thistles – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Musk Thistle And Bumble Bee In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2023-08-31T04:05:56-05:00August 30th, 2023|Categories: Morgan County, Musk Thistle, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: bloom, blooming, blossom, bumble bee, bumble bees, bumblebees, canyon, Carduus nutans, flowering, insects, mountains, Musk Thistle, nectaring, nonnative, pink wildflowers, summer, thistle, thistles, wildflowers|

This morning, I'm sharing a simple image of a Musk Thistle and a bumblebee that I photographed two days ago in the high country of the Wasatch Mountains.

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Female American Goldfinch With Thistles

By Mia McPherson|2022-07-22T04:46:04-05:00July 22nd, 2022|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Musk Thistle, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, American Goldfinch, aphids, blooming, blooms, blossoms, canyon, Carduus nutans, female, finch, finches, flowering, goldfinch, goldfinches, mountains, Musk Thistle, nonnative, perched, perching, pink wildflowers, Spinus tristis, summer, thistle, thistles, wildflowers|

Right after I photographed a juvenile Lazuli Bunting two days ago a female American Goldfinch landed in a patch of thistles in front of me.

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Messy Orange-crowned Warbler Plus Canada Thistles

By Mia McPherson|2021-08-07T07:30:26-05:00August 7th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Orange-crowned Warblers, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: adult, blooming, branch, Canada Thistle, canyon, Cirsium arvense, damp, down, Leiothlypis celata, Lettuce from hell thistle, looking, mountains, non-native, nonnative, Orange-crowned Warbler, perched, purple wildflowers, riparian habitat, summer, thistle, thistles, warbler, warblers, wildflowers, willow thicket, willows, wood-warblers|

My subject was actually a slightly messy Orange-crowned Warbler perched on a branch looking down at the ground.

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Female Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-22T05:10:41-05:00July 22nd, 2021|Categories: Great Spangled Fritillary Butterflies, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Argynnis cybele, Black twinberry honeysuckle, butterflies, butterfly, canyon, Carduus nutans, female, forest, fritillaries, fritillary, Great Spangled Fritillary, honeysuckle, honeysuckles, Lonicera involucrata, mountains, Musk Thistle, nectaring, nonnative, pink wildflowers, summer, thistle, thistles, wildflowers|

This is a female Great Spangled Fritillary, a butterfly species that can be abundant in the Wasatch Mountains at this time of the year.

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Surprise Pine Siskin

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-08T05:46:35-05:00July 8th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Pine Siskins, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: adult, bee, bees, blooming, canyon, Carduelis pinus, Carduus nutans, finch, finches, flowering, mountains, Musk Thistle, nonnative, Pine Siskin, pink wildflowers, purple wildflowers, siskin, siskins, thistle, thistles, wildflowers|

Yesterday morning I was high in the Wasatch Mountains photographing bees on a Musk Thistle when a Pine Siskin landed on the flower.

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Male Checkered White Butterflies On Thistles

By Mia McPherson|2021-08-26T06:28:25-05:00August 25th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Checkered White Butterflies, Utah|Tags: adult, auto tour route, butterflies, butterfly, Checkered White, Checkered White Butterfly, male, nectaring, Pontia protodice, Southern White, Southern White Butterfly, summer, thistle, thistles|

A while back I came across some butterfly photos that I had taken on July 19, 2015 that I hadn't processed or identified so recently I went about finding out what species of butterfly I had photographed.

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An Immature Yellow Warbler And Thistles

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-08T16:57:50-05:00July 28th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: canyon, Carduus nutans, immature, mountains, Musk Thistle, perched, Setophaga petechia, Summit County, thistle, thistles, Utah, warbler, warblers, Wasatch Mountains, wood-warblers, Yellow Warbler, young|

Last week I had a blast photographing several Yellow Warblers, young and adults, foraging for aphids in a patch of thistles high up in the Wasatch Mountains.

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Female and Male American Goldfinches Lifting Off From Musk Thistles

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-09T04:04:07-05:00August 19th, 2018|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, American Goldfinch, Carduus nutans, female, finch, finches, lift off, male, Musk Thistle, Spinus tristis, thistle, thistles|

When the female American Goldfinch lifted off I liked the eye contact I had with her and how graceful she looked when she raised her wings, when I saw this image on my camera LCD I just had to smile.

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Pine Siskin Close Up Photos

By Mia McPherson|2023-10-17T18:56:19-05:00August 11th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Pine Siskins, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: canyon, Carduelis pinus, Carduus nutans, close up, miuntains, Musk Thistle, Pine Siskin, siskin, siskins, thistle, thistles, up close|

I am always glad when a bird unexpectedly flies in so that I can take close up photos because close ups show so much fine detail in their plumage and that is what happened earlier this week with a Pine Siskin.

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Female Great Spangled Fritillary Nectaring on Musk Thistle in the Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-16T06:58:44-05:00July 29th, 2018|Categories: Great Spangled Fritillary Butterflies, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: Argynnis cybele, butterflies, butterfly, Carduus nutans, female, fritillary, Great Spangled Fritillary, Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly, Musk Thistle, nectaring, pink wildflowers, purple wildflowers, thistle, thistles, wildflowers|

Last week while I was up in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains I spotted a female Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly nectaring on a Musk Thistle so I felt I had to take photos of she sipped the nectar of the flower.

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Fritillary Butterfly – Other Things With Wings

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-23T06:42:28-05:00July 13th, 2018|Categories: Summit County, Utah, Wildlife|Tags: butterflies, butterfly, Carduus nutans, fritillary, identification, Musk Thistle, pink wildflowers, purple wildflowers, thistle, thistles, wildflowers|

I'm going to ask for help later on today from bugguide.net with the identification of this fritillary butterfly. I don't normally have to ask for identification assistance but I need it for this other thing with wings.

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Male American Goldfinch Feasting On Musk Thistle Seeds

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-16T07:05:56-05:00July 7th, 2018|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wildflowers|Tags: American Goldfinch, bloom, Carduus nutans, feeding, finch, finches, introduced wildflower, invasive, male, Musk Thistle, Nodding Plumeless Thistle, Nodding Thistle, perched, pink wildflowers, purple wildflowers, singing, Spinus tristis, thistle, thistle fluff, thistles, wildflowers|

A flash of yellow, black and white on a purple flower immediately drew my eyes to a male American Goldfinch feasting on the seeds of a Musk Thistle so I stopped, turned my Jeep off and proceeded to photograph the bird.

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