raptors – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Adult Golden Eagle Close Up

By Mia McPherson|February 13th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: adult, Aquila chrysaetos, blue sky, close up, eagle, eagles, flight, fly by, flying, Golden Eagle, raptors, sky, winter|

One year ago this morning spotting and photographing this adult Golden Eagle at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge was the highlight of an otherwise crappy day.

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Golden Eagle Flying Over A Hill On Antelope Island

By Mia McPherson|February 9th, 2021|Categories: American Bison, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: adult, American Bison, Aquila chrysaetos, birds of prey, Bison, Bison bison, buffalo, bull, close up, clouds, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, Golden Eagle, grass, grasses, Great Salt Lake, hill, lake, male, portrait, raptors, sky, water, winter|

It has been a couple of years since I have found a Golden Eagle on Antelope Island so when I spotted an adult on a grassy hill yesterday I was excited.

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It’s Superb Owl Sunday!

By Mia McPherson|February 7th, 2021|Categories: American Barn Owls, Birds, Great Horned Owls, Short-eared Owls|Tags: adult, American Barn Owl, Asio flammeus, Athene cunicularia, autumn, birds of prey, Bubo virginianus, Burrowing Owl, close up, desert, fledgling, flight, Great Horned Owl, immature, juvenile, lift off, marshes, owl, owls, Owls of Utah, perched, portrait, raptors, Short-eared Owl, snow, Tamarisk, Tyto furcata, white out, winter, young|

It is Superb Owl Sunday so I wanted to share four of the owls that I see most frequently. Barn, Burrowing, Great Horned and Short-eared Owls are the owls that I photograph most often here in northern Utah.

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Winter Female American Kestrel Photos

By Mia McPherson|February 3rd, 2021|Categories: American Kestrels, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, Antelope Island State Park, back view, Davis County, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, female, flight, flying, kestrel, kestrels, lift off, lifting off, perched, raptors, resting, rock, rocks, stalk, Utah, winter|

Yesterday morning I was able to take female American Kestrel photos from the causeway to Antelope Island State Park twice.

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Rufous Red-tailed Hawk Female Memories

By Mia McPherson|January 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Box Elder County, buteo, Buteo jamaicensis, cliff, cliff face, desert, female, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, resting, rufous, shrub, stretch, stretching, Utah|

This morning I wanted to share a few photos of a stunning rufous Red-tailed Hawk female that I photographed over a period of a couple of years.

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Urban Raptor Photography

By Mia McPherson|January 17th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: accipiter, Accipiters, adult, Astur cooperii, Bald Eagle, bird, birds of prey, branches, breakfast, Cooper’s Hawk, eagle, eagles, eating, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, home, living room, low light, neighborhood, raptor photography, raptors, tree, urban, window, winter|

When I first moved to Utah in 2009 I never expected to be able to do urban raptor photography from my living room window.

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Photographing Winter Birds

By Mia McPherson|January 15th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Bald Eagles, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Canvasbacks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Pied-billed Grebes, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Coot, Anas platyrhynchos, Aythya americana, Aythya valisineria, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, Black-crowned Night Heron, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Canvasback, chase, close up, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, coot, coots, dabbling ducks, dicks, displaying, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, eagle, eagles, female, fight, fighting, first winter, flight, flying, food, frisky, Fulica americana, goldeneye, goldeneyes, grackle, grackles, Great-tailed Grackle, grebe, grebes, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, heron, herons, immature, male, mallards, marsh, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, pond, portrait, prey, Quiscalus mexicanus, raptors, Redhead, redheads, swimming, wading birds, water, waterfowl, weather loach, winter, young|

I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.

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My First Rough-legged Hawk of 2021

By Mia McPherson|January 8th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, East Canyon, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, male, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, winter|

Two days ago I photographed my first Rough-legged Hawk of 2021 at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Or was it two?

