summer – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

White-breasted Nuthatch Images From Arkansas

By Mia McPherson|June 25th, 2023|Categories: Arkansas, Birds, Sebastian County, White-breasted Nuthatches|Tags: adult, driftwood, feeder, nuthatch, nuthatches, perched, Sitta carolinensis, summer, up close, urban, White-breasted Nuthatch, yard|

This morning, I'm sharing a few White-breasted Nuthatch images that I took yesterday in my friend Steve's birdy yard, before it got too hot to be outdoors.

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Adult Barred Owl At Sequoyah NWR

By Mia McPherson|June 24th, 2023|Categories: Barred Owls, Birds, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: adult, Barred Owl, bottomland hardwood forests, bottomlands, branch, leaves, owl, owls, perched, raptors, summer, willow|

I photographed this adult Barred Owl in nice light yesterday morning at Sequoyah NWR in Oklahoma. Huge thanks to Steve Creek for pointing it out to me.

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Young Black Vulture Snuggled Into A Tree Cavity Nest

By Mia McPherson|June 23rd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Black Vultures, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: Black Vulture, bottomland hardwood forests, bottomlands, Coragyps atratus, immature, juvenile, nesting cavity tree, summer, tree, vulture, vultures, young|

This young Black Vulture in a tree cavity nest made me happy dance yesterday morning at Sequoyah NWR when it was close to the entrance of the nesting cavity.

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Young Blue Jay Upside Down At A Feeder

By Mia McPherson|June 22nd, 2023|Categories: Arkansas, Birds, Blue Jays, Sebastian County|Tags: Blue Jay, close up, corvids, Cyanocitta cristata, feeder, immature, jay, jays, portrait, summer, upside down, urban, young|

Given how odd spring has been for me personally, it seemed appropriate for me to photograph a young Blue Jay hanging upside down on the first day of summer.

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Purple Loosestrife, Curlycup Gumweed and Chicory

By Mia McPherson|June 3rd, 2023|Categories: Chicory, Curlycup Gumweed, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Purple Loosestrife, Utah|Tags: blooming, blooms, blossoms, blue wildflowers, Chicory, Cichorium intybus, Common Chicory, Curlycup Gumweed, flowering, flowers, Grindelia squarrosa, introduced, invasive, loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, marsh, native, non-native, nonnative, pink wildflowers, Purple Loosestrife, purple wildflowers, summer, wetlands, wildflowers, yellow wildflowers|

I took these photos of Purple Loosestrife, Curlycup Gumweed, and Chicory last year while driving around Farmington Bay WMA in September.

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Blooming Prickly Poppies In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|May 26th, 2023|Categories: Flatbud Prickly Poppy, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wildflowers|Tags: Argemone munita, blooming, blooms, blossoms, desert, Flatbud Prickly Poppy, flowering, foothills, native, Prickly Poppy, sky island mountains, summer, Tooele County, Utah, west desert, white wildflowers, wildflowers|

Prickly Poppies are one of my favorite summer wildflowers. I find these poppies in desert habitats, most often in the foothills of sky island mountain ranges.

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From My Heart To Yours ~ Happy Mother’s Day!

By Mia McPherson|May 14th, 2023|Categories: Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: Beardtongue, beardtongues, blooming, blooms, blossom, blue wildflowers, canyon, flowering, Mother's Day, mountains, native, Penstemon, penstemons, summer, wildflowers|

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, to my sister, to my daughter-in-laws, my niece, my aunts, my friends, and all the moms around the globe.

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Muskrat Kit In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|March 30th, 2023|Categories: Morgan County, Muskrats, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: alpine creek, alpine stream, baby, canyon, creek, immature, kit, mountains, Muskrat, muskrats, Ondatra zibethicus, riparian habitat, rodent, stream, summer, water, young|

I came across these images of Muskrat kit that I photographed in July of 2020 high in the Wasatch Mountains and realized I hadn't shared the images of them yet.

