clouds – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Golden Eagle Flying Over A Hill On Antelope Island

By Mia McPherson|February 9th, 2021|Categories: American Bison, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: adult, American Bison, Aquila chrysaetos, birds of prey, Bison, Bison bison, buffalo, bull, close up, clouds, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, Golden Eagle, grass, grasses, Great Salt Lake, hill, lake, male, portrait, raptors, sky, water, winter|

It has been a couple of years since I have found a Golden Eagle on Antelope Island so when I spotted an adult on a grassy hill yesterday I was excited.

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Adult Tundra Swan On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|January 30th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, clouds, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flying, marsh, on the wing, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, waterfowl, winter|

I've been thinking that I need to hop into my Jeep and head to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to photograph the Tundra Swans before they head north to breed and nest.

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Where is Our Snow?

By Mia McPherson|January 12th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Ring-billed Gulls, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, clouds, gull, gulls, head on, high key, Larus delawarensis, mountains, Ring-billed Gull, sky, snow, snowy, whiteout, winter|

It is wintertime here in the Salt Lake Valley of northern Utah but given the lack of snow if it weren't for the cold temps you might not know that.

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Brown Pelicans And Memories

By Mia McPherson|January 6th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Brown Pelicans, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, Brown Pelican, clouds, feeding, flight, flock, flying, foraging, Gulf of Mexico, Laughing Gull, Pelecanus occidentalis, pelican, pelicans, skimmer, skimmers, sky, splashing, tern, terns, water, winter|

Eleven years ago this morning I had an amazing time photographing flocks of Brown Pelicans plunge feeding in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Happy Holidays 2020

By Mia McPherson|December 24th, 2020|Categories: Salt Lake County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: clouds, cloudy, holidays, mountains, peak, peaks, snowy, trees, Wasatch Mountains|

If you can't be with friends, family or loved ones this year because of the pandemic I hope that you will be able to talk to them and wish them Happy Holidays on the phone or via video chat.

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Hunting American Barn Owl In Flight Over The Frozen Marsh At Farmington Bay WMA

By Mia McPherson|December 20th, 2020|Categories: American Barn Owls, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: American Barn Owl, birds of prey, bitter cold, clouds, day, daylight, deep, flight, flying, fog, harsh, hunting, on the wing, owl, owls, sky, snow, Tyto furcata, winter|

During the winter there are times I am able to photograph Barn Owls in flight during the day when the snow is deep and the temps are bitter cold.

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Serious Looking Ring-billed Gull On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|December 17th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ring-billed Gulls, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, clouds, flight, flying, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, on the wing, Ring-billed Gull, serious, sky, winter|

I love photographing gulls. Whether they are feeding, resting, preening, fighting, calling, or in flight gulls are one of my favorite bird species to have in my viewfinder.

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Snowy Wasatch Mountain Peak And Sunlight

By Mia McPherson|November 30th, 2020|Categories: Salt Lake County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: blue heron, clouds, evergreen, mountain view, mountains, peak, peaks, sky, snow, snow covered, snowy, sun lit, sunlight, Wasatch Mountain Range, wasattsi, winter|

There are days I spend as much time looking at the scenery as I do photographing birds because I think we live on an amazingly beautiful planet.

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Focusing On Adult Male Rough-legged Hawks

By Mia McPherson|November 27th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, clouds, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, high key, male, marsh, perched, raptor, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, Russian Olive, sky, stump, tree, winter|

Ten days ago I found and photographed this adult male Rough-legged Hawk as it perched on a Russian Olive tree at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I was heading home.

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All Storms Come To An End

By Mia McPherson|November 12th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Beaverhead County, Box Elder County, Centennial Valley, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Juab County, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Utah, West Desert|Tags: blue sky, clear sky, clouds, dissapating, Fish Springs Mountain Range, marsh, mountains, ominous, Promontory Mountain Range, rain, rainy, sky, spring, storms, stormy, summer, valley, water, weather, winter|

There are times when I feel as if I am riding out a storm due to circumstances or events that are out of my control I remind myself that all storms come to an end.

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Tundra Swans Are Showing Up In Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|October 21st, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, clouds, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flock, fly by, flying, immature, marsh, mountains, phragmites, phrags, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, Tundra Swans, waterfowl, winter|

I can barely wait to hear and see my first of season Tundra Swans and to see them on the wing over the marshes that surround the Great Salt Lake.

