flying – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

I haven't seen Black Skimmers in over six years now but in my mind I can still hear them calling when I look at my images of a group of them in flight.

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An Osprey and a Whiting over Fort De Soto

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-14T16:19:08-05:00October 20th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Ospreys, Pinellas County|Tags: clouds, coastal habitat, coastal island, fish, Fish Hawk, flight, flying, Osprey, ospreys, Pandion haliaetus, prey, raptor, raptors, sky, spring, Whiting|

This Osprey image was taken in April of 2009 at Fort De Soto's north beach. I had been photographing smaller birds that were close to me when I noticed the Osprey flying in with a whiting.

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Bald Eagle landing on ice in a fog at Farmington Bay WMA

By Mia McPherson|2021-06-16T12:00:26-05:00October 19th, 2015|Categories: Baiting, Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Wildlife Ethics|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, ice, landing, landing pose, marsh, raptors, snow, wetlands, winter|

During the winter Farmington Bay has a large population of overwintering Bald Eagles that migrate down from northern states and Canada.

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Cooler Weather on the Horizon

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-20T04:58:45-05:00October 15th, 2015|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flying, mountains, Promontory Mountains, snow, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, waterfowl, winter|

We've still been having record breaking high temperatures here in northern Utah but the forecast shows some cooler weather is about to arrive. I'm glad. It is about time.

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Hovering Harrier – Head Down and Eyes on the Ground

By Mia McPherson|2021-11-24T04:04:45-06:00October 7th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, female, flight, flying, harrier, harriers, hovering, hunting, marsh, Marsh hawk, Northern Harrier|

I photographed this hovering Northern Harrier several years ago at Farmington Bay Water Fowl Management Area as it scanned the ground below for prey.

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What is in the background of an image can enhance or distract

By Mia McPherson|2021-04-06T09:45:23-05:00September 29th, 2015|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: backgrounds, flight, flying, Gulf of Mexico, gull, gulls, landing, Larus delawarensis, Ring-billed Gull|

In bird photography what is in the background can enhance or distract the eye from the main subject.

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Centennial Valley Swainson’s Hawk

By Mia McPherson|2021-08-24T03:44:52-05:00September 9th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Montana, lift off, light morph, perched, raptors, Swainson's Hawk|

I am enjoying my time in the Centennial Valley especially when I can spend time photographing raptors like this adult light morph Swainson's Hawk.

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Smokey skies and a Great Blue Heron in flight

By Mia McPherson|2022-10-29T03:31:41-05:00August 27th, 2015|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, flight, flying, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, smokey sky, wading birds|

On a clear day this Great Blue Heron image would have shown the Promontory Mountains in the distant background instead of the dull gray seen here.

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Flurry of Snowies in August

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-21T03:41:14-05:00August 14th, 2015|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, Bear River, congregation, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, feathers, flight, flurry, flying, land, landing, marsh, preening, rousing, scratching, shaking, Snowy Egret, stretch, stretching, wading birds, wetlands|

There was lots of bird activity yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and a flurry of Snowy Egrets kept things interesting early in the morning.

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Western Kingbirds – Juveniles Begging To Be Fed

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-31T13:08:26-05:00July 30th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Western Kingbirds|Tags: adult, begging, bird photography, birds, calling, farmlands, flight, flycatcher, flycatchers, flying, hovering, immature, juvenile, kingbird, kingbirds, summer, Tyrannus verticalis, Western Kingbird, young|

So even though I didn't come home with many Burrowing Owls images yesterday these Western Kingbird images more than made up for it!

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An Assortment of Birds from Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge This Week

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-07T05:45:35-06:00July 26th, 2015|Categories: American White Pelicans, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Mourning Doves, Northern Pintails, Sandhill Cranes, Utah|Tags: adult, American White Pelican, Anas acuta, Antigone canadensis, barbed wire, crane, cranes, dove, doves, duck, ducks, eclipse plumage, field, flight, flying, immature, Mourning Dove, Northern Pintail, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, pelican, pelicans, perched, pintail, pintails, Sandhill Crane, sky, sunrise, water, Zenaida macroura|

Yesterday I posted a juvenile Wilson's Phalarope and today I am posting an assortment of others birds I photographed the same day at Bear River NWR.

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White-lined Sphinx Moths for National Moth Week

By Mia McPherson|2022-10-08T10:06:44-05:00July 19th, 2015|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah, White-lined Sphinx Moths, Wildflowers, Wildlife|Tags: Cleomella serrulata, feeding, flight, flying, hovering, Hyles lineata, moth, moths, National Moth Week, nectar, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, sphinx moth, White-lined Sphinx Moth|

Yesterday was the first day of National Moth Week 2015 and the featured family of moths for this year are from the Sphingidae family which are commonly know as hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms.

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Juvenile Sandwich Tern in flight

By Mia McPherson|2016-12-07T12:07:32-06:00July 18th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Sandwich Terns|Tags: bird photography, birds, flight, flying, immature, juvenile, Sandwich Tern, tern, terns, Thalasseus sandvicensis|

I processed an older image of a juvenile Sandwich Tern in flight from my Florida archives to post this morning.

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Tree Swallow Defending Its Nest Photo In Memory Of A Great Friend

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-25T06:19:04-05:00July 7th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Tree Swallows|Tags: adult, defensive, flight, flying, great friend, in memory, male, nest box, Rohn McKee, spring, swallow, swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, Tree Swallow, valley|

I'm posting this Tree Swallow image that was taken at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in memory of a great friend, Rohn McKee.

