branches – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Missing Snow

By Mia McPherson|2021-11-21T05:28:56-06:00November 21st, 2021|Categories: Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: branches, climate change, clouds, sky, snow, snow storm, snowstorm, snowy, tree, trees, weather|

This year all I have been able to say is that snow has fallen on the mountains. Down here in the valley the snow has been MIA.

2

Eurasian Collared-Dove Without A Collar

By Mia McPherson|2021-11-01T05:26:44-05:00November 1st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Eurasian Collared-Doves, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: autumn, branches, collar, dove, doves, Eurasian Collared-Dove, fall, first fall, immature, introduced, introduced species, leaves, marsh, nonnative, perched, sky, Streptopelia decaocto, tree, young|

I photographed this Eurasian Collared-Dove last week at Farmington Bay and noticed that it didn't have the dark collar usually seen on this species.

1

Happy Halloween From The Headless Hawk

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-31T15:10:28-05:00October 31st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, headless, Headless Horseman, immature, leaves, mythical figure, perched, preening, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, three, young|

Our eyes can play tricks on us and that is what happened with this "headless" Red-tailed Hawk that I photographed last October at Farmington Bay WMA.

7

Fall Wild Turkey Hen Foraging On Desert Ranchlands

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-19T05:47:35-05:00October 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Wild Turkeys|Tags: adult, branches, desert, female, hen, Meleagris gallopavo, ranchlands, rocks, standing, turkey, turkeys, upland game birds, Wild Turkey, wildflowers, yellow wildflowers|

The first photos I took with my newly refurbished Nikon D500 with a new shutter assembly were of this Wild Turkey hen foraging on desert ranchlands.

2

Violet-green Swallow Photos

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-27T04:56:39-05:00May 27th, 2021|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: adult, alpine forest, branch, branches, canyon, female, flight, flying, forest, guarding, male, mountains, nesting cavity, scuffling, sky, sky island mountains, spring, swallow, swallows, Tachycineta thalassina, Tooele County, tree, trees, tussling, Utah, Violet-green Swallow, west desert|

Yesterday I was able to take the Violet-green Swallow photos that I have been dreaming of since I first moved to Utah in 2009.

11

Spring Male American Goldfinch

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-26T06:15:47-05:00May 26th, 2021|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Morgan County, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, American Goldfinch, blooming, blooms, branches, breeding plumage, canyon, Common Dandelion, Dandelion, dandelions, finch, finches, male, mountains, perched, Spinus tristis, Taraxacum officinale, wildflowers, willows, yellow wildflowers|

Yesterday I photographed this male American Goldfinch and thought about how he is as bright as the dandelions that are blooming now in the mountains.

5

Spring Female Cassin’s Finch

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-21T06:23:24-05:00May 21st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Cassin's Finches, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, alpine creek, branches, canyon, Cassin's Finch, creek, creekside, female, finch, finches, Haemorhous cassinii, mountains, paying attention, sky island mountains, spring, willows|

When this female Cassin's Finch landed next to a creek two days ago in the West Desert I was happy to take her photo.

5

Bluebells, Currants, Warblers And A Duck

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-15T05:59:28-05:00May 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Mallards, Morgan County, Shrubs, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, alpine, Anas platyrhynchos, bath, bathing, beaver damage, bloom, blooming, blossoms, blue wildflowers, branch, branches, canyon, creek, creekside, currant, currants, dabbling ducks, drake, duck, ducks, female, flowering, flowers, fork, Golden Currant, male, Mallard, mallards, Mertensia ciliata, Mountain Bluebells, mountains, perched, pink wildflowers, purple wildflowers, Ribes aureum, riparian zone, Setophaga petechia, shrub, singing, spring, stump, tapestry, warbler, warblers, water, water droplets, wildflowers, Yellow Warbler, yellow wildflowers|

I spent my morning up in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday and came home with photos of bluebells, currants, warblers, and a duck.

5

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

Male Spotted Towhee In Low Light

By Mia McPherson|2024-04-05T05:22:13-05:00February 24th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Salt Lake County, Spotted Towhees, Utah|Tags: adult, branches, low light, male, perched, Pipilo maculatus, river edge, snow, snowy, sparrow, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, towhee, towhees, tree, urban, winter|

Ten days ago when I took this male Spotted Towhee image close to home I had tough, low light conditions to photograph him in.

