Arkansas River – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Young White-crowned Sparrow And A November Sunrise

By Mia McPherson|November 13th, 2025|Categories: Birds, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: Arkansas River, autumn, bottomland hardwood forest, bottomlands, clouds, fall, immature, looking, perched, river bottoms, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, sky, sparrow, sparrows, sun rise, sunrise, trees, up, vine, White-crowned Sparrow, young, Zonotrichia leucophrys, Zonotrichia leucophrys nigrilora|

Today I am sharing White-crowned Sparrow photos, plus a bonus Arkansas River sunrise image taken yesterday at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

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Spring Spotted Sandpiper In Breeding Plumage

By Mia McPherson|July 18th, 2025|Categories: Birds, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Spotted Sandpipers|Tags: Actitis macularia, adult, Arkansas River, bottomlands, breeding plumage, fluffed up, fluffy, grasses, sandpiper, sandpipers, shorebirds, shoreline, Spotted Sandpiper, spring, water|

Back in May I was delighted to photograph this fluffed-up Spotted Sandpiper in breeding plumage while I was near the water at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.

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Ouachita Map Turtle On The Arkansas River

By Mia McPherson|June 19th, 2025|Categories: Oklahoma, Ouachita Map Turtle, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: Arkansas River, Graptemys ouachitensis, Ouachita Map Turtle, reptiles, spring, stump, turtle, turtles, water|

It was two years ago today when I photographed what I believe is a Ouachita Map Turtle on the Arkansas River at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.

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Gray Treefrog Photo And Audio Recording

By Mia McPherson|May 10th, 2025|Categories: Gray Treefrogs, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: adult, amphibians, Arkansas River, audio, bottomlands, clinging, frog, frogs, Gray Treefrog, Gray Treefrog Species Complex, green, Hyla versicolor, leaf, recording, river, summer, treefrog, treefrogs|

I wanted to share a brief Gray Treefrog audio recording I made last month. I finally got around to editing the clip yesterday.

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Surfing Spotted Sandpipers On The Arkansas River

By Mia McPherson|May 7th, 2025|Categories: Birds, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Spotted Sandpipers|Tags: Actitis macularia, adult, Arkansas River, detritus, floating, log, riding, river, sandpiper, sandpipers, shorebirds, Spotted Sandpiper, spring, water|

I saw something I’d never seen before, Spotted Sandpipers riding fast-moving logs down the Arkansas River while foraging! Wild and totally unexpected!

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Great Blue Heron on the Arkansas River

By Mia McPherson|April 13th, 2025|Categories: Birds, Great Blue Herons, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, Arkansas River, bottomlands, breeding plumage, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, perched, river, spring, still, stump, wading birds, water|

I'm glad I saw this adult Great Blue Heron in the Arkansas River several days ago while I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

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Smoky Sunrise At Sunnymede Trail Park

By Mia McPherson|March 13th, 2025|Categories: Arkansas, Sebastian County, Sunnymede Trail Park|Tags: Arkansas River, dawn, forest, park, silhouette, smoky, sunrise, trail, trees, urban, water, winter|

I went to a new area of Arkansas yesterday morning and explored Sunnymede Trail Park which is in Fort Smith on the banks of the Arkansas River with Steve Creek.

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Two Wintertime Views At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge

By Mia McPherson|February 18th, 2025|Categories: Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: Arkansas River, bottomland hardwood forest, bottomlands, clouds, duck, ducks, Oklahoma, reeds, Reeves Slough, scenery, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Sequoyah NWR, slough, sunrise, trees, water, waterfowl, winter|

I spent the morning at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge yesterday, and I have to say, the sunrise was simply glorious. It was pretty cold, too.

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January Journey To Sequoyah NWR

By Mia McPherson|January 28th, 2025|Categories: Great Blue Herons, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Snow Geese|Tags: adult, Anser caerulescens, Ardea herodias, Arkansas River, bottomland hardwood forests, bottomlands, calls, dawn, flock, geese, goose, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, nonbreeding plumage, river, sky, slough, Snow Geese, sounds, sunrise, vegetation, wading birds, water, winter|

My journeys to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma are always wonderful, even when I don’t take many photos or the weather isn’t all that great.

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5000 Posts Later: My Journey Through Bird and Nature Photography

By Mia McPherson|January 25th, 2025|Categories: Milestone, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: 5000 posts, Arkansas River, daily journal, dawn, ripples, river, Sequoyah NWR, sky, sunrise, water, winter|

Today marks 5,000 posts here at On The Wing Photography! My site shares my journey through bird and nature photography and my passion for everything it entails.