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Striped Skunk Butt – Skunked By The Weather Forecast

By Mia McPherson|March 29th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Striped Skunks, Utah, Wildlife|Tags: adult, butt, funny, grass, grasses, humor, mammals, marsh, Mephitis mephitis, raised, skunk, skunks, Striped Skunk, summer, tail, weather forecast, wetlands|

Yesterday I was skunked by a terribly wrong weather forecast so I decided this was the day that I would share one of my Striped Skunk photos taken last year.

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Scruffy And Tailless Male Yellow Warbler

By Mia McPherson|March 26th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Northern Yellow Warblers, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, canyon, Chokecherry, male, mountains, perched, Prunus virginiana, riparian habitat, scruffy, Setophaga aestiva, summer, tail, tail-less, tailless, warbler, warblers, wood-warblers, Yellow Warbler|

While I was searching for other photos of a mammal I had taken, I came across this picture I had taken of a scruffy male Yellow Warbler without a tail to share.

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Broad-tailed Hummingbird Daydreams

By Mia McPherson|March 25th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, branch, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, canyon, Chokecherry, daydreams, forest edge, hummingbird, hummingbirds, male, mountains, Prunus virginiana, Selasphorus platycercus, summer, Western Chokecherry|

I've been having Broad-tailed Hummingbird daydreams lately. I can't wait to hear their tiny wing beats and chirps once again high in the Wasatch Mountains.

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Two Least Chipmunks Together In The Mountains

By Mia McPherson|March 24th, 2023|Categories: Least Chipmunks, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildlife|Tags: adult, canyon, chipmunk, chipmunks, eating, fence post, fun, Least Chipmunk, lichen, mountains, Neotamias minimus, pair, summer, wooden post|

I was editing some images for a new project when I came across this photo of two Least Chipmunks side by side on a wooden post high in the Wasatch Mountains.

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World Water Day 2023

By Mia McPherson|March 22nd, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Centennial Valley, Conservation, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, Glacier County, Glacier National Park, Juab County, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Sawgrass Lake Park, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, American Coots, aspens, Box Elder County, canyon, Centennial Mountains, Centennial Valley, clouds, conifers, coots, creek, Cygnus columbianus, Fish Springs Range, flight, flock, Florida, flying, footbridge, foothills, grass, grasses, hills, ice, immature, Juab County, maple swamp, marsh, mountains, Pinellas County, pond, Promontory Mountains, rapids, reflections, river, rocks, rushing, sage, sagebrush, Sawgrass Lake Park, shadows, shrubs, sky, snow, snow-topped, spring, summer, swamp, swan, swans, trail, trees, Tundra Swan, Utah, valley, water, waterfowl, west desert, wetlands, Wigeon Pond, willows, winter, young|

Today is World Water Day. The theme for World Water Day 2023 is: Accelerate Change. Every human being on this planet is roughly 60% water.

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Common Ravens – Valentine’s Day Love Birds

By Mia McPherson|February 14th, 2023|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Common Ravens, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, close up, Common Raven, corvids, Corvus corax, desert island, fall, mates, pair, portrait, rabbitbrush, raven, snow storm, storm, summer|

If you don't know much about Common Ravens you might wonder why I selected them to be the featured love birds on this Valentine's Day.

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Midwinter Daydreaming

By Mia McPherson|January 31st, 2023|Categories: Birds, Lazuli Buntings, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: barbed wire, bunting, canyon, daydreaming, fence, immature, Lazuli Bunting, male, mountains, Passerina amoena, perched, summer, young|

I have spent time daydreaming about the birds of spring and summer recently because I have a touch of the midwinter blues. It has been a very gray winter.

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Sawgrass Lake Park Photos

By Mia McPherson|January 9th, 2023|Categories: Anhingas, Birds, Florida, Pinellas County, Sawgrass Lake Park|Tags: adult, anhinga, Anhinga anhinga, anhingas, branches, golden light, grasses, hills, lake, leaves, male, misty, morning, nesting material, Spanish Moss, summer, Tillandsia usneoides, tree, trees, water, wetlands|

This morning I am traveling back in time via my archives to revisit Sawgrass Lake Park in Pinellas County, Florida.