8

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

Male American Kestrel Chest Plumage Variation

By Mia McPherson|2024-01-15T10:12:54-06:00January 24th, 2021|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: American Kestrel, antennae, barb wire, branch, branches, chest, desert, Facebook, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, fence, kestrel, kestrels, marsh, metal pole, perched, plumage variation, post, prey, resting, rock, sky, spots, tail, tree, underparts, Utah, vole, winter, wooden post|

Two recent posts on Facebook inspired me to write about male American Kestrel chest plumage variation and to share six images of male kestrels photographed here in Utah.

7

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.

7

Five Bird Photos From Christmas Day 2020

By Mia McPherson|2020-12-26T07:05:35-06:00December 26th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, Ardea herodias, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Christmas Day, close up, eagle, eales, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, field, first winter, Great Blue Heron, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, heron, herons, immature, lift off, lifting off, male, marsh, mountains, perched, pole, portrait, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, take off, taking off, tree, wading birds, wooden post, young|

Much to my delight I was able to photograph some birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.

10

An Immature Red-tailed Hawk Resting In A Tree

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-03T03:21:05-05:00October 7th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, branch, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, close up, Cottonwood, fall, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, leaves, perched, portrait, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, rest, resting, tree, young|

I spent sometime at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning where my best bird of the day was an immature Red-tailed Hawk resting in a tree.

8

Photographing Late Summer Nashville Warblers

By Mia McPherson|2021-04-11T15:14:42-05:00September 15th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Nashville Warblers, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, aphids, branch, branches, canyon, foraging, immature/female, leaves, Leiothlypis ruficapilla, male, migration, mountains, Nashville Warbler, pre-migration, warbler, warblers, willow, willows, wood-warblers|

I parked next to a stand of willows to see what birds would come in and it wasn't long before I was busy photographing Nashville Warblers foraging for aphids on the leaves of the trees.

9

I’m Just Mad About Sparrows

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-07T09:34:15-06:00September 8th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Brewer's Sparrows, Lincoln's Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, Utah, Vesper Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: adult, branches, Brewer's Sparrow, desert, Fragrant Sumac, immature, juvenile, Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, Passerculus sandwichensis, Poocetes gramineus, Rhus aromatica, rose hips, roses, Savannah Sparrow, sky, smoky, sparrow, sparrows, Spizella breweri, sumac, Vesper Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, wild roses, young, Zonotrichia leucophrys|

I had a great time photographing all of the sparrow species I saw two days ago and I could have stayed with them all morning long. I might do just that later this week.

11

The Funniest Yellow Warbler Photo I Have Ever Taken

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-08T16:47:47-05:00August 29th, 2020|Categories: Birds, East Canyon, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: bill, branches, camera shake, canyon, foraged, funniest, funny, humor, immature/female, laughing, moth, moth eater, mountains, perched, River Hawthorn, Setophaga petechia, warbler, warblers, wood-warblers, Yellow Warbler|

Two days ago near a creek in the Wasatch Mountains I took the funniest Yellow Warbler photo I have ever taken in all the years that I have been photographing birds.

8

Black-capped Chickadee In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-23T14:22:24-05:00August 11th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Black-capped Chickadees, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Black-capped Chickadee, branches, calling, canyons, chickadee, chickadees, dead, dying, mountains, perched, Poecile atricapillus, summer, willow, willows|

I saw and heard Black-capped and Mountain Chickadees yesterday morning but only this Black-capped Chickadee came in close enough for me to photograph.

6

Male Lazuli Buntings Photographed In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2022-07-11T04:44:03-05:00July 15th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Lazuli Buntings, Morgan County, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, Black twinberry honeysuckle, branches, bunting, buntings, canyon, creek side, grass, grasses, Lazuli Bunting, Lonicera involucrata, male, mountains, Passerina amoena, perched, serviceberry, Utah Serviceberry|

Over the past week I have had the pleasure of photographing male Lazuli Buntings high in the Wasatch Mountains in several different settings.

12

Yellow Warbler Female With Food For Her Chicks

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-08T17:01:28-05:00July 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, branches, breeding season, canyon, chicks, female, food, foraging, mountains, nesting season, prey, Setophaga petechia, tree, warbler, warblers, willow, wood-warblers, Yellow Warbler|

The female Yellow Warbler often flew in, landed out in the open and then dove down to deliver the prey she had gathered to her chick that was hidden in the willows.

