accipiter – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Cooper’s Hawk – Nearly Hidden And In Plain Sight

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-17T04:56:08-05:00March 17th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Morgan County, Salt Lake County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter cooperii, Accipiters, autumn, branches, canyon, Cooper’s Hawk, cryptic plumage, distance, fall, fence, First Spring, hatch year, hawk, hawks, hidden, immature, Morgan County, mountains, perched, plain, raptors, resting, Salt Lake County, sight, tree, trees, urban, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, winter, wooden fence, woodlands, young|

Two days ago, while I was photographing some Rock Squirrels, I saw a beautiful immature Cooper's Hawk fly in and land in a tangle of trees near the squirrels.

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Cooper’s Hawk – My Last Bird of 2023

By Mia McPherson|2024-01-01T14:41:24-06:00January 1st, 2024|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter cooperii, Accipiters, adult, autumn, birds of prey, branches, Cooper’s Hawk, fall, hawk, hawks, male, raptors, sky, tree, urban|

As the sun was setting on the last day of 2023, the last bird I saw was a neighborhood Cooper's Hawk. I shared that sighting with my neighbor, Shane, and his son, Kadence.

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Mix Of Urban Birds Close To Home

By Mia McPherson|2023-04-10T03:34:45-05:00April 10th, 2023|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Double-crested Cormorants, Red-winged Blackbirds, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Savannah Sparrows, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Utah|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter striatus, Accipiters, adult, Agelaius phoeniceus, American Robin, Aythya americana, basketball backstop, blackbird, blackbirds, branches, cattail, close up, cormorant, cormorants, curb, Double-crested Cormorant, drake, duck, ducks, edge, habitat, hawks, immature, landing, male, Nannopterum auritus, neighborhood, park, Passerculus sandwichensis, perched, pond, portrait, raptors, Red-winged Blackbird, Redhead, redheads, robin, robins, Savannah Sparrow, Sharp-shinned Hawk, sky, small in frame, snow, sparrow, sparrows, splash, splashy, spring, stinkeye, thrush, thrushes, tree, Turdus migratorius, urban, water, waterbirds, waterfowl, young|

This mix of urban birds were taken over a two day period close to home. Birds, no matter where they are, bring me joy, happiness, and even laughter.

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I Spy With My Little Eye Something Beginning With C…

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-16T13:38:15-05:00August 21st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter cooperii, Accipiters, aspen, aspens, birds of prey, canyon, Cooper’s Hawk, forest, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, I Spy, immature, juvenile, mountains, Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen, raptors, young|

Do you remember playing I Spy when you were a child? I do.

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Urban Raptor Photography

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-16T11:30:01-05:00January 17th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter cooperii, Accipiters, adult, 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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I Am Never NOT Looking For Birds

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-16T13:31:50-05:00October 24th, 2020|Categories: American Crows, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Morgan County, Salt Lake County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter cooperii, Accipiters, American Crow, 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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Focusing On Taking Immature Cooper’s Hawk Photos

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-16T13:22:23-05:00September 7th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Cooper’s Hawks, Utah|Tags: accipiter, Accipiters, birds of prey, blooming, Cooper’s Hawk, defecating, desert, early morning light, gate, hawk, hawks, immature, morning, poop, pooping, railing, ranch, raptors, smoky, sunflowers, wild Sunflowers, wildflowers, young|

The first bird I photographed yesterday morning was an immature Cooper's Hawk that I found because I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk on a cliff face that the young accipiter decided to harass.

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Cooper’s Hawk Takes Flight in Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-16T12:22:03-05:00March 12th, 2017|Categories: Box Elder County, Cooper’s Hawks, Utah|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter cooperii, Accipiters, adult, birds of prey, boulder, Cooper’s Hawk, desert, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lichen, perched, raptors|

The Cooper's Hawk took flight without much warning at all and for a second I lost it while tracking the hawk but regained focus as it flew south past me.

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