flying – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Canada Goose Tracks In Snow

By Mia McPherson|December 8th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: autumn, Branta canadensis, Canada Geese, Canada Goose, cloudy sky, fall, flight, flying, footprint, footprints, geese, goose, high key, snow, track, tracks, urban, waterfowl|

While I was out walking yesterday, I stopped at a neighborhood pond and saw fresh Canada Goose tracks in the snow. I felt that I had to take photos of them.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk In A Safety Zone

By Mia McPherson|December 4th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Circus hudsonius, defensive mode, dive, dive bombing, fall, flight, flying, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, Nothern Harrier, perched, post, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, resting, safety zone, sign, wetlands, wooden post, young|

About two years ago, I photographed this immature Red-tailed Hawk resting above a safety zone sign at Farmington Bay WMA on a cold morning.

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Male Northern Harrier Photo

By Mia McPherson|November 22nd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Circus hudsonius, dorsal view, duck club, fall, flats, flight, flying, Gray Ghost, harrier, harriers, hawks, male, Marsh hawk, Northern Harrier, raptors, trailers|

I'd like this photo of a male Northern Harrier more if there weren't camping trailers from a duck hunting club near the auto loop of Bear River MBR behind him.

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Ring-billed Gull Feeding Frenzy Excitement

By Mia McPherson|November 16th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: autumn, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, fall, feeding, flight, flying, frenzy, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, marsh, Promontory Mountains, Ring-billed Gull, Utah, video, water, wetlands|

When I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago I witnessed several Ring-billed Gull feeding frenzies out on the marshes of the refuge.

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Golden Eagle Rising Above A Ridge

By Mia McPherson|October 22nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: adult, Aquila chrysaetos, autumn, birds of prey, desert, eagle, eagles, fall, flight, flying, foothills, Golden Eagle, grasses, rabbitbrush, raptors, ridge, sky|

This morning I'm sharing a photo of a gorgeous adult Golden Eagle that I took just as it was taking off from a ridge, shortly after I found it.

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International Vulture Awareness Day 2022

By Mia McPherson|September 3rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Tooele County, Turkey Vultures, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Cathartes aura, desert, flight, flying, foothills, juniper, landing, lichen, lift off, perched, raptors, rock, sage, sagebrush, sky, spring, stump, Turkey Vulture, vulture, Vulture Awareness Day, vultures|

The first Saturday of September is International Vulture Awareness Day which is a day to bring awareness to these birds that face a range of threats.

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Two Phalarope Species At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|August 30th, 2022|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Red-necked Phalaropes, Utah, Wilson's Phalaropes|Tags: adult, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, flight, flock, flying, foraging, Great Salt Lake, hypersaline lake, lake, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, phalarope, phalaropes, Phalaropus lobatus, Phalaropus tricolor, Red-necked Phalarope, shorebirds, summer, Utah, water, wetlands, Wilson's Phalarope|

Two days ago after leaving the auto tour route at Bear River MBR I was able to photograph two phalarope species in a wetlands that were feeding side by side.

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Female Black-chinned Hummingbird Feeding On Honeysuckle

By Mia McPherson|May 30th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Black-chinned Hummingbirds|Tags: adult, Archilochus alexandri, Black Twin Berry, Black twinberry honeysuckle, Black-chinned Hummingbird, canyon, eating, feeding, female, flight, flying, honeysuckle, honeysuckles, hovering, hummingbird, hummingbirds, Lonicera involucrata, mountains, riparian habitat, spring|

I took these female Black-chinned Hummingbird photos as she fed on the nectar of a honeysuckle last week high in the Wasatch Mountains near an alpine creek.

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Female Black-chinned Hummingbird With Honeysuckle

By Mia McPherson|May 19th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Black Twinberry Honeysuckle, Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Archilochus alexandri, Black Twinberry, Black twinberry honeysuckle, Black-chinned Hummingbird, canyon, female, flight, flower bud, flying, honeysuckle, honeysuckles, hovering, hummingbird, hummingbirds, Lonicera involucrata, mountains, perched, poking, riparian habitat, spring, wildflowers|

When I spotted this tiny female Black-chinned Hummingbird yesterday high in the Wasatch Mountains I hoped she'd begin to feed on some nearby honeysuckle.

