Morgan County – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Cooper’s Hawk – Nearly Hidden And In Plain Sight

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-17T04:56:08-05:00March 17th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Morgan County, Salt Lake County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter cooperii, Accipiters, autumn, branches, canyon, Cooper’s Hawk, cryptic plumage, distance, fall, fence, First Spring, hatch year, hawk, hawks, hidden, immature, Morgan County, mountains, perched, plain, raptors, resting, Salt Lake County, sight, tree, trees, urban, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, winter, wooden fence, woodlands, young|

Two days ago, while I was photographing some Rock Squirrels, I saw a beautiful immature Cooper's Hawk fly in and land in a tangle of trees near the squirrels.

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Cedar Waxwing In A Chokecherry

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-30T15:53:32-05:00August 27th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Cedar Waxwings, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Western Chokecherry|Tags: adult, bloom, blooming, blossoms, Bombycilla cedrorum, branches, calling, canyon, Cedar Waxwing, Chokecherry, flowering, flowering tree, fluffy, forest edge, fruiting tree, leaves, Morgan County, mountains, perched, Prunus virginiana, Prunus virginiana demissa, ripe, ripening, summer, tree, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, waxwing, waxwings, Western Chokecherry|

On a recent trip up into the Wasatch Mountains I had a cooperative Cedar Waxwing who was perched on a branch of a chokecherry tree with blue sky behind it.

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Male Yellow Warbler In A Serviceberry

By Mia McPherson|2022-08-26T04:12:11-05:00August 26th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, branch, canyon, forest edge, leaves, male, Morgan County, mountains, poking, serviceberries, serviceberry, Setophaga petechia, summer, Utah, Utah Serviceberry, warbler, warblers, Wasatch Mountains, wood-warbler, wood-warblers, Yellow Warbler|

As I took these Yellow Warbler photos earlier this week in the mountains I realized that my time with these bright birds is coming to an end for the season.

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Young Cedar Waxwing Photos

By Mia McPherson|2022-07-31T04:29:06-05:00July 31st, 2022|Categories: Birds, Cedar Waxwings, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: aspens, Bombycilla cedrorum, branches, canyon, Cedar Waxwing, chick, forest, immature, juvenile, Morgan County, mountains, perched, Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspens, summer, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, waxwing, waxwings, young|

I found this young Cedar Waxwing in the remnants of a small aspen forest two days ago while I watched for other birds to come in to feed on ripe serviceberries.

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Adult Cedar Waxwing In Morgan County

By Mia McPherson|2022-07-29T05:08:15-05:00July 29th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Cedar Waxwings, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Bombycilla cedrorum, canyon, Cedar Waxwing, crest, Morgan County, mountains, perched, raised, riparian habitat, summer, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, waxwing, waxwings, willow ticket, willows|

I was happy to photograph an adult Cedar Waxwing perched on top of a willow thicket in Morgan County high in the Wasatch Mountains four days ago.

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Serviceberry And Cedar Waxwing Images

By Mia McPherson|2022-06-10T04:41:15-05:00June 10th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Cedar Waxwings, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, Bombycilla cedrorum, branches, calling, canyon, Cedar Waxwing, forest edge, leaves, Morgan County, mountains, perched, serviceberry, shrub, sky, spring, tree, Utah, Utah Serviceberry, Wasatch Mountains, waxwing, waxwings|

Yesterday morning I stopped to take a series of Cedar Waxwing images as a small flock of waxwings perched in a serviceberry that has just finished blooming.

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Spring Yellow Warbler Photos

By Mia McPherson|2024-04-20T05:28:05-05:00May 9th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, canyon, female, gaurding, male, Morgan County, mountains, perched, riparian habitat, serviceberry, Setophaga petechia, spring, territory, thicket, Utah, Utah Serviceberry, warbler, warblers, Wasatch Mountains, willow, willows, wood-warbler, wood-warblers, Yellow Warbler|

I had a bit of fun taking female and male Yellow Warbler photos yesterday in the high country of the Wasatch Mountain Range on a bright sunny morning.

