creek – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Bird Battle: Belted Kingfisher vs. Merlin

By Mia McPherson|2023-10-15T04:08:15-05:00October 13th, 2023|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Merlins, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, aggressive behavior, alpine, autumn, bathed, bathing, behavior, Belted Kingfisher, bothering, canyon, creek, dive-bombed, drinking, falcon, falcons, fall, harassed, interaction, kingfisher, kingfishers, male, Megaceryle alcyon, Merlin, merlins, mountains, predator, prey, riparian habitat, water|

Little did I know that on my last trip up into the Wasatch Mountains, that I would witness a battle between a Belted Kingfisher and my first-of-season Merlin.

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Wasatch Mountain Mallard Babies

By Mia McPherson|2023-06-03T15:04:54-05:00June 4th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Mallards, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Anas platyrhynchos, babies, canyon, creek, dabbling ducks, ducklings, immature, juvenile, Mallard, mallards, mountains, spring, water, waterfowl, young|

I can't pass up photographing mountain Mallard babies when I find their little fluffy selves on mountain creeks, streams, lakes, or reservoirs.

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Muskrat Kit In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-30T03:31:25-05:00March 30th, 2023|Categories: Morgan County, Muskrats, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: alpine creek, alpine stream, baby, canyon, creek, immature, kit, mountains, Muskrat, muskrats, Ondatra zibethicus, riparian habitat, rodent, stream, summer, water, young|

I came across these images of Muskrat kit that I photographed in July of 2020 high in the Wasatch Mountains and realized I hadn't shared the images of them yet.

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World Water Day 2023

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-02T05:37:24-06:00March 22nd, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Centennial Valley, Conservation, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, Glacier County, Glacier National Park, Juab County, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Sawgrass Lake Park, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, American Coots, aspens, Box Elder County, canyon, Centennial Mountains, Centennial Valley, clouds, conifers, coots, creek, Cygnus columbianus, Fish Springs Range, flight, flock, Florida, flying, footbridge, foothills, grass, grasses, hills, ice, immature, Juab County, maple swamp, marsh, mountains, Pinellas County, pond, Promontory Mountains, rapids, reflections, river, rocks, rushing, sage, sagebrush, Sawgrass Lake Park, shadows, shrubs, sky, snow, snow-topped, spring, summer, swamp, swan, swans, trail, trees, Tundra Swan, Utah, valley, water, waterfowl, west desert, wetlands, Wigeon Pond, willows, winter, young|

Today is World Water Day. The theme for World Water Day 2023 is: Accelerate Change. Every human being on this planet is roughly 60% water.

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Queenfisher – 2023 ABA Bird of the Year

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-20T11:02:17-06:00December 11th, 2022|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Salt Lake County, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: 2023 ABA Bird of the Year, adult, autumn, Belted Kingfisher, branch, branches, canyon, creek, Davis County, fall, female, Glover Pond, kingfisher, kingfishers, marsh, Megaceryle alcyon, mountains, perched, Queenfisher, sky, spring, stream, throne, wetlands, winter|

The 2023 ABA Bird of the Year was revealed yesterday evening. The bird of the year is the Queenfisher, also known as the female Belted Kingfisher.

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Recent Wild Turkey Images

By Mia McPherson|2022-10-14T03:15:20-05:00October 14th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wild Turkeys|Tags: adult, autumn, beard, canyon, close up, colors, creek, creekside, fall, long, male, Meleagris gallopavo, mountains, plumage, tom, turkey, turkeys, upland game birds, Wild Turkey|

On my three recent trips up into the Wasatch Mountains I have been able to take Wild Turkey images on two of the chilly mornings.

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Puzzling Mule Deer Doe Behavior

By Mia McPherson|2022-09-05T03:13:07-05:00September 5th, 2022|Categories: Mule Deer, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, behavior, canyon, creek, creek bank., crossing, deer, doe, drinking, fawn, female, grassy, immature, kicking, mammals, mountains, Mule Deer, Odocoileus hemionus, stream, stream bank, summer, tangled, water, young|

Last week while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains is saw some interesting Mule Deer doe behavior after I started to take images of two does and two fawns.