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Adult Black-crowned Night Heron In Flight

By Mia McPherson|April 29th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, Black-crowned Night Heron, flight, flying, heron, herons, marsh, mountains, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, Promontory Mountains, sky, spring, wading birds, wetlands|

Almost a year ago I had this adult Black-crowned Night Heron in my viewfinder as it flew in front of the Promontory Mountains at Bear River MBR.

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Black Skimmer Photo From 13 Years Ago

By Mia McPherson|April 24th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Black Skimmers, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, Black Skimmer, coast, coastal, flight, flying, Gulf of Mexico, Rynchops niger, skimmer, skimmers, sky, spring|

It was thirteen years ago today when I took this photo of an adult Black Skimmer flying over the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County, Florida.

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Male Broad-tailed Hummingbird And Thoughts About Spring

By Mia McPherson|March 23rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, branch, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, canyon, Chokecherry, flight, flying, forest, forest edge, hummingbird, hummingbirds, landing, male, mountains, perched, Prunus virginiana, Selasphorus platycercus, summer, Western Chokecherry|

Hummingbirds delight me and this male Broad-tailed Hummingbird did just that when he landed on his favorite chokecherry branch a few years ago in the mountains.

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Young Great Blue Heron In Front Of The Promontory Mountains

By Mia McPherson|March 14th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, flight, flying, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, immature, marsh, mountains, Promontory Mountains, small in frame, snow, wading birds, wetlands, winter, young|

I liked this image of an immature Great Blue Heron flying in front of the snow covered Promontory Mountains even though the heron is small in the frame.

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Ducks On The Wing Over The Marsh At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|March 12th, 2022|Categories: American Wigeons, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Green-winged Teals, Mallards, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Utah|Tags: adult, American Wigeon, Anas acuta, Anas crecca, Anas platyrhynchos, flight, flying, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Mareca americana, marsh, mountains, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, on the wing, Promontory Mountains, snow, Spatula clypeata, wetlands, winter|

I took this photo of ducks on the wing over the marsh on my most recent trip up to the wetlands of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Drake Northern Pintail Lift Off Images

By Mia McPherson|March 8th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Pintails, Utah, Video|Tags: adult, Anas acuta, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, dabbling ducks, drake, ducks, female, flight, flock, flying, hen, lift off, lifting off, male, marsh, mountains, Northern Pintail, pintail, pintails, sky, snow, take off, taking off, Utah, video, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

I drove up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning and came home with some drake Northern Pintail lift off images that I am pleased with.

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Tundra Swan In Flight In Early Morning Light

By Mia McPherson|March 7th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flying, marsh, pastel, phragmites, phrags, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, vegetation, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

I took this Tundra Swan photo on my most recent trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I came upon hundreds of these swans on the marsh.

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The Golden Eagle – Utah’s Official State Bird Of Prey

By Mia McPherson|February 25th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: Aquila chrysaetos, birds of prey, close up, desert, eagle, eagles, Eagles of Utah, flight, flying, Golden Eagle, immature, raptors, sky, Utah State Bird Of Prey, winter, young|

This morning I would like to celebrate the State of Utah's newly designated official state bird of prey, the Golden Eagle.

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Great Blue Herons At The Farmington Bay Rookery

By Mia McPherson|February 18th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, breeding season, flight, flying, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, marsh, mating season, nest, nest building, nesting, nesting season, nests, perched, pole, rookery, sky, wading birds, wetlands, winter, wooden pole|

The breeding season has begun for the Great Blue Herons at the Farmington Bay rookery and throughout northern Utah.

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Winter Ring-billed Gull Images From Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|January 5th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, flight, flying, frozen, gull, gulls, ice, Larus delawarensis, marsh, open water, resting, Ring-billed Gull, snow, water, wetlands, winter|

One year ago tomorrow I was at Bear River MBR where I took these winter Ring-billed Gull images from the west side of the auto tour loop at the refuge.

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Canada Goose In Flight – My First Bird Sighting Of 2022

By Mia McPherson|January 2nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, close up, eye, flight, flying, geese, goose, landing, mountains, portrait, skimming, small in frame, snow, snowy, staring, tree, urban, Wasatch Mountains, water, waterfowl, winter|

The first bird that I could positively identify seeing for 2022 was a Canada Goose flying away from my local pond yesterday morning.