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Adult And Immature Cedar Waxwings High In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|August 27th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Cedar Waxwings, East Canyon, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, berries, berry, Bombycilla cedrorum, Cedar Waxwing, clouds, framed, immature, juvenile, lift off, lifting off, perched, serviceberries, seviceberry, sky, take off, taking off, Utah Serviceberry, waxwing, waxwings, young|

On August 10th I drove into the mountains for a quiet, relaxing morning and came away with quite a few bird photos I have yet to process.

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In Every Sunset There Is A Promise And A Gift From Nature

By Mia McPherson|August 23rd, 2020|Categories: Beaverhead County, Centennial Valley, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: clouds, evening, evening light, grasses, hills, lake, Lower Lake, Lower Lake campground, marsh, mountains, sky, sunset, water, wetlands|

Throughout my life I have liked to think that every sunset has a promise and a gift from Nature in it. The promise that the sun will rise again in the morning.

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Wintry View Of Bear River MBR And The Snow-covered Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|August 3rd, 2020|Categories: American Herring Gulls, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, California Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: American Herring Gulls, California Gulls, clouds, gull, gulls, ice, Larus californicus, Larus delawarensis, Larus smithsonianus, marsh, mountains, refuge, Ring-billed Gulls, snow, snowy mountains, view, Wasatch Mountains, water, wildlife refuge, winter, wintry|

Just viewing this winter photo of the refuge made me feel refreshed and cooler. I also realized it might be hot now but cooler weather will be here before long.

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Great Egret In Front Of Stormy Skies

By Mia McPherson|July 8th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Egrets, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, Ardea alba, clouds, coastal, egret, egrets, Great Egret, Gulf of Mexico, light, morning, north beach, preening, resting, sky, storm, stormy, stormy sky, stump, wading birds, water|

One of the birds I found that summer morning was a Great Egret perched on a stump that the waves of the Gulf had deposited on the shore of the beach.

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Red-breasted Nuthatch And Juniper Titmouse Photos

By Mia McPherson|April 22nd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Juniper Titmouses, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, Baeolophus ridgwayi, call, clouds, cone, cones, conifer, Douglas fir, early morning light, evergreen, fir, firs, juniper, Juniper Titmouse, male, morning, nuthatch, nuthatches, perched, Pseudotsuga menziesii, recording, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis, sky, spring, titmice, titmouse, titmouses|

These are the stories behind how I took these Red-breasted Nuthatch and Juniper Titmouse photos while relaxing and enjoying a lovely day in the West Desert.

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Adult Killdeer Portrait Plus A View Of Bear River MBR In March

By Mia McPherson|March 30th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Killdeer, Utah|Tags: adult, Charadrius vociferus, close up, clouds, flying, Killdeer, killdeers, marsh, marshes, midges, mountains, portrait, Promontory Mountains, refuge, shorebirds, sky, spring, Utah, viral pandemic, water|

I had my best opportunities to take close up photos of Killdeer that I have ever had and I took full advantage of each chance I had with them.

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Adult Male Short-eared Owl Flying In Front Of A Stormy Sky

By Mia McPherson|March 24th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Short-eared Owls, Utah|Tags: adult, Asio flammeus, clouds, flight, flying, male, owl, owls, Owls of Utah, Short-eared Owl, sky, small in frame, storm clouds, stormy, stormy sky|

This isn't the kind of Short-eared Owl image you'll see in a bird guide but when you are looking for these owls in the field sometimes a view like this is all you will get.

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Canada Goose On The Wing And The Snowy Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|January 23rd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, clouds, flight, flying, geese, goose, mountains, on the wing, peaks, snow, snow-covered, urban, Wasatch Mountains|

I've grown to love and appreciate the mountain views I have here in Utah. When I can take photographs that combine my passion for birds with mountains in them I am one very happy woman.

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Focusing On American Herring Gulls – Winter Visitors To Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|January 9th, 2020|Categories: American Herring Gulls, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Herring Gull, breeze, California Gull, clouds, distortion, eating, fish, fishing, frost, gull, gulls, gulping, heat waves, ice, Larus smithsonianus, lifting off, marsh, mixed, mountains, photograph, photographing, prey, Ring-billed Gull, sky, snow, snow-covered, swallowing, water, winter|

I know some people don't get excited about gulls but I do and I was thrilled two days ago at Bear River MBR when I spotted and photographed my first Herring Gulls of this winter season.