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Swainson’s Hawk in Box Elder County

By Mia McPherson|2021-03-31T15:46:19-05:00June 30th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, attack, birds of prey, boulder, Buteo swainsoni, Buteos, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, lichen, lift off, mimids, Mimus polyglottos, molt, molting, Northern Mockingbird, perched, raptors, sage, sagebrush, Swainson's Hawk|

I am always happy to photograph Swainson's Hawks no matter where I find them so I was pleased to find this one perched on a lichen covered rock yesterday in Box Elder County, Utah.

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Morning Spent at a Burrowing Owl Burrow

By Mia McPherson|2021-12-20T05:29:55-06:00June 23rd, 2015|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Burrowing Owls, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, Athene cunicularia, barbed wire, birds of prey, Burrowing Owl, Circus hudsonius, fence, fledgling, fledglings, flight, flying, Gray Ghost, harrier, harriers, immature, juvenile, landing, Northern Harrier, owl, owls, Western Burrowing Owl|

Last week I posted an image of Burrowing Owl siblings that I found in northern Utah and today I am posting images of that burrow after spending yesterday morning being delighted by them once more.

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Red-tailed Hawk just after lift off

By Mia McPherson|2022-10-04T06:47:48-05:00June 20th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Red-tailed Hawks|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, lift off, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, Western Red-tailed hawk|

This Red-tailed Hawk image was taken last week in the Centennial Valley of Montana just after the hawk lifted off from a power pole.

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Western Kingbirds On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-31T13:14:54-05:00June 1st, 2015|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah, Western Kingbirds|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, Big Sagebrush, bird photography, desert, flight, flycatcher, flycatchers, flying, island, kingbird, kingbirds, landing, lift off, on the wing, sagebrush, take off, Tyrannus verticalis, Western Kingbird|

I had fun photographing Western Kingbirds again yesterday on Antelope Island State Park and hours later I was still hearing their calls in my mind.

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Killdeer in Flight Over Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-18T18:24:03-05:00May 30th, 2015|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Killdeer, Utah|Tags: adult, Charadrius vociferus, difficult, flight, flying, Killdeer, marsh, marshes, medium sized, plover, plovers, refuge, shorebirds, sky, wetlands|

I have found trying to capture a Killdeer in flight a difficult endeavor because they fly fast and are hard to track but yesterday I did just that.

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California Gulls on a Clear April Morning

By Mia McPherson|2021-12-11T07:51:27-06:00April 21st, 2015|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, California Gulls, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, California Gull, close up, desert island, flight, flying, grasshopper hatch, gull, gulls, Larus californicus, portrait, spring|

The California Gulls and the Marbled Godwit came in close and I decided to do some portrait images of the gull.

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Long-billed Curlew calling in flight

By Mia McPherson|2021-04-02T04:15:58-05:00March 31st, 2015|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Long-billed Curlews, Utah|Tags: adult, Buffalo Point, calling, curlew, curlews, Davis County, flight, flying, Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, shorebirds, spring|

Long-billed Curlews will nest on the island in the grasses soon but before then I look forward to watching their courtship displays both on the ground and in the air.

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Return of the Tree Swallows

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-25T06:12:04-05:00March 25th, 2015|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Beaverhead County, Birds, Box Elder County, Centennial Valley, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Tree Swallows, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding season, bug eating machines, first of year, flight, flock, flying, male, marsh, migration, nest box, nesting box, phragmites, phrags, refuge, return, spring, stand, swallow, swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, Tree Swallow|

Not only are Tree Swallows colorful and beautiful they are bug-zapping machines and keep the number of flying insects down.

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Red-shouldered Hawk at Myakka River State Park, Florida

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-04T09:14:37-06:00March 24th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Florida, Myakka River State Park, Red-shouldered Hawks, Sarasota County|Tags: adult, birds of prey, branch, Buteo lineatus, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Florida, lift off, perched, raptors, Red-shouldered Hawk, sky, swamp, tree, winter|

In January of 2009 I went to Myakka River State Park with three of my bird photography friends and the raptor highlight of the day was this Red-shouldered Hawk.

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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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A female Northern Harrier in flight

By Mia McPherson|2016-12-07T12:08:09-06:00March 17th, 2015|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, female, flight, flying, harriers, hawks, Hawks of Utah, Northern Harrier, raptors|

But... things seem to be leveling out now much like this female Northern Harrier in flight that I photographed along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park in northern Utah in mid January.

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Collared Tundra Swans – Banded Together and Staying Together

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-20T04:50:12-05:00March 12th, 2015|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, banded, Certificate of Appreciation, collared, Cygnus columbianus, female, flight, flying, marsh, pens, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, USGS, waterfowl, wetlands, Whistling Swan, winter|

Last week I posted some Tundra Swan images and mentioned that two of the swans I saw had markers on their necks, these are those swans flying together over the marsh.

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Double-crested Cormorant coming in for a landing

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-27T05:41:38-05:00March 9th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Double-crested Cormorants, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park|Tags: birds, coast, coastal, cormorant, cormorants, Double-crested Cormorant, flight, flying, Gulf of Mexico, landing, landing pose, molt, molting, Nannopterum auritus, Pinellas County, sky|

I'm glad the Double-crested Cormorant didn't decide to relive itself as it came in to land or I might have been wearing white-wash!

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