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Christmas Day Birds 2021

By Mia McPherson|December 26th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Birds, California Gulls, Common Goldeneyes, Great Blue Herons, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Rough-legged Hawks|Tags: adult, American Coot, Anas platyrhynchos, Ardea herodias, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Buteo lagopus, California Gull, calling, Christmas, Christmas Day, close up, Common Goldeneye, coot, coots, crawdad, crayfish, dabbling ducks, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, eating, female, first winter, flight, flying, foraging, Fulica americana, goldeneye, goldeneyes, grackle, grackles, grass, gray sky, Great Blue Heron, Great-tailed Grackle, gull, gulls, hawk, hawks, heron, herons, hovering, Icterids, immature, Larus californicus, low light, male, Mallard, mallards, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, open bill, pond, portrait, Quiscalus mexicanus, rails, Rough-legged Hawk, splashing, urban, wading birds, water, water droplets, wetlands, winter, young|

I did get out to find and photograph birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA and then later in the morning I found more closer to home.

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Christmas Day Bird Photos Through the Years

By Mia McPherson|December 25th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, Common Merganser, diving ducks, duck ducks, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, foggy, four year old, Great Blue Heron, haks, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, heron, herons, immature, marsh, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, perched, post, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, snow, snow storm, subadult, tree, water, wetlands, winter, young|

These are all birds I have photographed on Christmas Day through the years and all of them were photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Drake Northern Shoveler Landing On A Chilly Pond

By Mia McPherson|November 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Shovelers, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, breeding plumage, chilly, dabbling ducks, drake, duck, ducks, fall, flight, flying, Glover Pond, landing, male, marsh, Northern Shoveler, pond, shoveler, shovelers, Spatula clypeata, water, waterfowl, wetlands|

This morning I am sharing a simple photo of a drake Northern Shoveler landing on a chilly pond that I took in early December of last year.

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Ruddy Ducks In Flight

By Mia McPherson|November 24th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, fall, female, flight, flock, flying, hen, male, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, Oxyura jamaicensis, pond, preening, Ruddy Duck, sky, swimming, urban, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

A few days ago I saw someone say that they rarely saw photos of Ruddy Ducks in flight and I remembered I had a series of them flying past taken 11 years ago.

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Adult Female Northern Harrier Lifting Off From A Tumbleweed

By Mia McPherson|November 23rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, Davis County, fall, Farmington Bay WMA, female, flats, flight, flying, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, hen, lift off, lifting off, marsh, Northern Harrier, raptors, resting, take off, taking off, tumbleweed, Utah, wetlands|

When I spotted this adult female Northern Harrier resting on a tumbleweed yesterday morning it took a few moments for me to point her out.

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Dark Morph Red-tailed Hawk Lifting Off With Prey

By Mia McPherson|November 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, dark morph, desert, fall, flight, flying, grass, grasses, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lift off, lifting off, mammal, prey, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, rocks, sky, take off, taking off|

Yesterday morning I spotted this dark morph Red-tailed Hawk high on a cliff and I was able to photograph him as he lifted off with prey in his talons.

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Singing Townsend’s Solitaire Surrounded By Tiny Bugs

By Mia McPherson|November 13th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Townsend's Solitaires, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, autumn, berries, bugs, canyon, fall, flying, insects, juniper, mountains, Myadestes townsendi, perched, singing, sky island mountains, solitaire, solitaires, thrush, thrushes, Townsend's Solitaire|

Yesterday I was thrilled to listen to and photograph a singing Townsend's Solitaire as it perched on a juniper surrounded by tiny flying bugs.

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Three Canada Geese On An Autumn Morning

By Mia McPherson|November 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, fall, flight, flying, geese, Glover Pond, goose, grass, grasses, lift off, lifting off, pond, take off, taking off, teasels, water, waterfowl, wetlands|

Last week I photographed three Canada Geese lifting off from Glover Pond at Farmington Bay and it brought memories from November of 2008.

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It Is Time To Watch For Bald Eagles In Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|November 3rd, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, on the wing, pond, raptors, sky, trees, urban, winter|

Starting today I will be keeping an eye out for the return of Bald Eagles to the lower elevations of northern Utah.

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It Is Time To Look And Listen For Tundra Swans In Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|October 23rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, clouds, Cygnus columbianus, eagle, eagles, feeding, flight, flying, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature, marsh, mountains, on the wing, Promontory Mountains, raptors, scenery, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

This morning I noticed in my Facebook memories that I saw and heard my first of season Tundra Swans at Bear River MBR on this date in 2015 and that made me happy.

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