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Black-throated Gray Warbler Images

By Mia McPherson|2023-09-08T02:48:21-05:00August 9th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: Black-throated Gray Warbler, canyon, creek, hatch year, immature, mountains, Setophaga nigrescens, sky island mountains, summer, warbler, warblers, willows, wood-warbler, wood-warblers, young|

This morning I am sharing two Black-throated Gray Warbler images that I took yesterday while exploring the canyons of sky island mountains in the West Desert.

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Wasatch Mountain Range Sandhill Crane Images

By Mia McPherson|2022-08-01T05:05:20-05:00August 1st, 2022|Categories: Birds, Sandhill Cranes, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, alert, Antigone canadensis, canyon, crane, cranes, creek, food, foraging, mountains, mud, poking, riparian habitat, Sandhill Crane, sedges, stained, summer, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|

Yesterday morning I spent ten minutes taking Sandhill Crane images high in the Wasatch Mountain Range after finding a pair of cranes next to an alpine creek.

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Young Coyote Near A Creek In The Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2022-07-18T04:59:38-05:00July 18th, 2022|Categories: Coyotes, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: blooming, Canis latrans, canyon, Coyote, coyotes, creek, creekside, grasses, immature, injured eye, lupine, lupines, Lupinus argenteus, mammals, mountains, purple wildflowers, riparian habitat, Silvery Lupine, song dog, summer, vegetation, water, wildflowers, young|

Yesterday morning while photographing bees on wildflowers I spotted a young Coyote walking towards a mountain creek through some grass and sagebrush.

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Creekside Mule Deer Doe

By Mia McPherson|2022-07-12T05:15:48-05:00July 12th, 2022|Categories: Mule Deer, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, canyon, close up, creek, creekside, deer, doe, female, mountains, Mule Deer, Odocoileus hemionus, portrait, riparian habitat, summer, willow thicket, willows|

This creekside Mule Deer doe portrait was one of my favorite photos from my trip high into the Wasatch Mountains yesterday morning.

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Mallard Ducklings And White Water Crowfoot

By Mia McPherson|2023-05-09T04:28:29-05:00June 28th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Mallards, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, White Water Crowfoot, Wildflowers|Tags: Anas platyrhynchos, aquatic vegetation, aquatic wildflower, bloom, blooming, blossoms, canyon, Common Water-Crowfoot, creek, dabbling ducks, duck, duckling, ducks, flowering, juvenile, Mallard, mallards, mountains, native, preening, Ranunculus aquatilis, summer, Summit County, swimming, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, water, waterfowl, White Water Buttercup, White Water-crowfoot, white wildflowers, wildflowers, young|

This morning I am sharing photos of Mallard ducklings and blooming White Water Crowfoot taken in a creek high in the Wasatch Mountains.

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Creekside Willow Flycatcher

By Mia McPherson|2022-06-25T05:53:42-05:00June 25th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Willow Flycatchers|Tags: adult, canyon, creek, creekside, Empidonax traillii, Empids, flycatcher, flycatchers, grasses, mountains, perched, riparian habitat, summer, Willow Flycatcher|

This creekside Willow Flycatcher photo was a highlight and my favorite photo that I took yesterday while I was high in the mountains looking for birds.

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Happy Father’s Day 2022

By Mia McPherson|2022-06-19T06:26:10-05:00June 19th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Spotted Sandpipers, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Actitis macularia, adult, canyon, creek, dads, incubating, mountains, perched, riparian habitat, sandpiper, sandpipers, shorebirds, Spotted Sandpiper, spring, stump, water|

Why would I select a sandpiper photograph to express my Happy Father's Day wishes to all the dads out there?

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Male Brewer’s Blackbird After Bathing In A Creek

By Mia McPherson|2022-06-18T11:43:07-05:00June 18th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, alpine creek, bath, blackbird, blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbird, canyon, creek, Euphagus cyanocephalus, male, mountains, preening, riparian habitat, shaking, spring, stump, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, water|

A few days ago I spotted a male Brewer's Blackbird bathing in the cool, shallow water of an alpine creek and moved towards him to take a few photos.