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First Winter Red-tailed Hawk Lift Off Photos

By Mia McPherson|January 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: bird of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, first, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, juvenile, lift off, lifting off, marsh, metal post, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, take off, taking off, Utah, winter, young|

Last month I spent twenty-eight lovely minutes photographing this first winter Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Young Female Northern Harrier In Flight

By Mia McPherson|December 29th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: Circus hudsonius, female, flight, flying, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, Marsh Hawks, Northern Harrier, Promontory Mountains, raptors, sky, young|

Last week I was able to photograph this young Northern Harrier flying over a marsh on a trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Five Bird Photos From Christmas Day 2020

By Mia McPherson|December 26th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, Ardea herodias, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Christmas Day, close up, eagle, eales, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, field, first winter, Great Blue Heron, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, heron, herons, immature, lift off, lifting off, male, marsh, mountains, perched, pole, portrait, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, take off, taking off, tree, wading birds, wooden post, young|

Much to my delight I was able to photograph some birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.

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First Winter Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|December 16th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: Buteo regalis, Buteos, desert, Ferruginous Hawk, first winter, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, head on, immature, light morph, mountains, perched, raptors, rocks, snow, snowy, winter, young|

Two years and one day ago I only photographed two birds on a trip out into the West Desert and this light morph Ferruginous Hawk made the trip well worth the journey out into the cold.

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Female American Kestrel With Her Prey

By Mia McPherson|December 11th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, birds of prey, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, female, grasping, kestrel, kestrels, prey, raptors, sign post, talons, vole, winter, wooden post|

Three days ago I had one minute with a beautiful adult female American Kestrel and her partially eaten prey at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Photographing Bald Eagles At Farmington Bay WMA During An Inversion

By Mia McPherson|December 10th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, air pollition, Antelope Island, Astur cooperii, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Circus hudsonius, Cooper’s Hawk, eagle, eagles, EPA, flight, flying, government, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, hawks, hazy, hazy sky, ice, inversion, inversions, marsh, Northern Harrier, on the wing, perched, polluted sky, pollution, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, tree, turning, winter|

Think carefully before you make a trip to Utah to photograph our overwintering Bald Eagles in the valley. The inversions are awful and can be life threatening.

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Focusing On A Gray Ghost – AKA Male Northern Harrier

By Mia McPherson|December 9th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, flight, flying, Gray Ghost, harrier, harriers, Hawks of Utah, hunting, male, marsh, Northern Harrier, on the wing, raptors, side view, vegetation, winter|

Today I am focusing on an adult male Northern Harrier that I had in my viewfinder for a few seconds yesterday that was on the wing over the marsh.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk Harassed By A Northern Harrier

By Mia McPherson|December 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: alert, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Circus hudsonius, defensive posture, harassed, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, metal pole, metal post, Northern Harrier, perched, phragmites, phrags, pole, post, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, wide-eyed, winter, young|

I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and spent 28 minutes photographing it including when a Northern Harrier harassed it.

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Frosty Female Northern Harrier In Flight

By Mia McPherson|December 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, female, flight, flying, frost, frosty, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, marsh, Marsh hawk, Northern Harrier, on the wing, raptors, winter|

I saw a few harriers on the wing yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA and I was able to take a few photos of a female Northern Harrier that still had frost on her nape.

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Photographing An Immature Ferruginous Hawk Hunting For Breakfast

By Mia McPherson|November 28th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, foothills, hatch year, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, hunting, immature, lifting off, light morph, mountains, prey, raptors, scanning, snow-topped, staring, taking off, wooden post, young|

Yesterday morning not long after sunrise I spent some time photographing a light morph, immature Ferruginous Hawk hunting for its breakfast.

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Focusing On Adult Male Rough-legged Hawks

By Mia McPherson|November 27th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, clouds, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, high key, male, marsh, perched, raptor, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, Russian Olive, sky, stump, tree, winter|

Ten days ago I found and photographed this adult male Rough-legged Hawk as it perched on a Russian Olive tree at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I was heading home.

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Cozy Red-tailed Hawks And Finches Galore

By Mia McPherson|November 23rd, 2020|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Box Elder County, Pine Siskins, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, American Goldfinch, autumn, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Carduelis pinus, desert, fall, female, finch, finches, Fragrant Sumac, freshwater seep, goldfinch, goldfinches, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, leafless, ledge, lichen, male, morning, nonbreeding plumage, perched, Pine Siskin, prched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, Rhus aromatica, rocky, seep, side by side, siskin, siskins, sky, Spinus tristis, sumac, Utah|

Yesterday morning the first birds I spotted and photographed was a pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks side by side on a rocky ledge in early morning light.