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My 2022 Year In Review

By Mia McPherson|December 31st, 2022|Categories: American Kestrels, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Box Elder County, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Golden Eagles, Great Horned Owls, Horned Grebes, Morgan County, Northern Yellow Warblers, Ring-billed Gulls, Rock Wrens, Ruffed Grouse, Tundra Swans, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Western Warbling-Vireos|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, American Kestrel, Aquila chrysaetos, autumn, background, berries, Bewick's Swan, bill, birds of prey, Black-billed Magpie, blooming, blooms, blossoms, Bonasa umbellus, boulder, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Bubo virginianus, building, canyon, close up, corvids, Cygnus columbianus, Cygnus columbianus bewickii, Davis County, desert, dirt, eagle, eagles, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, fall, farmlands, female, fledgling, flight, flock, flowering, flowering shrub, flying, forest edge, fruiting shrub, fruits, fruting shrubs, Golden Eagle, gorget, Great Horned Owl, grebe, grebes, grouse, gull, gulls, Horned Grebe, hummingbird, hummingbirds, immature, juvenile, kestrel, kestrels, Larus delawarensis, lichen, lores, magpie, magpies, male, marsh, mountains, nest, nest box, nesting, nonbreeding plumage, owl, owls, perched, Pica hudsonia, Podiceps auritus, raptors, rare, reflection, Ring-billed Gull, riparian habitat, road, roadside, rock, Rock Wren, rocks, Ruffed Grouse, Salpinctes obsoletus, Selasphorus platycercus, serviceberries, serviceberry, Setophaga aestiva, shrub, spring, stink-eye, summer, swan, swans, thicket, tree, Tundra Swans, Utah, Utah Serviceberry, vagrant, warbler, warblers, water, waterbirds, waterfowl, wetlands, willow, willow thicket, willows, winter, winter plumage, wood-warbler, wood-warblers, wren, wrens, Yellow Warbler, young|

On this last day of the year it is time for my annual 2022 Year in Review post. In some ways 2022 has been great for me and in others not so good.

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Some Mammals I Loved In 2022

By Mia McPherson|December 28th, 2022|Categories: American Badgers, Davis County, Elk, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Least Chipmunks, Long-tailed Weasels, Morgan County, Mule Deer, Summit County, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow-bellied Marmots|Tags: adult, American Badger, autumn, baby, badger, badger burrow, badgers, canyon, Cervus canadensis, chipmunk, chipmunks, close up, cow, curious, cute, Elk, elks, fall, female, fence post, grazing, ground squirrel, ground squirrels, high Uintas, hillside, kissing, Least Chipmunk, Long-tailed Weasel, mammals, marmot, Marmota flaviventris, marmots, marsh, mountains, mustelids, Neogale frenata, Neotamias minimus, portrait, profile, roadside, rock, rock pile, rocks, rocky slope, shadow, spring, squirrel, squirrels, summer, summer coat, Taxidea taxus, Uinta Ground Squirrel, Urocitellus armatus, weasel, weasels, wetlands, wooden post, Yellow-bellied Marmot, young|

This morning I am sharing some photos of the mammals I loved finding, seeing, photographing and having in my viewfinder in 2022.

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Rock Wren On The Last Day Of Summer

By Mia McPherson|September 23rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Rock Wrens, Utah|Tags: boulder, close up, Long-tailed Weasel, mammals, marsh, mustelids, Neogale frenata, rock, Rock Wren, rocks, Salpinctes obsoletus, summer, summer coat, weasel, weasels, wetlands, wren, wrens|

I spotted this Rock Wren at Farmington Bay WMA two days ago. The wren looked slightly out of place surrounded by the marshes that are found at this location.

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Long-tailed Weasel Close Up Photos

By Mia McPherson|September 22nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Long-tailed Weasels, Rock Wrens, Utah, Wildlife|Tags: adult, close up, curious, focused, leaning, Long-tailed Weasel, mammals, marsh, mustelids, Neogale frenata, portrait, rock, Rock Wren, rocks, Salpinctes obsoletus, staring, summer, summer coat, weasel, weasels, wetlands, wren, wrens|

This morning I am thrilled to share these Long-tailed Weasel photos taken on the last full day of summer at Farmington Bay WMA which are all thanks to a Rock Wren.

