marsh – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Great Goldeneye-Merganser Showdown: Who Won the Shad?

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-15T03:03:56-06:00February 15th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, bill, Bucephala clangula, chasing, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, feet, female, fish, following, Great Blue Heron, hen, ice, legs, male, marsh, Mergus merganser, prey, running, shad, sliding, slipping, thin, wading birds, winter|

On my last trip to Bear River MBR I saw and photographed a Goldeneye-Merganser showdown where the prize that was being fought over was a shiny shad.

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Perky Song Sparrow On A Greasewood Perch

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-13T04:36:29-06:00February 13th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Song Sparrows, Utah|Tags: adult, Greasewood, marsh, Melospiza melodia, perch, perched, perky, Sarcobatus vermiculatus, shrub, sky, Song Sparrow, sparrow, sparrows, wetlands, winter|

Last Friday I had a few seconds to photograph a perky Song Sparrow perched on a greasewood at Farmington Bay WMA just before I started to head towards home.

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Female American Kestrel Get Off My Lawn Look

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-12T08:09:44-06:00February 12th, 2023|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, blue, branches, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, female, Get Off My Lawn, kestrel, kestrels, look, marsh, perched, sky, wetlands, winter|

When I viewed this American Kestrel photo my first thought was if this isn't a "get off my lawn look" then I have never seen a get off my lawn look from anyone.

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Murder Of American Crows Calling

By Mia McPherson|2023-08-31T05:55:25-05:00February 11th, 2023|Categories: American Crows, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Video|Tags: American Crow, branches, Corvus brachyrhynchos, crow, crows, human, marsh, mountains, murder, Noise Intrusion, snow, snow covered, tree, urban sprawl, video, Wasatch Mountains, wetlands, winter|

To my delight, I heard and saw hundreds of American Crows at Farmington Bay WMA on my visit there early yesterday morning. The crows were great company.

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Bear River MBR: Winter Haven For Tundra Swans

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-07T06:42:36-06:00February 7th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, azure, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flying, immature, marsh, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, Tundra Swans, waterfowl, wetlands, winter, young|

I had hoped that this morning would be sunny so I could head to Bear River MBR to see, listen to, and photograph Tundra Swans on the marshes.

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Leaning Post Bald Eagle

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-06T04:08:26-06:00February 4th, 2023|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, eagle, eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, leaning, looking, marsh, perched, post, raptors, stern, tradition, wetlands, winter|

After my recent visit to Bear River MBR I wanted to share photos of a Bald Eagle on a leaning post that can be seen from the road leading to the auto tour loop.

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My Shadow Plus The Wild Beauty of Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|2024-01-31T19:24:49-06:00February 3rd, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: beauty, frozen, ice, landscape, marsh, mountains, Promontory Mountains, scenery, shadow, sky, snow, snow-capped, snow-covered, water, wetlands, wild, winter|

Yesterday morning while it was still dark I bundled up and drove up to soak in the wild beauty of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I am so glad that I went.

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Puffy Song Sparrow In Cold Temps

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-01T03:44:06-06:00February 1st, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Song Sparrows, Utah|Tags: adult, fluffy, marsh, Melospiza melodia, puffball, puffy, snow, Song Sparrow, sparrow, sparrows, wetlands, winter|

I went to Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning in icy cold temps where my favorite images that I took were of a puffy Song Sparrow in the snow.

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Immature Black-crowned Night Heron – Where Are The Birds?

By Mia McPherson|2023-09-15T15:08:28-05:00January 18th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: Black-crowned Night Heron, fishing, heron, herons, hunting, immature, marsh, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter, young|

While going through my archives I found this photo of a fishing immature Black-crowned Night Heron taken 10 years ago today at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Male Red-winged Blackbird In January

By Mia McPherson|2023-01-15T05:40:36-06:00January 15th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: adult, Agelaius phoeniceus, blackbird, blackbirds, branch, close up, displaying, male, marsh, perched, Red-winged Blackbird, sky, up close, wetlands, winter|

While I was at Farmington Bay WMA three days ago I stopped to photograph a male Red-winged Blackbird that I spotted on an old dead branch.

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Female American Kestrel On A Tree Top

By Mia McPherson|2023-01-13T04:29:29-06:00January 13th, 2023|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, branches, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, female, kestrel, kestrels, marsh, perched, seed pods, tree, wetlands, winter|

I spent a few moments photographing a gorgeous female American Kestrel on a tree top yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Rough-legged Hawk Staredown

By Mia McPherson|2023-01-11T04:34:48-06:00January 11th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, cold, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, mountains, perched, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, sky, snow, staredown, wetlands, winter|

One year ago this morning I was on the road to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge where my best subject of the day was a male light morph Rough-legged Hawk.

