaying, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, eagle, eagles, female, fight, fighting, first winter, flight, flying, food, frisky, Fulica americana, goldeneye, goldeneyes, grackle, grackles, Great-tailed Grackle, grebe, grebes, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, heron, herons, immature, male, mallards, marsh, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, pond, portrait, prey, Quiscalus mexicanus, raptors, Redhead, redheads, swimming, wading birds, water, waterfowl, weather loach, winter, young|

I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.

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My First Rough-legged Hawk of 2021

By Mia McPherson|January 8th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, East Canyon, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, male, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, winter|

Two days ago I photographed my first Rough-legged Hawk of 2021 at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Or was it two?

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First Winter Red-tailed Hawk Lift Off Photos

By Mia McPherson|January 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: bird of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, first, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, juvenile, lift off, lifting off, marsh, metal post, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, take off, taking off, Utah, winter, young|

Last month I spent twenty-eight lovely minutes photographing this first winter Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA.

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2020 Photographic Year In Review

By Mia McPherson|December 31st, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Bushtits, Common Loons, Cooper’s Hawks, Desert Tarantulas, Eastern Kingbirds, Elk, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ferruginous Hawks, Golden Eagles, Gray Catbirds, Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Green-tailed Towhees, Merlins, Mountain Bluebirds, Nashville Warblers, Northern Harriers, Northern Yellow Warblers, Pine Siskins, Red Foxes, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red-tailed Hawks, Ring-billed Gulls, Rusty Blackbirds, Short-eared Owls, Townsend's Solitaires, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, West Desert, Wild Turkeys, Wildflowers|Tags: 5.7 earthquake, blackbirds, bluebirds, catbirds, coronavirus, eagles, Elk, fox, ground squirrels, gulls, harriers, hawks, herons, hummingbirds, kingbirds, loons, Merlin, owls, rare birds, red tailed hawks, siskins, tarantula, towhees, turkeys, uncommon, wablers, year in review|

This is my 2020 photographic year in review. I'm selecting some of my favorite photos from 2020 and a few that just make me happy to see them.

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Young Female Northern Harrier In Flight

By Mia McPherson|December 29th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: Circus hudsonius, female, flight, flying, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, Marsh Hawks, Northern Harrier, Promontory Mountains, raptors, sky, young|

Last week I was able to photograph this young Northern Harrier flying over a marsh on a trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Five Bird Photos From Christmas Day 2020

By Mia McPherson|December 26th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, Ardea herodias, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Christmas Day, close up, eagle, eales, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, field, first winter, Great Blue Heron, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, heron, herons, immature, lift off, lifting off, male, marsh, mountains, perched, pole, portrait, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, take off, taking off, tree, wading birds, wooden post, young|

Much to my delight I was able to photograph some birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.

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Christmas Day Bird Photos Thru The Years

By Mia McPherson|December 25th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Golden Eagles, Long-eared Owls, Pied-billed Grebes, Pinellas County, Red-tailed Hawks, Roseate Spoonbills, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, Christmas Day, close up, Common Merganser, crayfish, eagle, eagles, first year, foggy, Golden Eagle, grebes, haek, hawks, immature, landing Bear River, Long-eared Owl, oel, owls, Pied-billed Grebe, portrait, Red-tailed Hawk, Roseate Spoonbill, snow, snow storm, snowy, spoonbill, wading birds, winter, young|

Today I wanted to share some of the Christmas Day bird photos I have taken through the years out in the field and close to home.

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First Winter Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|December 16th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: Buteo regalis, Buteos, desert, Ferruginous Hawk, first winter, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, head on, immature, light morph, mountains, perched, raptors, rocks, snow, snowy, winter, young|

Two years and one day ago I only photographed two birds on a trip out into the West Desert and this light morph Ferruginous Hawk made the trip well worth the journey out into the cold.

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Photographing Bald Eagles At Farmington Bay WMA During An Inversion

By Mia McPherson|December 10th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, air pollition, Antelope Island, Astur cooperii, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Circus hudsonius, Cooper’s Hawk, eagle, eagles, EPA, flight, flying, government, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, hawks, hazy, hazy sky, ice, inversion, inversions, marsh, Northern Harrier, on the wing, perched, polluted sky, pollution, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, tree, turning, winter|

Think carefully before you make a trip to Utah to photograph our overwintering Bald Eagles in the valley. The inversions are awful and can be life threatening.

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Focusing On A Gray Ghost – AKA Male Northern Harrier

By Mia McPherson|December 9th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, flight, flying, Gray Ghost, harrier, harriers, Hawks of Utah, hunting, male, marsh, Northern Harrier, on the wing, raptors, side view, vegetation, winter|

Today I am focusing on an adult male Northern Harrier that I had in my viewfinder for a few seconds yesterday that was on the wing over the marsh.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk Harassed By A Northern Harrier

By Mia McPherson|December 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: alert, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Circus hudsonius, defensive posture, harassed, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, metal pole, metal post, Northern Harrier, perched, phragmites, phrags, pole, post, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, wide-eyed, winter, young|

I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and spent 28 minutes photographing it including when a Northern Harrier harassed it.

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Frosty Female Northern Harrier In Flight

By Mia McPherson|December 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, female, flight, flying, frost, frosty, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, marsh, Marsh hawk, Northern Harrier, on the wing, raptors, winter|

I saw a few harriers on the wing yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA and I was able to take a few photos of a female Northern Harrier that still had frost on her nape.

