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
Autumn Turkey Vulture Portraits – Why I Held My Breath While Taking These Photos
These autumn Turkey Vulture portraits are among the most difficult images I have ever taken because I was holding my breath and retching while I took them due to the awful odor of a road-killed skunk below the bird.
My Two Most Recent Moose Sightings And My Frustrations While Photographing Them
I have often written that bird photography isn't easy and that it can be frustrating, wildlife photography can be much the same and my two recent sightings of Moose in the Wasatch Mountains can prove my point easily.
Male Wilson’s Warbler On Fragrant Sumac
Last month I spotted a male Wilson's Warbler perched on the top of a Fragrant Sumac bush in northern Utah and he stood out well because he was out in the open for a few seconds.
American Pipits and Fall Migration
American Pipits aren't flashy birds, in fact some people might think they are rather plain or dull colored. I am always happy to have them in my viewfinder and to hear their flight calls in the breeze.
Ring-billed Gulls – I Like Photographing Them Year Round In Northern Utah
I like gulls, I like the way they look, I like the way they fly, I like the way they try to steal food from each other and other birds, I like the challenges of photographing them and I really like how scrappy they are.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Photographed in Golden Light
The same morning that I photographed the Sage Thrasher with the berry in mid air I was also able to take a series of images of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the sweet golden light just after dawn.
Sage Thrasher With Fragrant Sumac Berry In Mid Air In Dawn’s Golden Light
The Sage Thrasher seemed like it was bathed in golden light when suddenly I saw that it had a sumac berry which it tossed it into the air and proceeded to swallow it whole.
Nonbreeding Chipping Sparrow on a Wild Rose
I photographed this nonbreeding Chipping Sparrow the last week of September as it perched briefly on a wild rose, I love the pop of color the rose hips provided.
Gunnison Island Pelicans Are On The Move – Help Out By Reporting Wing Tagged American White Pelicans
Bird photographers, birders, nature watchers and citizen scientists can help out by reporting all banded birds including our Gunnison Island American White Pelicans.
Snowy Egret Landing Sequence Plus Two Bonus Photos
Four days ago I was able to photograph a Snowy Egret landing sequence that I liked because of the action of the bird, the setting and the lovely lighting I had at the time.
Plumbeous Vireos in the Wasatch Mountains
I've shared photographs of Warbling Vireos here before but this is the first time that I am sharing photos of Plumbeous Vireos, these images were taken earlier this month in the Wasatch Mountains.
Immature Cedar Waxwing in the Wasatch Mountains
I've been trying for over a month to get decent images of fledgling and juvenile Cedar Waxwings and hadn't succeeded but yesterday I was able to take a photograph of an immature waxwing that I actually like.
Female or Immature Dark-eyed Junco – Oreganus Group
Three days ago I was able to photograph a female or immature Dark-eyed Junco of the Oreganus Group when it flew in and landed not too far away from me and I have to admit that seeing it excited me because I enjoy these birds so much.
Snowy Egrets in Flight On A September Morning
It has been a while since I photographed Snowy Egrets so having them in my viewfinder yesterday morning was a real treat especially since they will be migrating soon and I will go the winter without seeing them.
Fall Vesper Sparrow Perched On A Wild Rose Bush
Yesterday I saw a single Vesper Sparrow which came in and perched out in the open on a lovely Wild Rose that was full of rose hips in nice light. What is not to like about that?
Lincoln’s Sparrow on Fragrant Sumac in Early Morning Light
Right now Lincoln's Sparrows are moving to lower elevations and migrating south so I see more of them during the fall and early winter than any other time of the year here in Utah.
Sage Thrashers, Northern Mockingbird, White-crowned Sparrow and Wild Rose Hips
The birds I photographed on the wild rose bushes were adult and immature Sage Thrashers, an adult White-crowned Sparrow and one beautiful Northern Mockingbird.
Autumn Yellow-rumped Warblers Are On the Move
I've been spotting more and more Yellow-rumped Warblers over the past 10 to 14 days and I am excited because I have been expecting them to start showing up in my viewfinder.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – Just A Tiny Bird On A Stick Photo
This Ruby-crowned Kinglet had been actively foraging in a tamarisk when suddenly it flew to this bare stick and perched out in the open for a few seconds.
Black-capped Chickadee Plus the Colors of Autumn
Typically I would prefer that all of the body of this Black-capped Chickadee was free of the out of focus elements in front of it but visually the abstract jumble of Autumn colored leaves stimulates my eyes and my brain.
Northern Yellow Warbler With An Injured Eye
I admit that it bothered me deeply that there was nothing that I could do for this Northern Yellow Warbler as it has for the other injured birds I have seen throughout the years that I couldn't help.
Focusing on Ruby-crowned Kinglets in the Wasatch Mountains
Yesterday morning I spent time focused on photographing Ruby-crowned Kinglets in a Wasatch Mountain Canyon in a thicket of hawthorn and chokecherry trees.
Winter Canada Geese – Longing For Cooler, Smoke and Wildfire Free Days
I've spent a lifetime appreciating these large geese and when I have lived in locations where Canada Geese weren't present I have missed hearing them calling overhead or seeing them floating by on the water.
Cutest Bee Flies in the World on Rabbitbrush & Curlycup Gumweed
I photographed some of the cutest, fuzzy Bee Flies in the world this week nectaring on Rabbitbrush and Curlycup Gumweed in the Stansbury Mountains of the West Desert.
Molting Juvenile Spotted Towhee
This time of the year male and female Spotted Towhees have finished raising their broods and their young are learning how to be on their own but they do look a touch ragged as they molt into their adult plumage.
Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay Portrait in the Stansbury Mountains
It isn't often that I am able to get close enough to a Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay that my only option is to take closeup portraits of them yet that is precisely what happened to me two days ago.
Let’s Talk Turkey About Wild Turkeys In A West Desert Canyon
I photographed a small flock of Wild Turkeys yesterday in the West Desert of Utah, specifically in a canyon of the Stansbury Mountains. I just never know when turkeys will show up and I am glad they did yesterday because I didn't photograph many other birds.
Roadside Green-tailed Towhee Photos
Two days ago I was able to photograph a Green-tailed Towhee foraging next to a gravel road up in a Wasatch Mountain Canyon, getting these birds out in the open can be a challenge so I was excited that this towhee was in the clear.
Juvenile Osprey with a Tiger Trout in the Wasatch Mountains
Yesterday the "unexpected" bird was a juvenile Osprey in the Wasatch Mountains. I'd say it was unexpected because I'd been photographing songbirds and wasn't expecting to see North America's "Fish Hawk" in the same area.
Male House Finch In A High Mountain Canyon
I see, but don't often photograph House Finches at home, I get most excited about them away from human civilization and in their natural habitats.