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My Birding By Ear Affliction

By Mia McPherson|2023-07-27T03:41:28-05:00January 7th, 2023|Categories: American Crows, Barred Owls, Birds, Blue Jays, Florida, Hillsborough County, Lettuce Lake Regional Park, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Crow, autumn, Barred Owl, birding by ear, Blue Jay, branches, corvids, Corvus brachyrhynchos, crow, crows, Cyanocitta cristata, epiphytic flowering plant, fall, hardwood hammock, ice, jay, jays, marsh, owl, owls, peanut, perched, Spanish Moss, Strix varia, Tillandsia usneoides, tree, wetlands, winter|

My birding by ear affliction isn't that I can't hear birds; it is that I can't not hear them. Even when I am on the phone with my friends.

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Immature Herring Gull Testing The Ice

By Mia McPherson|2023-01-06T13:07:02-06:00January 6th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Herring Gulls, Utah|Tags: gull, gulls, Herring Gull, ice, immature, insurrection, January 6th, Larus argentatus, marsh, testing, water, wetlands, winter, young|

It was January 6, 2021, when I photographed this immature Herring Gull testing the ice at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Hello 2023!

By Mia McPherson|2023-09-15T14:45:05-05:00January 1st, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, dense, fog, foggy, Great Blue Heron, heavy fog, heron, herons, ice, marsh, snow, wading birds, wetlands, winter|

Hello 2023! I hope that 2023 will be wonderful for each and everyone of us. Right now it isn't clear what 2023 will bring.

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My 2022 Year In Review

By Mia McPherson|2023-11-10T04:24:07-06:00December 31st, 2022|Categories: American Kestrels, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Box Elder County, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Golden Eagles, Great Horned Owls, Horned Grebes, Morgan County, Ring-billed Gulls, Rock Wrens, Ruffed Grouse, Tundra Swans, Utah, Warbling Vireos, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, American Kestrel, Aquila chrysaetos, autumn, background, berries, Bewick's Swan, bill, birds of prey, Black-billed Magpie, blooming, blooms, blossoms, Bonasa umbellus, boulder, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Bubo virginianus, building, canyon, close up, corvids, Cygnus columbianus, Cygnus columbianus bewickii, Davis County, desert, dirt, eagle, eagles, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, fall, farmlands, female, fledgling, flight, flock, flowering, flowering shrub, flying, forest edge, fruiting shrub, fruits, fruting shrubs, Golden Eagle, gorget, Great Horned Owl, grebe, grebes, grouse, gull, gulls, Horned Grebe, hummingbird, hummingbirds, immature, juvenile, kestrel, kestrels, Larus delawarensis, lichen, lores, magpie, magpies, male, marsh, mountains, nest, nest box, nesting, nonbreeding plumage, owl, owls, perched, Pica hudsonia, Podiceps auritus, raptors, rare, reflection, Ring-billed Gull, riparian habitat, road, roadside, rock, Rock Wren, rocks, Ruffed Grouse, Salpinctes obsoletus, Selasphorus platycercus, serviceberries, serviceberry, Setophaga petechia, shrub, spring, stink-eye, summer, swan, swans, thicket, tree, Tundra Swans, Utah, Utah Serviceberry, vagrant, warbler, warblers, water, waterbirds, waterfowl, wetlands, willow, willow thicket, willows, winter, winter plumage, wood-warbler, wood-warblers, wren, wrens, Yellow Warbler, young|

On this last day of the year it is time for my annual 2022 Year in Review post. In some ways 2022 has been great for me and in others not so good.

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Great Blue Heron On Ice At Farmington Bay WMA

By Mia McPherson|2023-09-15T05:45:37-05:00December 30th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Gandy Beach, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, beach, coastal, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, ice, marsh, Mia McPherson, oysters, photograph, pond, rocks, shadow, taking, Tampa Bay, Utah, vegetation, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter, yawning|

I had some fun photographing a Great Blue Heron on ice along with its shadow yesterday morning on a pond at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Some Mammals I Loved In 2022

By Mia McPherson|2022-12-28T07:17:09-06:00December 28th, 2022|Categories: American Badgers, Davis County, Elk, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Least Chipmunks, Long-tailed Weasels, Morgan County, Mule Deer, Summit County, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow-bellied Marmots|Tags: adult, American Badger, autumn, baby, badger, badger burrow, badgers, canyon, Cervus canadensis, chipmunk, chipmunks, close up, cow, curious, cute, Elk, elks, fall, female, fence post, grazing, ground squirrel, ground squirrels, high Uintas, hillside, kissing, Least Chipmunk, Long-tailed Weasel, mammals, marmot, Marmota flaviventris, marmots, marsh, mountains, Mustela frenata, mustelids, Neotamias minimus, portrait, profile, roadside, rock, rock pile, rocks, rocky slope, shadow, spring, squirrel, squirrels, summer, summer coat, Taxidea taxus, Uinta Ground Squirrel, Urocitellus armatus, weasel, weasels, wetlands, wooden post, Yellow-bellied Marmot, young|

This morning I am sharing some photos of the mammals I loved finding, seeing, photographing and having in my viewfinder in 2022.