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Photographing An Immature Ferruginous Hawk Hunting For Breakfast

By Mia McPherson|November 28th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, foothills, hatch year, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, hunting, immature, lifting off, light morph, mountains, prey, raptors, scanning, snow-topped, staring, taking off, wooden post, young|

Yesterday morning not long after sunrise I spent some time photographing a light morph, immature Ferruginous Hawk hunting for its breakfast.

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Focusing On Adult Male Rough-legged Hawks

By Mia McPherson|November 27th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, clouds, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, high key, male, marsh, perched, raptor, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, Russian Olive, sky, stump, tree, winter|

Ten days ago I found and photographed this adult male Rough-legged Hawk as it perched on a Russian Olive tree at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I was heading home.

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Cozy Red-tailed Hawks And Finches Galore

By Mia McPherson|November 23rd, 2020|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Box Elder County, Pine Siskins, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, American Goldfinch, autumn, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Carduelis pinus, desert, fall, female, finch, finches, Fragrant Sumac, freshwater seep, goldfinch, goldfinches, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, leafless, ledge, lichen, male, morning, nonbreeding plumage, perched, Pine Siskin, prched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, Rhus aromatica, rocky, seep, side by side, siskin, siskins, sky, Spinus tristis, sumac, Utah|

Yesterday morning the first birds I spotted and photographed was a pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks side by side on a rocky ledge in early morning light.

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Time To Keep An Eye On The Sky For Bald Eagles

By Mia McPherson|November 21st, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, banking, eagle, eagles, flat, flats, flight, flooded, flying, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, marsh, on the wing, raptors, water, winter|

I could see a Bald Eagle being chased by a gull in the sky and my heart skipped a beat because I know it is time for me to keep an eye on the sky for Bald Eagles again.

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Looking Back On Photographing A Rare Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk

By Mia McPherson|November 16th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Leucistic, Rarities, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah|Tags: adult, back lit, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, flight, flying, hawks, Hawks of Utah, leucism, leucistic, lift off, lifting off, perched, power pole, rare, Red-tailed Hawk, take off, taking off, tree|

Even though it is now four years later I still look for this striking leucistic Red-tailed Hawk in Tooele County and hope to find and photograph it again one day.

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Veterans Day 2020

By Mia McPherson|November 11th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, before sunrise, birds of prey, dawn, eagle, eagles, frozen, golden light, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, marsh, mountains, New Year, perched, raptors, winter, wooden post|

Veterans Day is always held on November 11th and is a day set aside to honor all of those who have served our country in war or peace.

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An Immature Light Morph Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|November 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, cedar post, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, foothills, gravel road, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, low, prched, raptors, sky island mountains, turning, wooden post, young|

The highlight of my morning yesterday was when I spotted an immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk perched on a cedar post in the West Desert.

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Adult Female Northern Harrier On The Wing Over Farmington Bay WMA

By Mia McPherson|November 3rd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, female, flight, fly by, flying, harrier, harriers, hawks, Hawks of Utah, marsh, Marsh Hawks, Northern Harrier, on the wing, raptors, sky|

It has been too long since I have had a Northern Harrier in my viewfinder although I'm now excited because I know that fall and winter are great seasons for me to find and photograph them.

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I Am Never NOT Looking For Birds

By Mia McPherson|October 24th, 2020|Categories: American Crows, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Morgan County, Salt Lake County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: accipiter, Accipiters, American Crow, Astur cooperii, birds of prey, canyon, close up, Cooper’s Hawk, corvid, corvids, Corvus brachyrhynchos, crow, crows, fence rail, frost, grocery store, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, ice, immature, marsh, mountains, parking lot, pine, pine tree, portrait, railing, raptors, walking, winter, wooden fence, young|

It does not matter where I am or what I am doing, I am never not looking for birds.

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On The Lookout For Rough-Legged Hawks

By Mia McPherson|October 19th, 2020|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, dive, diving, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, prey, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, winter|

I'm hoping that this week I'll be able to spot my first of the season Rough-legged Hawks and that I'll be able to get photos of them too. Fingers are crossed!

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Adult Bald Eagle At The Edge Of A Forest

By Mia McPherson|October 16th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, conifer, eagle, eagles, forest edge, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, perched, resting, roosting, small in frame|

I'm not sure why I like this Bald Eagle image as much as I do but I do know that while I am looking at it I feel calm.

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West Desert Ferruginous Hawks – Light And Dark Morphs

By Mia McPherson|October 12th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, dark morph, desert, early morning, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, first fall, foothills, grasslands, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, raptors, resting, rousing, wooden post, young|

The past couple of weeks on some of my journeys to the West Desert of Utah I have been able to have a few long distance views of Ferruginous Hawks and that has me excited.

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An Immature Red-tailed Hawk Resting In A Tree

By Mia McPherson|October 7th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, branch, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, close up, Cottonwood, fall, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, leaves, perched, portrait, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, rest, resting, tree, young|

I spent sometime at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning where my best bird of the day was an immature Red-tailed Hawk resting in a tree.

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Surprise Immature Osprey In The West Desert Of Utah

By Mia McPherson|October 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ospreys, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: desert, fence post, Fish Hawk, foothills, harvest moon, hatch year, hatch year bird, hawks, immature, moon, mountains, Osprey, ospreys, Pandion haliaetus, perched, raptors, sunrise, wooden post, young|

I don't know how many times I have said "expect the unexpected" since I began photographing birds while talking to fellow photographers.

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