Davis County – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Snowy Egret With The Strangest Shadows I Have Ever Seen – How Does This Even Happen?

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-01T05:12:01-05:00October 1st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, bank, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, enclosed, fall, inside, legs, light, marsh, morning light, odd, projected, reflection, reflections, secondary shadow, shadow, shadows, Snowy Egret, strange, strangest, wading birds, water, weird, wetlands|

Yesterday morning I took a series of photos of a Snowy Egret at Farmington Bay WMA with the strangest shadows I have ever seen.

8

Young Pied-billed Grebe In Juvenal Plumage Compared To Adult Plumage Phases

By Mia McPherson|2021-09-26T06:10:07-05:00September 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Pied-billed Grebes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, breeding plumage, calling, cutest, Definitive Alternate Plumage, Definitive Basic Plumage, fall, grebe, grebes, immature, juvenal plumage, juvenile, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, pond, urban, water, wetlands, winter, young|

About a week ago I photographed a young Pied-billed Grebe that was still in juvenal plumage on a pond at Farmington Bay WMA.

3

Snowy Egret Blues

By Mia McPherson|2021-09-24T05:26:55-05:00September 24th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, blue, blue water, calling, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, light, marsh, morning, preening, shoreline, Snowy Egret, summer, wading birds, water, wetlands|

I liked these Snowy Egret photos because of the contrast of the bird's stark white plumage against the deep blue of the sky reflected on the water.

8

Late Summer Barn Swallow Images

By Mia McPherson|2021-09-23T05:04:15-05:00September 23rd, 2021|Categories: Barn Swallows, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, marsh, perched, phragmites, phrags, summer, swallow, swallows, water, wetlands|

When I took these Barn Swallow images earlier this week I wondered if the swallows I was photographing would be my last images of them this year.

4

Migrating Greater Yellowlegs

By Mia McPherson|2021-09-21T03:55:10-05:00September 21st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Greater Yellowlegs, Utah|Tags: bill, Davis County, ditch, droplet, fall migration, Farmington Bay WMA, Greater Yellowlegs, marsh, migration, reflections, shorebirds, summer, Tringa melanoleuca, Utah, wary, water, water droplet, wetlands, yellowlegs|

Greater Yellowlegs migrate starting in the summer until late in the fall and return early in the spring. I will be seeing them until about December here in Utah.

5

Ring-billed Gull Perched On A Wooden Pole

By Mia McPherson|2021-09-20T05:11:36-05:00September 20th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, clouds, curious, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, perched, Ring-billed Gull, sky, summer, wetlands, wooden pole|

When I saw this Ring-billed Gull perched on a wooden pole at Farmington Bay WMA last week I knew I wanted to have it in my viewfinder.

3

Franklin’s Gull Flying In A Smoky Sky

By Mia McPherson|2021-09-18T04:43:24-05:00September 18th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Franklin's Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, clouds, flight, flying, Franklin's Gull, gull, gulls, Leucophaeus pipixcan, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, perched, pink breast, pink cast, sky, smoky sky, summer, wetlands|

I have a soft spot for gulls so when I had the opportunity two days ago to photograph this Franklin's Gull flying in a smoky sky I was both excited and thrilled.

4

Snowy Egret Photos – Farmington Bay Opening Day

By Mia McPherson|2021-09-17T08:40:38-05:00September 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, behavior, chasing, Covid, dashing, defensive, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, fight, fighting, flight, flying, hair style, head on, landing, lift off, lifting off, marsh, Snowy Egret, summer, take off, taking off, tip toe, tiptoe, wading birds, water, wetlands, wing tip, wingtip, wooden pole|

Yesterday was kind of an opening day at Farmington Bay and the Snowy Egret show was the highlight of the day.

11

Was the Killing Of Bob The Sandhill Crane Really Necessary?

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-05T05:12:53-06:00September 5th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Beaverhead County, Birds, Box Elder County, Centennial Valley, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Montana, Sandhill Cranes, Utah, Wayne County|Tags: adult, Antigone canadensis, behavior, breeding display, clouds, courtship behavior, courtship display, crane, cranes, displaying, field, flight, flying, killed, killing, marsh, mated pair, mountains, pair, Sandhill Crane, spring, storrm, summer, Utah DWR, wetlands|

One of the other things that made me upset with Bob the Sandhill Crane being killed is that this could have been prevented.

23

Rufous Hummingbird For National Hummingbird Day

By Mia McPherson|2021-09-04T06:03:59-05:00September 4th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Rufous Hummingbirds, Utah|Tags: bee plant, blooming, Cleomella serrulata, desert island, fall migration, female/immature, flight, flowering, flying, hovering, hummingbird, hummingbirds, low light, migration, native, pink wildflowers, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, smoky, summer, wildflowers|

Today is National Hummingbird Day and I am celebrating by sharing some Rufous Hummingbird photos I took earlier this week on Antelope Island.