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Christmas Day American Kestrel

By Mia McPherson|2022-12-25T05:45:40-06:00December 25th, 2022|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Salt Lake County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, afternoon, American Kestrel, Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, clouds, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, haze, hazy, male, marsh, mountains, peaks, perched, sky, snow, Wasatch Mountain Range, Wasatch Mountains, wetlands, winter, winter inversion, wooden post|

I photographed this Christmas Day American Kestrel in 2020 at Farmington Bay WMA. That Christmas Day was bright and sunny, today isn't going to be at all.

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First Winter Hooded Merganser

By Mia McPherson|2022-12-19T05:52:16-06:00December 19th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Hooded Mergansers, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, diving ducks, duck, ducks, fall, female, first winter, Glover Pond, hen, Hooded Merganser, ice, Lophodytes cucullatus, marsh, merganser, pond, preening, reflection, urban, Utah, water, waterfowl, wetlands|

Two days ago at one of my local ponds I was able to take only a few photos of a Hooded Merganser before it disappeared from my line of sight.

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Immature Rough-legged Hawk, Staring Prey And Feaking

By Mia McPherson|2022-12-15T05:30:05-06:00December 15th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, Davis County, fall, feaking, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, landing, light morph, looking, marsh, nest box, prey, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, staring, vole, wetlands, young|

This morning I am sharing photos of an immature Rough-legged Hawk, its staring prey, of the bird feaking and a bonus image that shows the tongue of the hawk.

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Birds On Ice In Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|2022-12-14T04:20:48-06:00December 14th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Canada Geese, Common Ravens, Ring-billed Gulls, Salt Lake County, Trumpeter Swans, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Geese, Canada Goose, Common Raven, corvids, Corvus corax, Cygnus buccinator, Cygnus columbianus, feathers, geese, goose, gull, gulls, ice, Larus delawarensis, marsh, phragmites, phrags, pond, raven, ravens, Ring-billed Gull, shadow, stretching, swan, swans, Trumpeter Swan, Tundra Swan, urban, vegetation, walking, wary, waterfowl, wetlands, wings, winter|

This morning I'm sharing photos of five bird species that I find on ice during the coldest months of the year in marsh and urban locations.

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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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Immature Red-tailed Hawk In A Safety Zone

By Mia McPherson|2023-12-25T04:00:32-06:00December 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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Bright Winter Light VS A Winter Whiteout

By Mia McPherson|2022-12-04T04:41:24-06:00December 3rd, 2022|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Antelope Island Causeway, back view, bright, Cygnus columbianus, field of snow, fog, ice, light, marsh, snow, standing, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, waterfowl, wetlands, white on white, white out, winter|

Earlier this year I photographed a Tundra Swan in bright winter light that today I am comparing to another swan image I took in winter whiteout conditions.

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White-faced Ibis Foraging In A Wetland

By Mia McPherson|2022-11-29T06:19:58-06:00November 29th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, White-faced Ibises|Tags: adult, autumn, fall, foraging, ibis, ibises, marsh, Plegadis chihi, vegetation, wading birds, walking, water, wetlands, White-faced Ibis|

Although much of the water there had iced over, I was tickled to find this White-faced Ibis foraging in the wetlands of Farmington Bay WMA last week.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk Head On Stare

By Mia McPherson|2022-11-28T04:39:23-06:00November 28th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, fall, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, head on, immature, marsh, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, stare, tree, young|

If I were a vole, I'd tremble in fear under the head on stare of this immature Red-tailed Hawk that I photographed last week at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Immature Northern Shrike Jackpot!

By Mia McPherson|2022-11-26T06:05:08-06:00November 26th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Shrikes, Utah|Tags: autumn, Common Mullein, fall, immature, Lanius borealis, marsh, mullein, mulleins, Northern Shrike, perched, shrike, shrikes, Verbascum thapsus, wetlands, young|

I felt like I had hit a jackpot yesterday when I found an immature Northern Shrike perched on a Common Mullein at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Tundra Swan Framed By Phrags

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-08T03:41:52-06:00November 17th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Cygnus columbianus, fall, framed, ice, marsh, phragmites, phrags, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, water, waterfowl, wetlands|

When I explored the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on Monday I was able to take photos of one Tundra Swan framed by phrags from the dirt road.

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Ring-billed Gull Feeding Frenzy Excitement

By Mia McPherson|2022-11-16T03:16:36-06:00November 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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