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Some Days In The Field Are Mostly For Learning

By Mia McPherson|January 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: canyons, clouds, field, junipers, learning, mountains, rabbitbrush, sagebrush, sky, snow, turkey tracks|

Yesterday morning I didn't press my DSLR's shutter button a single time while I was out in the field so I came home without a single photo of a bird or animal but I did come home with something else. Knowledge.

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High Key Male Belted Kingfisher

By Mia McPherson|January 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, urban, 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.

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Female American Kestrel On A Crabapple Tree Near The Jordan River

By Mia McPherson|December 17th, 2019|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, birds of prey, clouds, crabapple, evergreens, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, female, kestrel, kestrels, mountains, peaks, perched, sky, snow-covered, winter|

I was delighted when I spotted this female American Kestrel perched high on a crabapple tree next to a road near the Jordan River and pleased that she stuck around for a few photos.

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Sharp-shinned Hawk Perched And Preening

By Mia McPherson|October 19th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: Accipiter striatus, Accipiters, autumn, clouds, desert, fall, fence post, foothills, hawk, hawks, male, molt, molt pattern, mountains, post, raptors, rectrices, Sharp-shinned Hawk, sky island mountains, wooden post|

When it comes to accipiters I see Sharp-shinned Hawks less frequently than I do Cooper's Hawks or Northern Goshawks so when I have a Sharp-shinned Hawk in my viewfinder I become very excited.

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Cooling Winter Views Of The Great Salt Lake

By Mia McPherson|August 25th, 2019|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, California Gulls, Davis County, Utah|Tags: beach, California Gulls, clouds, cold, flight, Great Salt Lake, gulls, lake, Larus californicus, mountains, shoreline, sky, snow, Utah, water, winter|

I live in such a beautiful state and even though birds are my primary focus as subjects the natural world that surrounds me is endlessly fascinating, stunning and I hope I never lose the sense of wonder I feel when I see it.

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Why This Bad Weather Gets Me Down

By Mia McPherson|May 23rd, 2019|Categories: Birds, Frustrations in bird photography|Tags: bad weather, clouds, frustrations in bird photography, rain, storms, weather map|

We've had cloudy and sometimes rainy weather for quite some time now in northern Utah with storms rolling in one after the other and it does prevent me from getting out into the field with the birds.

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Utah’s West Desert In Bloom

By Mia McPherson|April 19th, 2019|Categories: Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wildflowers|Tags: bloom, blooming, blue mustard, Chorispora tenella, clouds, desert, mountains, mustard, purple flowers, sky island, Thelypodiopsis elegans, Westwater tumble mustard, wildflower bloom, wildflowers|

Native or introduced these purple wildflowers were a joy for me to see and photograph in the West Desert of Utah.

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Gone Wandering

By Mia McPherson|April 17th, 2019|Categories: Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: camp site, campsite, clearing storm, clouds, evening, fire ring, mountains, stormy sky, wandering|

I am out wandering and I have a very poor cell signal so I will be surprised if this gets published. This is a photo taken before Sunset last night where I am camping.

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Short-eared Owl With A Stormy Sky – Small In The Frame

By Mia McPherson|February 28th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Short-eared Owls, Utah|Tags: adult, Asio flammeus, clouds, flight, male, owl, owls, Short-eared Owl, sky, small in frame, storm, stormy sky|

I love the darkness and the light in the stormy sky in the background, how well lit the Short-eared Owl was and the position of his wings in flight and I like that he is small in this frame because this is often the view that I and others have of these wonderful owls in the field.

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Rough-legged Hawk Expelling A Pellet Close Up Photos

By Mia McPherson|February 20th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, clouds, foggy, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, low light, male, marsh, pellet, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, snow, snowy, wetlands, winter|

I've never been this close to a Rough-legged Hawk expelling a pellet before and it is likely that I will never be this fortunate again. This Rough-legged Hawk was my best bird for the day and I'm glad I stopped and waited for him to expel the pellet before moving on down the auto tour route.

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