6

Late Summer White-lined Sphinx Moth Images

By Mia McPherson|2021-09-02T05:54:58-05:00September 2nd, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah, White-lined Sphinx Moths|Tags: adult, back view, Cleomella serrulata, covered, desert island, feeding, flight, flying, hovering, Hyles lineata, legs, moth, moths, native, nectaring, pink wildflowers, pollen, pollinators, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, summer, White-lined Sphinx Moth, wildflowers, xeriscaping|

Of the hundreds of White-lined Sphinx moth photos I took two days ago I picked three to share today of the moth feeding on Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.

7

Rufous Hummingbird Plus Smoky Rising Sun Photos

By Mia McPherson|2021-09-01T06:53:07-05:00September 1st, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Low light, Rufous Hummingbirds, Utah, western skies|Tags: 7:40 am, bloom, blooming, Cleomella serrulata, desert island, eating, fall migration, feeding, flight, flying, haze, hovering, hummingbird, hummingbirds, immature/female, low light, morning, nectaring, pink wildflowers, rising, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, smoke, smoky, smoky haze, summer, sun, tail flare, wildfires, wildflowers|

Yesterday I went out to Antelope Island for the first time since April and I took hundreds of Rufous Hummingbird photos plus some of the rising sun.

5

Our Sage Thrashers Will Migrate Soon

By Mia McPherson|2021-09-17T09:13:58-05:00August 30th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Sage Thrashers, Utah|Tags: adult, back view, branch, chick, Davis County, desert, desert island, early morning light, fledgling, immature, juvenile, mimids, Oreoscoptes montanus, perched, rabbitbrush, rock, Sage Thrasher, seep, spring, summer, thrasher, thrashers, Utah, young|

Sage Thrashers are only in Utah for their breeding season and by now all their chicks have fledged and are feeding on their own.

6

Franklin’s Gull Feasting On Brine Flies Plus News About The Great Salt Lake

By Mia McPherson|2021-08-22T06:05:28-05:00July 25th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Franklin's Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, brine flies, chasing, conservation, drying, dying, eating, Ephydra cinerea, Ephydra hians, feasting, flies, foraging, Franklin's Gull, Great Salt Lake, gull, gulls, hatch year, hypersaline, hypersaline lake, immature, juvenile, lake, Leucophaeus pipixcan, rocks, scooping, shore, shoreline, summer, walking, water, water levels, young|

While Franklin's Gulls are in northern Utah for their breeding season brine flies are an important food source for the adults and their young and are a part of their breeding success here in the Great Basin.

6

Antelope Island Spider Fest 2021

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-11T10:06:02-05:00July 11th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah, Western Spotted Orbweaver|Tags: 2021, adult, desert island, female, Neoscona oaxacensis, orbweaver, orbweavers, spider, Spider Fest, Spider Festival, spider web, spiders, summer, Western Spotted Orbweaver|

The Antelope Island Spider Fest starts on August 2, 2021 and continues through August 7, 2021 this year.

5

Twelve Years In Utah

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-10T07:30:34-05:00July 10th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Red-necked Phalaropes, Utah, Wilson's Phalaropes|Tags: adult, flight, flock, flocks, flying, Great Salt Lake, hypersaline lake, lake, migration, Murmuration, phalarope, phalaropes, Phalaropus lobatus, Phalaropus tricolor, phenomenon, Red-necked Phalaropes, shorebirds, summer, water, Wilson's Phalaropes|

Twelve years ago this morning I woke in Grand Island, Nebraska. I was a little more than 800 miles from my destination of Salt Lake City.

15

Utah Is Hot – Cooling Winter Wetland Views

By Mia McPherson|2021-06-16T05:36:02-05:00June 16th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: clouds, gulls, ice, marsh, mountains, record breaking temps, reflections, sky, snow, trees, Wasatch Mountain Range, Wasatch Mountains, water, wetlands, winter|

Utah is hot. It is scorching. Our hottest temps are yet to come and there is no relief in sight for our drought.

8

Spring Black-crowned Night Heron Butt Shot

By Mia McPherson|2022-04-29T04:28:12-05:00May 5th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, Black-crowned Night Heron, butt shot, close up, flight, flying, heron, herons, marsh, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, phragmites, phrags, portrait, reflections, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter|

Some photos just make me laugh and this spring Black-crowned Night Heron butt shot image does just that.