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Gray Catbird On A Stump In A Creek

By Mia McPherson|2022-06-17T04:25:08-05:00June 17th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Gray Catbirds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, canyon, catbird, catbirds, creek, Dumetella carolinensis, Gray Catbird, mountains, perched, riparian habitat, spring, stump|

While I was up in the Wasatch Mountains two days ago I photographed an adult Gray Catbird on a stump that is stuck close to a creek bank.

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Bull Moose High In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2022-06-15T05:17:27-05:00June 15th, 2022|Categories: Moose, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Alces alces, antlers, bull, canyon, close up, creek, male, Moose, mountains, portrait, riparian habitat, spring, velvet, willows|

Yesterday while photographing a singing male Black-headed Grosbeak I heard a splash in the creek I was sitting next to and a bull Moose dropped into my view.

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Some Birds And Blooms From The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2022-08-17T03:23:39-05:00June 13th, 2022|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Black Twinberry Honeysuckle, Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Gray Catbirds, Mallards, Morgan County, Mountain Goldenbanner, Red-tailed Hawks, Song Sparrows, Summit County, Utah, Utah Serviceberry, Wasatch Mountains, Western Chokecherry, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, American Goldfinch, Anas platyrhynchos, babies, bathing, Black twinberry honeysuckle, blooming, blooms, blossoms, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, canyon, catbirds, Chokecherry, creek, ducklings, ducks, Dumetella carolinensis, feathers, feed, finches, flowering, gold finches, grasses, Gray Catbird, hummingbirds, Lonicera involucrata, male, Mallard, Melospiza melodia, Mountain Goldenbanner, mountains, native, Prunus virginiana, riparian habitat, Selasphorus platycercus, Setophaga petechia, singing, Song Sparrow, sparrows, Spinus tristis, Thermopsis montana, tree, warbler, warblers, Western Chokecherry, wet, willows, Yellow Warbler, yellow wildflowers|

This morning I wanted to share some photos of the birds and blooms that I took images of one morning last week while I was high in the Wasatch Mountains.

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Oh Deer, What A Wonderful Morning!

By Mia McPherson|2022-06-05T05:19:06-05:00June 4th, 2022|Categories: Mule Deer, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, alpine, canyon, creek, creekside, deer, deers, doe, female, grass, grasses, mammals, mid stride, mountains, Mule Deer, Odocoileus hemionus, shedding, spring, stream, water, wildflowers|

Even though I am primarily a bird photographer I won't pass up the opportunity to photograph mammals when they come into my view like this Mule Deer doe did.

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Female And Male Barn Swallow Photos

By Mia McPherson|2022-06-05T05:16:24-05:00May 29th, 2022|Categories: Barn Swallows, Birds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, barbed wire, Barn Swallow, canyon, creek, female, fence, gender, Hirundo rustica, male, mountains, perched, riparian habitat, spring, swallow, swallows|

Last week while I was high in the Wasatch Mountains I was able to take female and male Barn Swallow photos as they perched on a fence next to a creek.

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Spring Male Belted Kingfisher Portrait

By Mia McPherson|2022-05-28T05:13:55-05:00May 28th, 2022|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Belted Kingfisher, canyon, close up, creek, kingfisher, kingfishers, male, Megaceryle alcyon, mountains, perched, portrait, riparian habitat, spring, willow thicket, willows|

I took my first of year male Belted Kingfisher portrait photos three days ago high in the Wasatch Mountains when this bird flew in close to me.

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Swallow Photos

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-25T07:58:05-05:00March 5th, 2022|Categories: Bank Swallows, Barn Swallows, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Cliff Swallows, Morgan County, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Tooele County, Tree Swallows, Utah, Violet-green Swallows, Wasatch Mountains, West Desert|Tags: adult, back view, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, branch, branches, canyon, Cliff Swallow, creek, desert, dirt road, forest, Hirundo rustica, immature, male, marsh, morning light, mountains, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, perched, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, phragmites, phrags, Riparia riparia, riparian habitat, road, sky, sky island mountains, spring, Stelgidopteryx serripennis, summer, swallow, swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, Tachycineta thalassina, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, warming up, Wasatch Mountains, wetlands, young|

Today I wanted to share swallow photos that show the six species of swallows I see and photograph in northern Utah while they are here for their nesting season.

