first of season – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

My First Of Season Turkey Vulture Images

By Mia McPherson|April 21st, 2023|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: adult, Cathartes aura, desert, first of season, lichen, lichens, outcropping, raptor, resting, rocks, rocky, spring, Turkey Vulture, vulture, vultures|

I took my first Turkey Vulture images of the season two days ago. That is later than usual for me, but this spring hasn't been normal at all.

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My First Of Season Common Goldeneye

By Mia McPherson|November 12th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: autumn, Bear River, Bucephala clangula, Common Goldeneye, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, fall, first of season, lifting off, male, pond, preening, river, taking off, urban, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

I found my first of season Common Goldeneye near a stand of rushes while walking around a local pond after a light skiff of snow had fallen overnight.

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My First Of Season Least Chipmunk Images

By Mia McPherson|May 10th, 2022|Categories: Least Chipmunks, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, canyon, chipmunk, chipmunks, first of season, Least Chipmunk, mammals, mountains, Neotamias minimus, riparian habitat, spring, Wasatch Mountains|

Two mornings ago I spotted a Least Chipmunk crawl up onto a rock and internally squealed with delight as I took my first of season images of the little fur ball.

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Looking For My First Of Year Sage Thrasher

By Mia McPherson|March 13th, 2022|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Box Elder County, Sage Thrashers, Utah|Tags: adult, desert island, first of season, first of year, Great Salt Lake, lake, migrate, mimids, Mountain Mockingbird, mud flats, mudflats, Oreoscoptes montanus, rock, Sage Thrasher, thrasher, thrashers, warming up, water, winter|

March 13th is an anniversary of sorts for me. The date is the earliest that I have seen and photographed a Sage Thrasher in northern Utah.

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Merlin Memories

By Mia McPherson|October 12th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Merlins, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, branch, Falco columbarius, falcon, female/immature, first of season, fog, foggy, high key, marsh, Merlin, prairie subspecies, raptors, snow, snowy, tree, wetlands, winter|

I noticed in my Facebook memories that four years ago this morning was when I found my first of season Merlin out on the mudflats at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Female Northern Yellow Warbler Foraging In A Hawthorn Tree

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

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

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My First Of Year Snowy Egret Sightings

By Mia McPherson|April 17th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, auto tour loop, cattails, ditch, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, feathers, first of season, first of year, marsh, nesting season, refuge, shaking, Snowy Egret, wading birds, water, wetlands|

Three days ago I spotted my first of the year Snowy Egret at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when two egrets flew out of a ditch on the way to the auto tour loop.

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Anxiously Awaiting My First Of Season American Tree Sparrows

By Mia McPherson|November 2nd, 2018|Categories: American Tree Sparrows, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Tree Sparrow, autumn, first of season, first of year, ground, snow, sparrow, sparrows, Spizelloides arborea, tree sparrow|

I checked eBird this morning and I only see one person reporting American Tree Sparrows so far this autumn in northern Utah so hopefully that means one more cold front pushing through and I will be seeing these long-tailed, rusty capped sparrows with their gray heads, rusty eyelines and bicolored bills.

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Rough-legged Hawks Have Returned & Expect Big Changes At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|October 17th, 2018|Categories: American Pipits, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, American Pipit, Anthus rubescens, board, burned, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, dike, first of season, first of year, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, invasive, lift off, marsh, mitigate, perched, phragmites, pipit, pipits, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, sub-adult|

My big excitement yesterday morning was seeing my first, second and third of the year Rough-legged Hawks at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the next thing was seeing all the changes that have happened at the refuge since my last visit.

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Nest Building Western Marsh-Wren Plus A Surprise Ferruginous Hawk And FOY Swainson’s Hawk

By Mia McPherson|March 28th, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Ferruginous Hawks, Swainson's Hawks, Utah, Western Marsh-Wrens|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteo swainsoni, Cistothorus paludicola, Ferruginous Hawk, first of season, first of year, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, nesting material, perched, raptors, singing, Swainson's Hawk, Western Marsh-Wren, wren, wrens|

Mostly today's post is about a nest building Western Marsh-Wren but I'm including an unexpected hawk I also found on my way out to the auto tour loop.

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I Spotted My First of Season Common Merganser

By Mia McPherson|November 24th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Common Mergansers, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, blue, Common Merganser, diving ducks, duck, ducks, fall, female, first of season, hen, icy, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, pond, range, sea ducks, urban, water, waterfowl|

While at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago I spotted my first of the season Common Merganser from the auto tour route.

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