sumac – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

My Solitaire Common Name Change Recommendation

By Mia McPherson|2023-11-20T05:02:29-06:00November 20th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Tooele County, Townsend's Solitaires, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, autumn, berries, berry, Box Elder County, Celtis reticulata, desert, fall, Fragrant Sumac, hackberries, hackberry, juniper, junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, leaves, Myadestes townsendi, Netleaf Hackberry, perched, ranchlands, Rhus aromatica, roadside, shrub, sky, snow, snowy, solitaire, solitaires, sumac, thrush, thrushes, Townsend's Solitaire, tree, Utah, Utah Juniper|

In 2024, the common name for Townsend's Solitaire will change, along with many other bird names. My recommendation would be to rename it the Juniper Solitaire.

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Desert Townsend’s Solitaire

By Mia McPherson|2022-10-21T10:28:26-05:00October 21st, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Townsend's Solitaires, Utah|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, autumn, Big Sagebrush, desert, fall, Fragrant Sumac, Myadestes townsendi, perched, Rhus aromatica, roadside, sage, sagebrush, solitaire, solitaires, sumac, Townsend's Solitaire|

I was thrilled to find and take pictures of a Townsend's Solitaire perched on the bare branches of a sumac on my journey yesterday morning to far northern Utah.

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California Tortoiseshell Butterfly And Blooming Fragrant Sumac

By Mia McPherson|2022-04-26T05:50:55-05:00April 26th, 2022|Categories: Box Elder County, California Tortoiseshell Butterflies, Shrubs, Trees, Shrubs and Flowers, Utah|Tags: blooming, bush, buterflies, butterfly, California Tortoiseshell, desert, Fragrant Sumac, freshwater seep, memories, Nymphalis californica, perched, Rhus aromatica, shrub, spring, sumac, wildflowers|

I had this California Tortoiseshell butterfly nectaring on blooming Fragrant Sumac up in a far northern Utah desert in my viewfinder four years ago today.

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Immature White-crowned Sparrow Photos In Fall

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-20T05:25:57-05:00October 20th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: autumn, autumn colors, desert, fall, fall colors, Fragrant Sumac, immature, leaves, perched, Rhus aromatica, seep, shrub, sparrow, sparrows, sumac, White-crowned Sparrow, young, Zonotrichia leucophrys|

When I was way up north in Box Elder County three days ago I had the opportunity to take immature White-crowned Sparrow photos with fall colors in the frames.

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Autumn Loggerhead Shrike

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-18T11:46:49-05:00October 18th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Loggerhead Shrikes, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, autumn colors, desert, fall, fall colors, Fragrant Sumac, Lanius ludovicianus, Loggerhead Shrike, Nikon D500, Rhus aromatica, shrike, shrikes, sky, sumac|

This adult Loggerhead Shrike perched on a Fragrant Sumac was among the birds that I found yesterday morning way up in northern Utah.

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Autumn Townsend’s Solitaire Plus Snow In The 10 Day Forecast

By Mia McPherson|2021-10-04T05:20:05-05:00October 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Townsend's Solitaires, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, desert, fall, fall colors, Fragrant Sumac, hidden, leaves, Myadestes townsendi, perched, Rhus aromatica, seep, solitaire, solitaires, sumac, thrush, thrushes, Townsend's Solitaire|

I found quite a few birds yesterday in far northern Utah and of all the photos I took this autumn Townsend's Solitaire was my favorite.

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Vesper Sparrow Lifting Off

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-07T09:28:30-06:00July 31st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Vesper Sparrows|Tags: adult, desert, Fragrant Sumac, freshwater seep, lift off, lifting off, Poocetes gramineus, Rhus aromatica, seep, sky, smoky, sparrow, sparrows, sumac, summer, take off, taking off, Vesper Sparrow|

While looking through my archives yesterday I came across this image of a Vesper Sparrow I photographed last September near a freshwater seep in Box Elder County.

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European Starling On Three Perches

By Mia McPherson|2021-04-20T05:07:29-05:00April 20th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, European Starlings, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, breeding season, desert, European Starling, Fragrant Sumac, male, Rhus aromatica, spring, starling, starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, sumac|

Two days ago I was able to take photos of a male European Starling on three different perches just a few seconds apart in northern Utah.

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Cozy Red-tailed Hawks And Finches Galore

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-23T07:14:58-05:00November 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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Autumn Pine Siskins – 2020 Is An Irruption Year

By Mia McPherson|2023-10-17T20:22:40-05:00October 18th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Pine Siskins, Utah|Tags: autumn, Carduelis pinus, desert, fall, finch, finches, Fragrant Sumac, freshwater seep, irruption, irruption year, perched, Pine Siskin, Rhus aromatica, seep, siskin, siskins, sumac|

My Facebook timeline is buzzing with people posting photos of large numbers of Pine Siskins at their bird feeders across the country.

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Rock Squirrel Close Up In A Fragrant Sumac Shrub

By Mia McPherson|2023-04-11T04:53:09-05:00September 28th, 2020|Categories: Rock Squirrels, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, branch, desert, eye, forest, Fragrant Sumac, grasping, mountains, Otospermophilus variegatus, Rhus aromatica, Rock Squirrel, shrub, sky island mountains, squirrel, squirrels, sumac, sumacs, summer|

The Rock Squirrel was grasping a sumac branch and the shrub was so close to me I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to focus on it.

