pre-migration – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Late Summer Barn Swallow Delight

By Mia McPherson|2023-09-22T05:09:25-05:00September 22nd, 2023|Categories: Barn Swallows, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, Barn Swallow, delight, fall migration, Hirundo rustica, kettles, marsh, morning, perched, phragmites, phrags, pre-migration, prepping, resting, summer, swallow, swallows, thrilled, wetlands|

I was thoroughly delighted to capture several late summer Barn Swallow photos during my last trip to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I was truly thrilled.

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Kamas Valley Sandhill Crane Photos

By Mia McPherson|2023-08-18T04:01:49-05:00August 18th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Kamas Valley, Sandhill Cranes, Summit County, Utah|Tags: adult, crane, cranes, field, foraging, Gateway to the Uintas, grass, grasses, grassy, mottled, pasture, pre-migration, ranchlands, Sandhill Crane, summer|

Yesterday, on the way to the Uinta Mountains, April Olson and I looked for birds in the Kamas Valley. That's where I took these Sandhill Crane photos.

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One Funny Snowy Egret Photo

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-21T04:20:38-05:00September 26th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: close up, down, duckweed, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, fall, fish, foraging, freshwater marsh, funny, gulping, head, hunting, marsh, mode, model, morning light, portrait, pre-migration, prey, Snowy Egret, sparkling, specular highlights, upside down, wading birds, water, wetland|

September is a marvelous time for photographing Snowy Egrets in the freshwater marshes that surround the Great Salt Lake.

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Photographing Late Summer Nashville Warblers

By Mia McPherson|2021-04-11T15:14:42-05:00September 15th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Nashville Warblers, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, aphids, branch, branches, canyon, foraging, immature/female, leaves, Leiothlypis ruficapilla, male, migration, mountains, Nashville Warbler, pre-migration, warbler, warblers, willow, willows, wood-warblers|

I parked next to a stand of willows to see what birds would come in and it wasn't long before I was busy photographing Nashville Warblers foraging for aphids on the leaves of the trees.

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Pre-migration Lazuli Buntings Fattening Up On Fruit

By Mia McPherson|2021-06-01T03:59:08-05:00August 17th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Lazuli Buntings, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Amelanchier utahensis, bunting, buntings, canyon, female, fruit, immature, Lazuli Bunting, Passerina amoena, pre-migration, ripe, serviceberries, serviceberry, Utah Serviceberry|

One year ago today I was up in the Wasatch Mountains photographing pre-migration Lazuli Buntings fattening on the fruits of serviceberries and most of them were either immature or female buntings.

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