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Time To Keep An Eye On The Sky For Bald Eagles

By Mia McPherson|November 21st, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, banking, eagle, eagles, flat, flats, flight, flooded, flying, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, marsh, on the wing, raptors, water, winter|

I could see a Bald Eagle being chased by a gull in the sky and my heart skipped a beat because I know it is time for me to keep an eye on the sky for Bald Eagles again.

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Veterans Day 2020

By Mia McPherson|November 11th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, before sunrise, birds of prey, dawn, eagle, eagles, frozen, golden light, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, marsh, mountains, New Year, perched, raptors, winter, wooden post|

Veterans Day is always held on November 11th and is a day set aside to honor all of those who have served our country in war or peace.

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Male Short-eared Owl Perched At The Edge Of A Sagebrush Sea

By Mia McPherson|November 5th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Short-eared Owls, Utah|Tags: adult, Asio flammeus, barbed wire, birds of prey, desert, fence post, male, owl, owls, Owls of Utah, perched, raptors, sage, sagebrush, sagebrush sea, Short-eared Owl, wooden post|

I am always looking for Short-eared Owls in northern Utah because they are year round residents here but they are nomadic which means I don't always see them.

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An Immature Light Morph Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|November 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, cedar post, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, foothills, gravel road, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, low, prched, raptors, sky island mountains, turning, wooden post, young|

The highlight of my morning yesterday was when I spotted an immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk perched on a cedar post in the West Desert.

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Adult Female Northern Harrier On The Wing Over Farmington Bay WMA

By Mia McPherson|November 3rd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, female, flight, fly by, flying, harrier, harriers, hawks, Hawks of Utah, marsh, Marsh Hawks, Northern Harrier, on the wing, raptors, sky|

It has been too long since I have had a Northern Harrier in my viewfinder although I'm now excited because I know that fall and winter are great seasons for me to find and photograph them.

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I Am Never NOT Looking For Birds

By Mia McPherson|October 24th, 2020|Categories: American Crows, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Morgan County, Salt Lake County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: accipiter, Accipiters, American Crow, Astur cooperii, birds of prey, canyon, close up, Cooper’s Hawk, corvid, corvids, Corvus brachyrhynchos, crow, crows, fence rail, frost, grocery store, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, ice, immature, marsh, mountains, parking lot, pine, pine tree, portrait, railing, raptors, walking, winter, wooden fence, young|

It does not matter where I am or what I am doing, I am never not looking for birds.

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On The Lookout For Rough-Legged Hawks

By Mia McPherson|October 19th, 2020|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, dive, diving, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, prey, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, winter|

I'm hoping that this week I'll be able to spot my first of the season Rough-legged Hawks and that I'll be able to get photos of them too. Fingers are crossed!

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West Desert Ferruginous Hawks – Light And Dark Morphs

By Mia McPherson|October 12th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, dark morph, desert, early morning, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, first fall, foothills, grasslands, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, raptors, resting, rousing, wooden post, young|

The past couple of weeks on some of my journeys to the West Desert of Utah I have been able to have a few long distance views of Ferruginous Hawks and that has me excited.

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An Immature Red-tailed Hawk Resting In A Tree

By Mia McPherson|October 7th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, branch, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, close up, Cottonwood, fall, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, leaves, perched, portrait, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, rest, resting, tree, young|

I spent sometime at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning where my best bird of the day was an immature Red-tailed Hawk resting in a tree.

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Surprise Immature Osprey In The West Desert Of Utah

By Mia McPherson|October 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ospreys, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: desert, fence post, Fish Hawk, foothills, harvest moon, hatch year, hatch year bird, hawks, immature, moon, mountains, Osprey, ospreys, Pandion haliaetus, perched, raptors, sunrise, wooden post, young|

I don't know how many times I have said "expect the unexpected" since I began photographing birds while talking to fellow photographers.

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