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Pink Hour: American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants over the Arkansas River

By Mia McPherson|November 24th, 2024|Categories: American White Pelicans, Birds, Double-crested Cormorants, Le Flore County, Oklahoma, Robert S. Kerr Lock and Dam|Tags: American White Pelican, Arkansas River, autumn, cormorant, cormorants, dawn, Double-crested Cormorant, early morning light, fall, flight, flocks, flying, Kerr Dam, Kerr Lock, Nannopterum auritus, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, pelican, pelicans, pink, pink hour, sky, small in frame|

Today, I'm sharing a photo of a small flock of American White Pelicans and a Double-crested Cormorant flying by in the gorgeous pink sky at the lock and dam.

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Pink Hour: Kerr Lock and Dam American White Pelican Photos

By Mia McPherson|November 23rd, 2024|Categories: American White Pelicans, Birds, Le Flore County, Oklahoma, Robert S. Kerr Lock and Dam|Tags: adult, American White Pelican, Arkansas River, autumn, dam, dawn, early morning, fall, Kerr Dam, Kerr Lock, lock, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, pelican, pelicans, pink hour, river, water|

Yesterday, I visited the Robert S. Kerr Lock and Dam in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, where one of the first birds I photographed was this American White Pelican.

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Relaxing Foggy Fall Morning At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge

By Mia McPherson|November 21st, 2024|Categories: Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: Arkansas River, autumn, bottomland hardwood forest, bottomlands, fall, fall colors, fog, foggy, hills, leaves, morning, road, shrouded, trees, water|

My recent trip to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma didn’t result in many bird photos, but it did gift me with some foggy scenery images.

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More New Butterflies At Sequoyah NWR!

By Mia McPherson|August 16th, 2024|Categories: Oklahoma, Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Silver-spotted Skipper Butterflies, Spicebush Swallowtail Butterflies, Viceroy Butterflies|Tags: adult, Arkansas River, Battus philenor, Bog Smartweed, bottomland hardwood forests, bottomlands, butterflies, butterfly, Epargyreus clarus, grass, grasses, insects, Johnson Grass, Limenitis archippus, nectaring, Nekemias arborea, Papilio troilus, Peppervine, Persicaria setacea, Pipevine Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly, river, riverbank, Silver-spotted Skipper, Silver-spotted Skipper butterfly, skipper, skippers, Sorghum halepense, Spicebush Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly, summer, swallowtail, swallowtails, Viceroy, Viceroy butterfly, Viceroys, white wildflowers, wildflowers|

Yesterday, when I shared the pale young Raccoon, I mentioned that I also photographed some butterflies at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. Here they are!

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Green Heron Images From Sequoyah NWR

By Mia McPherson|July 23rd, 2024|Categories: Birds, Green Herons, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: adult, Arkansas River, bottomland hardwood forests, bottomlands, branch, Butorides virescens, duckweed, foraging, Green Heron, heron, herons, lift off, mud, sky, small in frame, sub-adult, subadult, summer, take off, vines, wading birds, water|

This morning, I'm sharing three Green Heron photos plus a short video that were taken at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma earlier this month.

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2023 – That’s A Wrap

By Mia McPherson|December 31st, 2023|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Indigo Buntings|Tags: adult, American Robin, Arkansas River, bottomland hardwood forests, bottomlands, breeding plumage, bunting, checking, Indigo Bunting, male, Passerina cyanea, perched, robin, robins, singing, snow, snowy, spring, thrush, thrushes, Turdus migratorius, urban, winter|

I'm breaking from my own tradition this year and simply calling 2023 a wrap. Typically, I share photos from each month of the year and write about my journeys.

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Bald Eagle Calling At Dawn

By Mia McPherson|August 10th, 2023|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: adult, Arkansas River, Bald Eagle, bottomland hardwood forest, bottomlands, branch, calling, eagle, eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, perched, raptors, river, sky, spring|

I saw Bald Eagles every time I went to Sequoyah NWR with my friend, Steve Creek. This morning, I am sharing a photo of a Bald Eagle calling from the refuge.

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Male Indigo Bunting at Sequoyah NWR

By Mia McPherson|June 20th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Indigo Buntings, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: adult, Arkansas River, auto tour route, bottomland hardwood forests, bottomlands, breeding plumage, bunting, Indigo Bunting, male, Passerina cyanea, perched, spring|

I'm thrilled with the photos I took of a male Indigo Bunting at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma yesterday morning near the Arkansas River.

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