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Potpourri Of Ruby-crowned Kinglet Photos

By Mia McPherson|2021-06-26T11:41:31-05:00September 18th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, desert, fall, fall colors, Fragrant Sumac, kinglet, kinglets, male, morning, morning light, Rhus aromatica, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, shaking feathers, stretching, sumac|

This morning I wanted to share a potpourri of Ruby-crowned Kinglet photos because I adore seeing and photographing these quick moving, charismatic little birds.

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Adult Sage Thrasher Regurgitating A Sumac Seed

By Mia McPherson|2021-03-05T04:43:59-06:00September 17th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Sage Thrashers, Utah|Tags: adult, berry, Box Elder County, desert, Fragrant Sumac, late summer, leaves, mimids, Rhus aromatica, Sage Thrasher, seed, seep, shrub, sumac, sumacs, thrasher, thrashers, Utah|

Eleven days ago I photographed an adult Sage Thrasher regurgitating the seed of a sumac berry that was so close I could barely fit the thrasher in the frame.

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Male Spotted Towhees – One Immature And One Adult

By Mia McPherson|2024-04-05T03:45:44-05:00September 14th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Spotted Towhees, Utah|Tags: adult, adult plumage, colorful, desert, Fragrant Sumac, hatch year, immature, male, molt, molting, Pipilo maculatus, raggedy, ranchlands, Rhus aromatica, seep, smoke, smoky, sparrow, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, sumac, summer, towhee, towhees, young|

Spotted Towhees are among the most colorful members of the sparrow family and I always enjoy photographing them on those occasions when they are out in the open.

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I’m Just Mad About Sparrows

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-07T09:34:15-06:00September 8th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Brewer's Sparrows, Lincoln's Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, Utah, Vesper Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: adult, branches, Brewer's Sparrow, desert, Fragrant Sumac, immature, juvenile, Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, Passerculus sandwichensis, Poocetes gramineus, Rhus aromatica, rose hips, roses, Savannah Sparrow, sky, smoky, sparrow, sparrows, Spizella breweri, sumac, Vesper Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, wild roses, young, Zonotrichia leucophrys|

I had a great time photographing all of the sparrow species I saw two days ago and I could have stayed with them all morning long. I might do just that later this week.

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Gray Flycatcher Perched In Fragrant Sumac

By Mia McPherson|2022-05-11T04:07:37-05:00September 8th, 2019|Categories: Bird ID, Birds, Box Elder County, Gray Flycatchers, Utah|Tags: behavioral clue, bird ID, branches, desert, Empidonax wrightii, Empids, flycatcher, flycatchers, Fragrant Sumac, Gray Flycatcher, identification, Rhus aromatica, seep, sumac, summer, wagging tail|

As it turns out this flycatcher gave me a wonderful behavioral clue that made identifying it a little easier for me because I watched it wag its tail slowly up and down repeatedly while perched which Gray Flycatchers are known to do.

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Cooperative Northern Mockingbird in Autumn

By Mia McPherson|2024-04-01T12:40:29-05:00October 21st, 2018|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Mockingbirds, Utah|Tags: adult, alert, autumn, colors, cooperative, desert, fall, Fragrant Sumac, leaves, lift off, mimids, Mimus polyglottos, mockingbird, mockingbirds, Northern Mockingbird, perched, Rhus aromatica, sumac, twig|

Some days one good bird is all I get and if I hadn't spotted this cooperative Mockingbird on a Fragrant Sumac in northern Utah yesterday I would have been mostly skunked.

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Male Wilson’s Warbler On Fragrant Sumac

By Mia McPherson|2024-04-05T06:20:13-05:00October 6th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Wilson's Warblers|Tags: adult, Cardellina pusilla, Fragrant Sumac, male, perched, ranchlands, Rhus aromatica, sumac, warbler, warblers, Wilson's Warbler, wood-warblers|

Last month I spotted a male Wilson's Warbler perched on the top of a Fragrant Sumac bush in northern Utah and he stood out well because he was out in the open for a few seconds.

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Ruby-crowned Kinglet Photographed in Golden Light

By Mia McPherson|2021-06-26T11:54:41-05:00October 3rd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah|Tags: adult, Corthylio calendula, desert, Fragrant Sumac, golden light, kinglet, kinglets, morning light, Rhus aromatica, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, sumac|

The same morning that I photographed the Sage Thrasher with the berry in mid air I was also able to take a series of images of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the sweet golden light just after dawn.

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Adult White-crowned Sparrow Perched On A Budding Tree

By Mia McPherson|2021-03-06T16:43:59-06:00April 21st, 2018|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: adult, budding trees, Fragrant Sumac, perched, Rhus aromatica, sparrow, sparrows, spring, sumac, White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys|

Three days ago after I photographed the female American Kestrel eating her prey on a lichen-covered rock I was able to take a few photographs of a single adult White-crowned Sparrow that was perched on a budding tree.

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Photographing a Dynasty of Ruby-crowned Kinglets

By Mia McPherson|2021-01-23T07:17:15-06:00October 8th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, bright, Celtis reticulata, colors, Corthylio calendula, crowns, dynasty, fall colors, Fragrant Sumac, hackberry, kinglet, kinglets, lift off, male, Netleaf Hackberry, perched, photograph, photographing, Rhus aromatica, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, sumac, sunny|

Yesterday I saw so many Ruby-crowned Kinglets in northern Utah that it was impossible for me to keep up with them, I am certain I missed some excellent images because of that.

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