8

Six Years Of Daily Posts At On The Wing Photography

By Mia McPherson|2023-05-01T05:23:47-05:00May 2nd, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, East Canyon, Milestone, Morgan County, Mountain Plovers, Nashville Warblers, Utah, Vesper Sparrows, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: berries, branch, Charadrius montanus, Crataegus rivularis, fruit, hawthorn, hawthorns, Leiothlypis ruficapilla, mentoring, milestone, Mountain Plover, Nashville Warbler, plover, plovers, Poocetes gramineus, River Hawthorn, shorebirds, sparrow, sparrows, Vesper Sparrow, warbler, warblers|

Today I am celebrating six years of daily posts without missing a day here at On The Wing Photography. That is two thousand one hundred and ninety-two days of nonstop publication.

22

Spring Sage Thrasher Portrait

By Mia McPherson|2022-05-27T06:25:25-05:00April 2nd, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Sage Thrashers, Utah|Tags: adult, close up, early morning light, mimids, Oreoscoptes montanus, portrait, Sage Thrasher, spring, thrasher, thrashers|

The second bird I photographed yesterday morning on Antelope Island State Park was an adult Sage Thrasher in gorgeous early morning light.

6

Sage Thrashers – Time To Listen For Their March Melodies

By Mia McPherson|2021-03-05T05:59:58-06:00March 5th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Sage Thrashers, Utah|Tags: adult, branches, desert, mated, mimids, Oreoscoptes montanus, pair, perched, rabbitbrush, Sage Thrasher, sky, summer, thrasher, thrashers|

Sage Thrashers return to northern Utah in March and it is now time for me to start listening for their songs and melodies.

6

Goodbye February 2021

By Mia McPherson|2021-11-09T05:07:04-06:00February 28th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, Black-billed Magpie, corvid, desert island, magpie, magpies, nesting season, Pica hudsonia, puddle, spring, water|

I will not be sad to see February 2021 in the rear view mirror. It has been the second worst month for bird photography on record for me. Ever.

8

Tundra Swans On Ice At Farmington Bay WMA

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-20T10:53:17-05:00February 23rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: Cygnus columbianus, ice, landscape, marsh, morning, mountains, Oquirrh Mountains, sky, snow, snowy, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, waterfowl, winter|

I photographed Tundra Swans on the ice at Farmington Bay WMA that showed the snow covered Oquirrh Mountains in the background last week.

10

February Western Meadowlark Photos

By Mia McPherson|2024-01-30T04:24:50-06:00February 21st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Western Meadowlarks|Tags: adult, barbed wire, fence, fnce post, marsh, meadowlark, meadowlarks, metal post, perched, sing, singing, song, Sturnella neglecta, Western Meadowlark, winter|

I took a series of Western Meadowlark photos three mornings ago at Farmington Bay WMA while the sun was shining.

6

High Key Immature Red-tailed Hawk Photos

By Mia McPherson|2021-02-19T06:22:17-06:00February 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Chinese Sumac, clouds, cloudy, first winter, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, high key, immature, low light, marsh, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, tree, winter, young|

Today I am sharing two high key type images of an immature Red-tailed Hawk I photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.

7

Adult Barn Owl On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|2021-02-17T06:01:48-06:00February 17th, 2021|Categories: Barn Owls, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, Barn Owl, day, daylight, flats, flight, flying, marsh, nocturnal, on the wing, owl, owls, Tyto alba, winter|

So far this winter I have only seen one Barn Owl on the wing on the 6th of January as it flew over the marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

7

Chukar And Snow

By Mia McPherson|2021-02-11T06:16:32-06:00February 11th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Chukars, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, Alectoris chukar, changes, Chukar, chukars, deep, introduced, perched, snow, upland game birds, walking, winter|

Eight years ago today I was out in the field photographing a Chukar and snow on Antelope Island State Park.

7

It’s Isn’t Too Early To Spot An American White Pelican

By Mia McPherson|2021-02-10T06:17:50-06:00February 10th, 2021|Categories: American White Pelicans, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: American White Pelican, clouds, flight, flying, immature, marsh, on the wing, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, pelican, pelicans, sky, winter|

February isn't too early in the year to spot an American White Pelican on the wing in northern Utah. In fact I expect them to start showing up right about now.

6

Golden Eagle Flying Over A Hill On Antelope Island

By Mia McPherson|2023-11-12T09:36:18-06:00February 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.

10

Waiting For My First Of Year Sandhill Crane

By Mia McPherson|2021-03-02T04:25:24-06:00February 6th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Sandhill Cranes, Utah|Tags: adult, Antigone canadensis, crane, cranes, dawn, flats, morning, mud flats, sandhill, Sandhill Crane, sandhills, walking|

In 2020 I had my first of year Sandhill Crane sighting on February 23rd. This morning I can barely wait to see and hear Sandhill Cranes again.

7