subadult – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Young Bald Eagle On The Road

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-17T04:35:58-06:00February 17th, 2024|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: auto tour loop, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, dirt road, eagle, eagles, habitat, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, haze, immature, marsh, mountains, observation tower, phragmites, phrags, raptors, sky, sub-adult, subadult, vault toilet, wetlands, winter, young|

This Bald Eagle photo isn't my best image of this species, and that is alright with me. I took the photo five days ago on the auto tour loop at Bear River MBR.

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Young Bald Eagle Looking Fierce

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-06T03:17:09-06:00February 28th, 2023|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: Bald Eagle, blue, desert, eagle, eagles, Eagles of Utah, fierce, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, looking, perched, pole, power pole, ranchlands, raptors, sky, subadult, winter, young|

Today I'm sharing a photo of a young Bald Eagle who was looking mighty fierce while perched on a power pole that I took last February on a very cold morning.

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Immature Rough-legged Hawk Perched On A Tumbleweed

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-18T16:58:12-06:00February 20th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, marsh, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sub-adult, subadult, tumbleweed, wetlands, winter, young|

I was delighted to spot, point out, and photograph this immature light morph Rough-legged Hawk that was perched on a tumbleweed at Bear River MBR yesterday morning.

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Yawning Immature Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|2022-02-10T05:20:55-06:00February 10th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, immature, light morph, marker, marsh, perched, plastic post, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sub-adult, subadult, Utah, wetlands, winter, yawn, yawning, young|

This is the same immature light morph Rough-legged Hawk that I shared portraits of two days ago that were taken at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Immature Light Morph Rough-legged Hawk Portraits

By Mia McPherson|2022-02-08T05:14:04-06:00February 8th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, frost, frosty, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, marsh, perched, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, subadult, wetlands, winter, young|

I had five minutes of bird bliss yesterday morning at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I was able to take immature light morph Rough-legged Hawk portraits.

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Rough-legged Hawk In Soft Morning Light

By Mia McPherson|2022-02-03T05:48:54-06:00February 3rd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, frost, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, morning light, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, soft, subadult, wetland, winter, wooden post, young|

Last month while enjoying one of the most relaxing trips I have had to Bear River MBR in a long time I came across this Rough-legged Hawk in soft morning light.

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Christmas Day Bird Photos Through the Years

By Mia McPherson|2021-12-25T06:26:22-06:00December 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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Subadult Peregrine Falcon

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-24T05:52:59-05:00May 24th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Peregrine Falcons, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult plumage, birds of prey, calling, desert, Falco peregrinus, falcon, falcons, fence post, First Spring, flight, flying, foothills, immature, juvenal plumage, lift off, lifting off, molt, molting, Peregrine Falcon, raptors, second year bird, sky, spring, sub-adult, subadult, take off, taking off, wooden post, young|

Last week before I found the Rock Wren I wrote about I also found a subadult Peregrine Falcon perched on a wooden post in the West Desert.

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Immature Bald Eagle In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2021-03-08T06:02:58-06:00March 8th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Bald Eagle, birds of prey, eagle, eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature, mountains, perched, raptors, second winter, snow, subadult, tree, Weber River|

When I spotted this immature Bald Eagle high in the Wasatch Mountains three days ago I hoped at some point to get photos of it in flight.

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Winter Herring Gulls In Utah

By Mia McPherson|2021-01-03T07:51:23-06:00January 3rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Herring Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, close up, flight, flying, gull, gulls, Herring Gull, immature, Larus argentatus, marsh, portrait, sky, subadult, water, winter, young|

Winter Herring Gulls have arrived in northern Utah and I am excited that I will have opportunities to photograph this gull species again.

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Photographing My First Green Heron In Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|2023-10-16T08:27:04-05:00September 24th, 2020|Categories: American White Pelicans, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Green Herons, Long-tailed Weasels, Utah|Tags: adult, American White Pelican, Butorides virescens, duckweed, Green Heron, half blind, hatch year bird, heron, herons, immature, Long-tailed Weasel, marsh, missing eye, Mustela frenata, one-eared, one-eyed, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, pelican, pelicans, rare, standing, sub-adult, subadult, uncommon, wading birds, water, weasel, weasels|

It was a terrific "season opener" for me yesterday thanks to my keen observation skills at Farmington Bay WMA with a Green Heron, one-eared Long-tailed Weasel and a one-eyed American White Pelican.

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Swainson’s Hawk Chicks, Sub-adult And Adults

By Mia McPherson|2021-03-09T04:18:29-06:00March 31st, 2020|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Box Elder County, Centennial Valley, Clark County, Idaho, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, breeding grounds, Buteo swainsoni, Buteos, chicks, conifer, dark morph, defecating, female, hawk, hawks, immature, intermediate morph, juvenile, light morph, male, nest tree, nesting tree, perched, pooping, post, raptors, rousing, sky, storm, stormy, sub-adult, subadult, Swainson's Hawk, wooden post, young|

These are the life stages of the Swainson's Hawks I see, observe and photograph here in Utah, Idaho and Montana.

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Sub-adult Red-tailed Hawk in Flight in Evening Light

By Mia McPherson|2022-10-04T07:19:06-05:00October 3rd, 2016|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Red-tailed Hawks|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, evening light, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Idaho, raptors, red tail hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, sub-adult, subadult|

This photo shows the sub-adult Red-tailed Hawk in flight in the glow of the evening light just a split second after it had lifted off from a perch further away.

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Tattered Looking Molting Red-tailed Hawk

By Mia McPherson|2022-10-04T07:10:38-05:00June 26th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, lift off, molt, molting, perched, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, sub-adult, subadult, tail bands, tail feathers, tattered|

This time of the year I see plenty of molting Red-tailed Hawks and they can look pretty tattered, worn and shabby.

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Bald Eagle Close Up – 4 Year Old

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-06T04:48:57-06:00May 21st, 2012|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: 4 year old bald eagle, Bald Eagle, close up, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature, landing, marsh, pole, sky, subadult, wetlands, winter, young|

A few years ago I had some wonderful photo ops with this 4-year-old Bald Eagle at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area

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Bald Eagles

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-06T04:38:34-06:00March 26th, 2012|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, eagle, eagles, fish, flight, flying, four year old, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, landing, marsh, prey, raptors, sky, sub-adult, subadult, wetlands, winter|

Normally during the month of February Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area has hundreds of Bald Eagles within its boundaries but that was not the case in February 2012.

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