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Young Male Common Yellowthroat

By Mia McPherson|September 21st, 2022|Categories: Birds, Common Yellowthroats|Tags: Common Yellowthroat, Geothlypis trichas, male, marsh, perched, rushes, summer, warbler, warblers, wetlands, wood-warblers, yellowthroat, yellowthroats|

On Monday morning, while I was driving the auto tour route at Bear River MBR a young male Common Yellowthroat popped into an open area in some rushes.

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Great Blue Heron With A Cow

By Mia McPherson|September 20th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, Bear River, cow, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, perched, ranchlands, river, snag, summer, wading birds, wetlands|

This morning I decided to share photos of a Great Blue Heron with a cow behind it that I photographed resting on a snag above the Bear River.

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Late Summer Yellow-rumped Warbler

By Mia McPherson|September 19th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Yellow-rumped Warblers|Tags: branches, curious, leafy, leaves, Setophaga coronata, summer, tree, warbler, warblers, wetlands, wood-warbler, wood-warblers, Yellow-rumped Warbler|

Yesterday morning I enjoyed having this Yellow-rumped Warbler pop into an open area of a leafy tree at Farmington Bay WMA for a few seconds.

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Summer Can Kiss My Asters

By Mia McPherson|September 18th, 2022|Categories: Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Wildflowers|Tags: Aster, aster family, Asters, blooming, blooms, blossoms, close up, flowering, purple wildflowers, roadside, summer, wildflowers|

The flowers of fall have started to bloom. I don't know which species of asters are in these photos that I took at Farmington Bay.

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Lesser And Greater Yellowlegs Comparison

By Mia McPherson|September 17th, 2022|Categories: Bird ID, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Utah|Tags: calls, comparison, duckweed, duckweeds, eye, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, marsh, nares, pond, shallow, shorebirds, sky, standing, summer, Tringa flavipes, Tringa melanoleuca, water, wetlands, yellowlegs|

On Monday, I photographed both Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs foraging in a shallow duckweed-covered pond at Farmington Bay WMA early in the morning.

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Glowing White-faced Ibis

By Mia McPherson|September 16th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, White-faced Ibises|Tags: adult, aglow, duckweed, feathers, glowing, ibis, ibises, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, Plegadis chihi, pond, summer, wading birds, water, wetlands, White-faced Ibis|

I took a photos of a White-faced Ibis glowing in the morning light at Farmington Bay on Monday. This is why I am out and photographing so early in the morning.

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Late Summer Snowy Egret Images

By Mia McPherson|September 15th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, agitated, close up, Davis County, duckweed, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, foot, foraging, marsh, muddy, pond, portrait, Snowy Egret, strutting, summer, wading birds, water, wetlands|

This past Monday I focused on taking Snowy Egret images after taking photos of a Virginia Rail and Lesser Yellowlegs at a near empty pond At Farmington Bay.

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Lesser Yellowlegs Photos From Farmington Bay

By Mia McPherson|September 14th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Lesser Yellowlegs, Utah|Tags: alarmed, Davis County, duckweeds, Farmington Bay WMA, forgaging, Lesser Yellowlegs, marsh, migration, mudflat, pond, reflection, shorebirds, summer, Tringa flavipes, Utah, water, wetlands, yellowlegs|

Monday morning I was delighted to find and photograph a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs foraging and moving around a pond covered in duckweed at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Adult Virginia Rail Portraits

By Mia McPherson|September 13th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Virginia Rails|Tags: adult, close up, marsh, portrait, rail, rails, Rallus limicola, summer, Virginia Rail, wetlands|

Yesterday morning while I was at Farmington Bay I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to be able to take these Virginia Rail portraits.

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Young Eastern Kingbird

By Mia McPherson|September 12th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Eastern Kingbirds, Utah|Tags: close up, Eastern Kingbird, immature, kingbird, kingbirds, marsh, perched, portrait, sky, summer, Tyrannus tyrannus, tyrant flycatchers, wetlands, young|

While I was driving around the auto tour loop of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge last month, I had a nice opportunity to photograph a young Eastern Kingbird.

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