bush – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Marsh Wren At Farmington Bay WMA

By Mia McPherson|2022-08-23T03:53:53-05:00August 23rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Marsh Wrens, Utah|Tags: adult, Billy Fenimore, bush, Cistothorus palustris, Greasewood, marsh, Marsh Wren, perched, Sarcobatus vermiculatus, summer, wetlands, wren, wrens|

The first bird I photographed yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday was a curious Marsh Wren perched in a Greasewood bush that seemed to have an eye on me.

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Raggedy Song Sparrow Adult

By Mia McPherson|2022-07-25T04:35:31-05:00July 25th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Song Sparrows, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, bush, canyon, close up, Melospiza melodia, molt, molting, mountains, ragged, raggedy, saprrow, Song Sparrow, sparrows, summer, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, wild rose, wooden post, worn|

Friday morning while enjoying the cooler temps in the Wasatch Mountains I had this raggedy Song Sparrow adult pop out of a wild rose bush next to my Jeep.

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California Tortoiseshell Butterfly And Blooming Fragrant Sumac

By Mia McPherson|2022-04-26T05:50:55-05:00April 26th, 2022|Categories: Box Elder County, California Tortoiseshell Butterflies, Shrubs, Trees, Shrubs and Flowers, Utah|Tags: blooming, bush, buterflies, butterfly, California Tortoiseshell, desert, Fragrant Sumac, freshwater seep, memories, Nymphalis californica, perched, Rhus aromatica, shrub, spring, sumac, wildflowers|

I had this California Tortoiseshell butterfly nectaring on blooming Fragrant Sumac up in a far northern Utah desert in my viewfinder four years ago today.

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Spotting A Short-eared Owl In The Distance

By Mia McPherson|2023-12-26T07:43:55-06:00April 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Short-eared Owls, Utah|Tags: adult, Asio flammeus, birds of prey, bush, field, male, owl, owls, Owls of Utah, perched, range, Short-eared Owl, spring|

What caught my attention was this adult male Short-eared Owl perched on a bush way out in the distance in the middle of a rancher's field.

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Least Chipmunk Memory

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-13T13:19:39-05:00September 9th, 2020|Categories: Least Chipmunks, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, bush, canyon, chipmunk, chipmunks, forest, Least Chipmunk, mountains, Neotamias minimus, resting, summer|

I picked this photo of the two Least Chipmunks out of the many I had taken that morning because to me it feels like there is a touch of intimacy to it.

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Female Broad-tailed Hummingbird At A Blooming Snowberry

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-11T14:44:13-05:00June 15th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, bell-shaped, blooming, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, bush, canyon, female, flowers, hummingbird, hummingbirds, mountains, nectaring, pale pink, Roundleaf Snowberry, Selasphorus platycercus, Snowberry, Symphoricarpos rotundifolius, wildflowers|

Female Broad-tailed Hummingbirds do all the nest building, incubating, feeding and rearing of their young while they are here during their breeding season.

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Photographing Gray Catbird Interactions In The Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-23T14:58:46-05:00June 6th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Gray Catbirds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, agitated, Amelanchier utahensis, back view, barbed wire, bush, calling, canyon, catbird, catbirds, close up, curious, Dumetella carolinensis, excited, falling, fence, fence post, fluttering, foot, Gray Catbird, interacting, jumped, kicking, lichen, look, mimids, mountains, portrait, riparian zone, Roundleaf Snowberry, rufous undertail coverts, shelter, Symphoricarpos rotundifolius, Utah Serviceberry, wings, wooden post|

This morning I'm grateful that I spotted a single Gray Catbird pop up on top of a snowberry bush yesterday morning because if I hadn't none of the following photos would have been possible.

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Caption Call – Chipmunk Fun

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-13T13:44:06-05:00September 10th, 2019|Categories: Least Chipmunks, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, bush, canyon, caption call, chipmunk, chipmunks, Chippies, forest, funny, humor, Least Chipmunk, mountains, Neotamias minimus, playful, summer|

The Least Chipmunks had been chasing each other around on a low leafless shrub and then this happened, the tail of the upper chipmunk rested on the head of the other chippie for exactly two frames.

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Focusing On Photographing Juvenile Mountain Bluebirds

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-29T06:52:09-05:00June 20th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Mountain Bluebirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, bluebird, bluebirds, bush, canyon, focusing, juvenile, male, Mountain Bluebird, mountains, photograph, photographing, Sialia currucoides, Utah Serviceberry|

Luck was on my side when I found the family of Mountain Bluebirds in good light plus they were close enough to take quality photos of them, first the male then the female and the juveniles.

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Time For The Black-billed Magpie Nest Building Ballet

By Mia McPherson|2021-03-25T05:15:20-05:00February 19th, 2016|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, ballet, Black-billed Magpie, bush, landing, magpie, magpies, nest building, nesting, nesting material, Pica hudsonia|

I know I am looking forward to photographing and watching the Black-billed Magpie nest building ballet that occurs each spring.

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Partially Leucistic Black-billed Magpie

By Mia McPherson|2023-01-03T02:38:35-06:00March 20th, 2015|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Leucistic, Utah|Tags: "piebald" effect, bird photography, Black-billed Magpie, bush, Davis County, flight, flying, landing, leucism, leucistic, magpie, magpies, Partially leucistic, Pica hudsonia, pied, pigment issues|

Last week I photographed some Black-billed Magpies on Antelope Island State Park and one of them was partially leucistic

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Juvenile Western Kingbird at Farmington Bay

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-31T13:24:23-05:00February 28th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Western Kingbirds|Tags: bird photography, birds, bush, Davis County, flycatcher, flycatchers, immature, juvenile, kingbird, kingbirds, Tyrannus verticalis, Western Kingbird, young|

This morning I was looking through some images that I had taken in August of 2014 and came across this juvenile Western Kingbird photo that I hadn't touched at all.

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Black-billed Magpie two-point landing

By Mia McPherson|2020-02-28T10:03:26-06:00December 10th, 2014|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Utah|Tags: adult, Black-billed Magpie, bush, Davis County, landing, magpie, magpies, nesting material, Pica hudsonia|

The past two times I have been to Antelope Island the Black-billed Magpies have put on quite a show and I have enjoyed it.

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Green-tailed Towhee high up on Bountiful Canyon

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-13T15:18:56-05:00July 24th, 2013|Categories: Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Sky Line Drive, Bountiful Canyon, Utah|Tags: adult, birds, bush, canyon, Davis County, Green-tailed Towhee, mountains, photography, Pipilo chlorurus, serviceberry, shrub, sky, sparrow, sparrows, towhee, towhees, Wasatch Mountains|

Last week while heading up the Skyline Drive of Bountiful Canyon this Green-tailed Towhee was singing on top of a shrub and I was surprised when it hung around for about 2 minutes

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Western Kingbird – A Consolation Prize

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-31T13:42:30-05:00May 29th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Utah, Utah County, Western Kingbirds|Tags: adult, bird photography, bush, flycatcher, flycatchers, kingbird, kingbirds, rocks, Tyrannus verticalis, Western Kingbird|

There are times when I go out to photograph a specific species but come home with images of birds I didn't expect to see.

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