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Male Belted Kingfisher In The UK – He’s A Long Way From Home

By Mia McPherson|2021-11-30T06:01:44-06:00November 30th, 2021|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Belted Kingfisher, branch, Brockholes nature reserve, canyon, creek, kingfisher, Lancashire, male, Megaceryle alcyon, mountains, perched, Preston, riparian habitat, River Ribble, spring, UK, Wasatch Mountains|

I've been following an amazing sighting of a male Belted Kingfisher in Lancashire, UK for about a week now, it is only the 4th such sighting for that country.

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Great Blue Heron In The High Country

By Mia McPherson|2021-08-19T05:57:19-05:00August 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Great Blue Herons, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, air quality, Ardea herodias, canyon, creek, fire, grasses, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, mountains, rain, smoke, stream, summer, wading birds, water, wind|

It has been a week now since I photographed this Great Blue Heron and have been able to get out into the field because of smoke, wind, fire, and rain.

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Poppies, Birds, Trees, Butterflies And A Smoky Haze

By Mia McPherson|2023-08-18T12:13:26-05:00August 5th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Flatbud Prickly Poppy, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Trees, Utah, Weidemeyer's Admiral Butterflies, West Desert, Wildflowers|Tags: Abies concolor, admiral, admirals, adult, Argemone munita, birds of prey, bloom, blooming, branch, Buteo jamaicensis, butterflies, butterfly, cone, cones, creek, dawn, desert, Douglas fir, fir, firs, flowering, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, juvenile, Limenitis weidemeyerii, mountains, native, poppies, poppy, Prickly Poppy, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca, puddling, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, Rocky Mountain Douglas Fir, sky, sky island mountains, smoky, smoky haze, summer, tree, trees, Weidemeyer's Admiral, White Fir, white wildflowers, wildflowers, young|

The first time I raised my lens yesterday morning it was for blooming Prickly Poppies that were along the shoulder of the bumpy gravel road.

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Gray Catbird Adult Finding Food For Its Young

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-28T05:52:50-05:00July 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Gray Catbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: branch, calling, canyon, catbird, catbirds, creek, dragonfly larvae, dragonlyfly nymph, Dumetella carolinensis, garbage, Gray Catbird, mimids, mountains, perched, pot, prey, riparian habitat, spider, summer, trash, willow, willows|

Bird activity in the Wasatch Mountains has gotten slow but I was able to find and photograph an adult Gray Catbird with food for its young two days ago.

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Spotted Sandpiper Chick Photos

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-26T06:30:00-05:00July 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Spotted Sandpipers|Tags: Actitis macularia, canyon, chick, creek, immature, juvenile, mountains, riparian habitat, sandpiper, sandpipers, shorebirds, Spotted Sandpiper, summer, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, water, young|

I haven't seen any Spotted Sandpiper chicks in a location in the Wasatch Mountains where I normally see them at this time of the year but I have these from last summer.

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Fledgling Song Sparrow Images

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-19T05:44:34-05:00July 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Song Sparrows, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: creek, creek bank., eating, fledgling, immature, juvenile, Melospiza melodia, mud, reflection, riparian habitat, Song Sparrow, sparrow, sparrows, summer, water, young|

Any day now I should spot my first of season fledgling Song Sparrow exploring their world and learning how to find food on their own.

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Male Lazuli Bunting Plus American Mink Family Photos

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-16T06:40:27-05:00July 16th, 2021|Categories: American Mink, Birds, Lazuli Buntings, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, American Mink, break, bunting, buntings, canyon, creek, creek bank., diving, foraging, grasses, hidden, Lazuli Bunting, male, mink, minks, mountains, mustelids, Neovison vison, Passerina amoena, perched, riparian habitat, running, summer, water|

I started my morning off yesterday in the Wasatch Mountains photographing an American Mink family that appeared on the bank of a creek.

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Male Brown-headed Cowbird Displaying

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-05T06:13:09-05:00July 5th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Brown-headed Cowbird, courtship display, cowbird, cowbirds, creek, displaying, historic range, male, mating display, Molothrus ater, riparian habitat, rock, summer|

Brown-headed Cowbird breeding activity hasn't slowed down yet high in the Wasatch Mountains if this displaying male is any indication of their mating attempts.

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