3

Least Chipmunk Eating A Serviceberry

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-13T13:29:30-05:00June 28th, 2020|Categories: Least Chipmunks, Morgan County, Shrubs, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, berries, berry, branches, canyon, chipmunk, chipmunks, close up, eating, fruit, fruiting shrub, fruits, growing season, Least Chipmunk, leaves, mid-way, midway, mountains, Neotamias minimus, serviceberries, serviceberry, shrub, Utah Serviceberry|

Last week while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains photographing birds I had a Least Chipmunk pop into my view while it ate a serviceberry.

7

Female Yellow Warbler Foraging In A Hawthorn Tree

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-26T07:15:28-05:00May 14th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: bill, branches, budding, canyon, Crataegus rivularis, female, first of season, foraging, hawthorn, leafing out, leaves, mountains, perched, prey, River Hawthorn, Setophaga petechia, sideways, spring, tree, warbler, warblers, wood-warblers, Yellow Warbler|

Eight days ago I photographed my first male Yellow Warbler of the year and two days ago I had some luck with my first females of the season.

6

Focusing On Belted Kingfishers High In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-10T05:28:40-05:00April 25th, 2020|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Morgan County, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, beaver, beaver pond, Belted Kingfisher, branch, branches, calling, canyon, creek, female, fish, flight, flying, kingfisher, kingfishers, male, Megaceryle alcyon, mountains, perched, pond, swallowing, Utah|

I spent yesterday morning high up in the Wasatch Mountains where part of the time I focused on photographing the Belted Kingfishers that I found in two counties.

10

Golden Eagle On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|2023-11-12T07:42:14-06:00February 14th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: Aquila chrysaetos, blue sky, branches, close up, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, Golden Eagle, lift off, lifting off, on the wing, perched, raptors, sky, tree, winter|

No matter how these Golden Eagle photos came to be I am happy to have photographed this magnificent bird on the wing.

12

Adult Spotted Sandpiper – Small In The Frame

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-07T15:19:39-05:00February 7th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Spotted Sandpipers, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Actitis macularia, adult, branch, branches, creek, fall colors, late summer, male, perched, polyandry, probable male, sandpiper, sandpipers, shorebirds, Spotted Sandpiper, summer|

I don't often see Spotted Sandpipers perched in trees so I was enchanted when this one landed on the bare branches that hung over a slow flowing creek.

4

European Starling On A Snowy Winter Day

By Mia McPherson|2021-04-20T13:59:31-05:00February 6th, 2020|Categories: Birds, European Starlings, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: branch, branches, crabapple, crabapple tree, European Starling, fruit, fruits, snow, snowstorm, starling, starlings, storm, Sturnus vulgaris, tree, winter, winter plumage|

When this European Starling perched in a Crabapple tree close to me during the snowstorm I was able to get a few photos of it before my hands started to hurt from the cold.

6

Winter American Robin Foraging In A Crabapple Tree

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-01T09:09:12-06:00February 5th, 2020|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Robin, branch, branches, crabapple, crabapple tree, eating, foraging, fruit, fruits, perched, picking at, robin, robins, sky, thrush, thrushes, tree, trees, Turdus migratorius, twig, winter|

Yesterday I was able to focus on this American Robin as it foraged in the branches of a crabapple tree and took a nice, long series of images of the handsome red-breasted thrush.

9

Adult Male Rough-legged Hawk Perched On A Russian Olive

By Mia McPherson|2021-11-06T07:17:31-05:00January 11th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, branches, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, heat wave distortion, male, missed opportunities, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, Russian Olive, sky, tree, winter|

I could wish that there weren't any branches in front of the hawk but honestly it just felt good to not have something happen to ruin my opportunity to photograph this Rough-legged Hawk.

8

High Key Male Belted Kingfisher

By Mia McPherson|2021-03-04T07:10:42-06:00January 3rd, 2020|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Belted Kingfisher, branches, buds, clouds, high key, kingfisher, kingfishers, leaf buds, male, Megaceryle alcyon, perched, tree, winter|

Yesterday there was a bit of light in the morning so I went to see if there were any birds that could be photographed at my local ponds and I was delighted when I heard the rattling call of a Belted Kingfisher.

11