wetlands – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Great Blue Heron: Solitude On The Ice

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-06T02:52:16-06:00March 6th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, edge, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, ice, marsh, mountains, phragmites, phrags, Promontory Mountains, sky, snow, snow covered, wading birds, wetlands, wide angle, winter|

On my last journey up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I stopped to take photos of a majestic Great Blue Heron enjoying some solitude on the ice.

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Tracking Tundra Swan U915: A Story of Survival

By Mia McPherson|2023-11-10T02:44:56-06:00March 5th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, banded, collared, Cygnus columbianus, flock, grasses, ice, inset, male, marsh, mountains, Promontory Mountains, sky, snow, snow covered, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, U915, USGS, water, waterfowl, wetlands, Whistling Swan, winter|

Three days ago I found a collared Tundra Swan in a flock of swans at Bear River MBR. The blue collar caught my eye and I took photos of the swan.

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Singing Red-winged Blackbird Male

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-04T04:07:05-06:00March 4th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Bird ID, Box Elder County, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: adult, Agelaius phoeniceus, Bear River, blackbird, blackbirds, male, perched, Red-winged Blackbird, river, riverbank, singing, wetlands, winter|

After my long and photo heavy Tundra Swan post yesterday I am keeping my post today simple. I'm sharing a single photo of a singing Red-winged Blackbird male.

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Big & Beautiful: Tundra Swans of Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-05T03:22:54-06:00March 3rd, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, alert, bath, bathing, bill, close, Cygnus columbianus, droplets, flight, flock, flying, goofy, ice shelf, immature, marsh, nips, Promontory Mountains, relaxing, resting, sky, snow, spot, swans, Tundra Swan, walking, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter, young|

Yesterday morning I spent time with a flock of big, beautiful Tundra Swans at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I loved every moment that I had with the swans.

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Hen Common Merganser At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-01T08:05:41-06:00March 1st, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Mergansers, Utah|Tags: adult, bath, bathing, Common Merganser, diving ducks, duck, ducks, female, flapping, hen, ice, ice shelf, icy, marsh, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, snow, water, wetlands, wings, winter|

Last month I photographed this hen Common Merganser in a small spot of open water next to an ice shelf at Bear River MBR. It was a very cold morning.

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Migrating Sandhill Cranes On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-25T15:39:53-06:00February 25th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Sandhill Cranes, Utah|Tags: adult, Antigone canadensis, calling, crane, cranes, flight, flying, late, marsh, mates, mountains, pair, Sandhill Crane, snowy, wetlands, winter|

I heard through the grapevine that Sandhill Cranes have returned to Farmington Bay WMA. Since the cranes are there they might be at other Utah locations too.

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Male Red-winged Blackbird Foraging In Grasses

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-03T19:22:28-06:00February 23rd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: adult, Agelaius phoeniceus, blackbird, blackbirds, foraging, grass, grasses, ground, male, marsh, Red-winged Blackbird, wetlands, winter|

After a very busy day yesterday, I decided to share a simple photo this morning of a male Red-winged Blackbird foraging in grasses at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Great Blue Heron On Ice – Small In Frame

By Mia McPherson|2023-11-03T02:18:04-05:00February 20th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, ice, marsh, shadow, small in frame, snow, snow covered, wading birds, wetlands, winter|

Last week I had the opportunity to photograph a Great Blue Heron on the ice at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, where the heron was small in the frame.

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Dapper Drake Common Merganser At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-18T03:31:36-06:00February 17th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Mergansers, Utah|Tags: adult, bathing, breeding plumage, Common Merganser, diving ducks, drake, ice, male, marsh, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, water, wetlands, winter|

Today I am sharing photos of a dapper drake Common Merganser in his finest breeding plumage that I took four mornings ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Great Blue Heron Slip Slidin’ Away

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-16T04:41:36-06:00February 16th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, flight, flying, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, ice, icy, jumping, landing, marsh, open water, sliding, slip, slippery, slipping, wading birds, walking, wetlands, winter|

Earlier this week, I visited Bear River MBR and had a fantastic time capturing photographs of birds sliding on the ice. This included an adult Great Blue Heron.

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Perky Song Sparrow On A Greasewood Perch

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-13T04:36:29-06:00February 13th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Song Sparrows, Utah|Tags: adult, Greasewood, marsh, Melospiza melodia, perch, perched, perky, Sarcobatus vermiculatus, shrub, sky, Song Sparrow, sparrow, sparrows, wetlands, winter|

Last Friday I had a few seconds to photograph a perky Song Sparrow perched on a greasewood at Farmington Bay WMA just before I started to head towards home.

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Female American Kestrel Get Off My Lawn Look

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-12T08:09:44-06:00February 12th, 2023|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, blue, branches, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, female, Get Off My Lawn, kestrel, kestrels, look, marsh, perched, sky, wetlands, winter|

When I viewed this American Kestrel photo my first thought was if this isn't a "get off my lawn look" then I have never seen a get off my lawn look from anyone.

