My Story Timeline
I write about the true stories behind my images and share them on my site. One day, I might write about birds; the next, about an insect; and the following day, I might focus on a specific location. Each of these stories revolves around nature, my connection to it, or my concerns about preserving our natural world. This journal primarily serves as a collection of factual accounts from my journeys in the field.
While my primary passion is for birds, since everything in nature is interconnected, I photograph everything and write about it all. My life has always been intertwined with nature, and I hope it always will be.
Best wishes,
Mia
Lark Sparrow
This is the closest I have been to a Lark Sparrow to date and this was a very cooperative bird too!
Black-necked Stilts
Black-necked Stilts have returned from their wintering grounds to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and other locations in Utah. Black-necked Stilts are black and white shorebirds with long pink to reddish legs, thin black bills and lovely red eyes.
Shades of Blue – Friday Photos
Just a simple image of a Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) today. I photographed this Egret as it stalked along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico in Florida.
Western Meadowlark – Up Close And Personal
During the spring Western Meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta) can be easy to locate and then approach because they spend so much time singing from the tops of boulders, bushes, posts and other manmade objects.
Whoops – American Coot On Thin Ice
Some images are simply too funny not to share. Even with those huge feet this American Coot (Fulica americana) couldn't stay in top of the ice at a pond near where I live in Salt Lake County, Utah.
Virga
Once again the weather forecasters blew it. Their predictions were wrong. They missed the boat. If weather predictions were a dice game... they crapped out.
Reddish Egret Being Shadowed by Laughing Gulls
There were two Reddish Egrets (Egretta rufescens) on the north beach of Fort De Soto that day and it was a blast to watch them race around catching the small fish.
Black-bellied Plover – Composition is a Matter of Personal Taste
As much as I like to compose images that are full frame I find that I often allow myself a touch of extra space around my subject so I can recompose in post processing by making different crops.
American White Pelicans of the Great Basin
During the winter months I miss seeing large flocks of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) soaring in the thermals, in the past few weeks I have been delighted to see them again.
Yellow-headed Blackbird and a Midge
Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) can perch on cattails, reeds, rushes or mounds of vegetation and snatch Midges right out of the air.
Female Greater Sage-Grouse
I photographed this female Greater Sage-Grouse while up in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah.
Mating Killdeer – Thanks To A Coyote And My Keen Eyes
Last week I wrote about Long-billed Curlews having a Territorial Encounter but earlier that same morning I had another wonderful photographic encounter thanks to a scruffy looking, rain soaked Coyote waking up at the top of a ridge.
Weird things I see while out photographing birds
It is really odd to see a plane on the road to the campsite when you are way out in the boonies and there isn't an airport in sight for miles.
Short-billed Dowitcher
Short-billed Dowitchers feed on insects, crustaceans and aquatic mollusks. Quite often when I lived in Florida I would see them feeding on Coquinas which are small bivalves or tiny Fiddler Crabs.
Swainson’s Hawk (FOY)
Last week while searching for Golden Eagles to photograph in Box Elder County, Utah I spotted two Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) adults; my first of the year sightings, the first one perched on a power pole.
Long-billed Curlews – A Territorial Encounter
Yesterday on Antelope Island State Park I witnessed and photographed a territorial encounter between two Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) males that occurred while a female was nearby.
American Oystercatcher – Friday Photos
These two photos are of the same adult American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) in sequential order taken at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida. I was laying in the sand while I created the images to get a low angle and the bird was on a ridge elevated slightly higher than my location.
Springtime California Gull Portrait
Yesterday while I was out photographing Long-billed Curlews this California Gull (Larus californicus) flew in so close that all I could do was take portraits of the bird.
Hunting Snowy Egret
I love the challenge of photographing white birds and getting the exposures right, I like to nail it. Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) are great birds to practice getting exposures of the whites set correctly.
Clark’s Grebes Nest at Bear River MBR
It won't be long before the high, scratchy kweea kweea calls of Clark's Grebes are heard in Utah's Bear River National Wildlife Refuge if they haven't already arrived.
Adult Brown Pelican In Flight
Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) were common year round along the Gulf coast when I lived in Florida. I would see them floating in the water, resting on sandbars and beaches, diving for prey and in flight.
Forster’s Terns
When I moved from Florida to Utah I felt it was fortunate that some of the nonbreeding birds I used to see in Florida during the winter I now get to see in breeding plumage on their nesting grounds.
One Fearless Sage Thrasher
This past week I have seen a few Sage Thrashers on Antelope Island State Park and although none of them were close enough to photograph I know it won't be long before I will be able to create new images of them.
Burrowing Owls – Friday Photos
I've selected a few Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) images taken a few years ago to post today.
American Bison Bull Shedding
Every day that I spend in the field is always marvelous but it seems especially wonderful during the change of seasons because I feel a heightened sense of anticipation for the first of the year birds, the first spotting of wildflowers blooming or the seasonal changes that wildlife exhibits in behavior or appearance.
Willet Resting In A Spartina Marsh
The image above was taken at Fort De Soto on Florida's Gulf coast. The Willets there are habituated to people and because they are it is easier to approach them than it is here in Utah.
Long-billed Curlew Mating Display
I had a wonderful photographic opportunity yesterday seeing a Long-billed Curlew mating display on Antelope Island State Park.
Almost – Golden Eagle In Flight
Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) have thus far been a nemesis bird for me and when I spotted one yesterday I thought I might finally get the shots I have long wanted.
Great Egret Hunting in Still Waters
I've always liked the calm mood this image conveys partially because the stalking pose of the Great Egret (Ardea alba), the silky smooth surface of the water, the reflection and how the out of focus Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron give the frame a depth that wouldn't be there without them.
Loggerhead Shrike Perched On Wand Mullein
I've been seeing more and more Loggerhead Shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus) pairing up the past week or so which means it won't be long before they are on their nests.