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Black-capped Chickadee Photos – Foraging in Common Mulleins

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-23T14:42:42-05:00August 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Black-capped Chickadees, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: adult, Black-capped Chickadee, bloom, blooming, branch, canyon, chickadee, chickadees, Common Mullein, fence, foraging, introduced, Morgan County, mountains, mullein, mulleins, nonnative, Poecile atricapillus, riparian zone, summer, Utah, Verbascum thapsus, Wasatch Mountains, wildflowers, yellow wildflowers|

Two days ago I was able to spend a few minutes taking Black-capped Chickadee photos as small flock of them foraged in Common Mulleins.

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Summer Willow Flycatcher Photos

By Mia McPherson|2021-08-01T06:00:13-05:00August 1st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Willow Flycatchers|Tags: barbed wire, blooming, Common Mullein, Empidonax traillii, Empids, fence, flycatcher, flycatchers, hunting, Morgan County, perched, prey, resting, summer, tyrant flycatchers, Utah, Verbascum thapsus, Wasatch Mountains, wildflowers, Willow Flycatcher, yellow wildflowers|

Yesterday morning I was able to spend time taking Willow Flycatcher photos high in the mountains with clear skies overhead as I watched the flycatchers hunting for prey.

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Least Chipmunk On A Smoky Morning In The Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-13T13:04:00-05:00July 13th, 2021|Categories: Least Chipmunks, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Aster, aster family, Asters, branch, canyon, chipmunk, chipmunks, crawling, eating, fleabane, forest edge, Least Chipmunk, Morgan County, mountains, Neotamias minimus, pink wildflowers, purple wildflowers, riparian habitat, Round Leaf Snowberry, smoky haze, summer, Symphoricarpos rotundifolius, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, wildflowers|

I couldn't escape the smoke that is covering Utah even high in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday but I was delighted to photograph a Least Chipmunk and wildflowers through the smoky haze.

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American Robins Foraging On Hawthorn Berries

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-10T12:30:20-05:00September 21st, 2020|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, American Robin, berries, berry, branch, canyon, Crataegus rivularis, hawthorn, hawthorns, late summer, Morgan County, mountains, perched, ripe, River Hawthorn, robin, robins, summer, thrushes, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|

American Robins seemed especially abundant yesterday high in the Wasatch Mountains and I was happy to photograph them foraging on the ripe berries of a hawthorn.

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Young Cedar Waxwing Photos

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-30T17:22:34-05:00August 10th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Cedar Waxwings, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Bombycilla cedrorum, canyon, Cedar Waxwing, close up, crane fly, eating, immature, juvenile, legs, Morgan County, mosquito hawk, mountains, open bill, perched, portrait, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, waxwing, waxwings, young|

I was excited when I found this young Cedar Waxwing out in the open and within the range of my lens right after it caught a crane fly to eat for breakfast.

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Young Red Fox Close Up Photos

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-13T14:10:40-05:00August 4th, 2020|Categories: Morgan County, Red Foxes, Summit County, Utah|Tags: calm, canyon, close up, fox, foxes, hunting, immature, mammals, meadow, Morgan County, mountain meadow, mountains, portrait, profile view, Red Fox, resting, summer, Utah, Vulpes vulpes, Wasatch Mountains, young|

Yesterday I did take some bird photos and although I didn't find any avian rarities I did find a beautiful young Red Fox in a mountain meadow to photograph.

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Cedar Waxwings Plus A Singing Mystery Bird Revealed

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-30T16:41:31-05:00July 3rd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Cedar Waxwings, Morgan County, Summit County, Utah, Video, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, alert, Black twinberry honeysuckle, Bombycilla cedrorum, canyon, Catharus ustulatus, Cedar Waxwing, close up, honeysuckle, honeysuckles, Lonicera involucrata, Morgan County, mountains, mystery, perched, portrait, recording, song, Swainson's Thrush, video, waxwing, waxwings|

As soon as I stopped my Jeep two Cedar Waxwings popped into view. The waxwings were close so I took portraits of them perched among the honeysuckles.

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Red-tailed Hawk In Morning Light – Wasatch Mountains In The Shadows

By Mia McPherson|2023-09-28T05:35:34-05:00November 4th, 2018|Categories: Birds, East Canyon, Morgan County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, contrast, darkness, East Canyon, exposure, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lifting off, light, Morgan County, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, shadows, sunshine, Utah|

Yesterday morning for a few moments I had one of those opportunities with a Red-tailed Hawk perched on top of some trees in East Canyon where the mountains in the background where still in the shadows and because of that the bird seemed to glow.

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