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Murder Of American Crows Calling

By Mia McPherson|2023-08-31T05:55:25-05:00February 11th, 2023|Categories: American Crows, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Video|Tags: American Crow, branches, Corvus brachyrhynchos, crow, crows, human, marsh, mountains, murder, Noise Intrusion, snow, snow covered, tree, urban sprawl, video, Wasatch Mountains, wetlands, winter|

To my delight, I heard and saw hundreds of American Crows at Farmington Bay WMA on my visit there early yesterday morning. The crows were great company.

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Bear River MBR: Winter Haven For Tundra Swans

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-07T06:42:36-06:00February 7th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, azure, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flying, immature, marsh, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, Tundra Swans, waterfowl, wetlands, winter, young|

I had hoped that this morning would be sunny so I could head to Bear River MBR to see, listen to, and photograph Tundra Swans on the marshes.

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Driftwood Guardian: Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-06T05:01:35-06:00February 6th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, driftwood, frosty, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, male, perched, ranchlands, raptors, river, Rough-legged Hawk, snag, snow, wetlands, winter|

I stopped to take photos of an adult male Rough-legged Hawk perched on a driftwood snag over the Bear River when I was leaving Bear River MBR four days ago.

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Leaning Post Bald Eagle

By Mia McPherson|2024-02-06T04:08:26-06:00February 4th, 2023|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, eagle, eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, leaning, looking, marsh, perched, post, raptors, stern, tradition, wetlands, winter|

After my recent visit to Bear River MBR I wanted to share photos of a Bald Eagle on a leaning post that can be seen from the road leading to the auto tour loop.

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My Shadow Plus The Wild Beauty of Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|2024-01-31T19:24:49-06:00February 3rd, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: beauty, frozen, ice, landscape, marsh, mountains, Promontory Mountains, scenery, shadow, sky, snow, snow-capped, snow-covered, water, wetlands, wild, winter|

Yesterday morning while it was still dark I bundled up and drove up to soak in the wild beauty of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I am so glad that I went.

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Puffy Song Sparrow In Cold Temps

By Mia McPherson|2023-02-01T03:44:06-06:00February 1st, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Song Sparrows, Utah|Tags: adult, fluffy, marsh, Melospiza melodia, puffball, puffy, snow, Song Sparrow, sparrow, sparrows, wetlands, winter|

I went to Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning in icy cold temps where my favorite images that I took were of a puffy Song Sparrow in the snow.

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Immature Black-crowned Night Heron – Where Are The Birds?

By Mia McPherson|2023-09-15T15:08:28-05:00January 18th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: Black-crowned Night Heron, fishing, heron, herons, hunting, immature, marsh, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter, young|

While going through my archives I found this photo of a fishing immature Black-crowned Night Heron taken 10 years ago today at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Male Red-winged Blackbird In January

By Mia McPherson|2023-01-15T05:40:36-06:00January 15th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: adult, Agelaius phoeniceus, blackbird, blackbirds, branch, close up, displaying, male, marsh, perched, Red-winged Blackbird, sky, up close, wetlands, winter|

While I was at Farmington Bay WMA three days ago I stopped to photograph a male Red-winged Blackbird that I spotted on an old dead branch.

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Low Light Female Belted Kingfisher

By Mia McPherson|2023-01-14T04:03:43-06:00January 14th, 2023|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, Belted Kingfisher, branch, branches, clouds, cloudy, female, Glover Pond, kingfisher, kingfishers, low light, Megaceryle alcyon, perched, pond, Queenfisher, russet, skies, slaty blue, wetlands, winter|

I found a perched female Belted Kingfisher while I was at Farmington Bay WMA two days ago. This was after the clouds came back in creating low light conditions.

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Female American Kestrel On A Tree Top

By Mia McPherson|2023-01-13T04:29:29-06:00January 13th, 2023|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, branches, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, female, kestrel, kestrels, marsh, perched, seed pods, tree, wetlands, winter|

I spent a few moments photographing a gorgeous female American Kestrel on a tree top yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Rough-legged Hawk Staredown

By Mia McPherson|2023-01-11T04:34:48-06:00January 11th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, cold, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, mountains, perched, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, sky, snow, staredown, wetlands, winter|

One year ago this morning I was on the road to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge where my best subject of the day was a male light morph Rough-legged Hawk.

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Sawgrass Lake Park Photos

By Mia McPherson|2023-01-09T04:18:39-06:00January 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 Birding By Ear Affliction

By Mia McPherson|2023-07-27T03:41:28-05:00January 7th, 2023|Categories: American Crows, Barred Owls, Birds, Blue Jays, Florida, Hillsborough County, Lettuce Lake Regional Park, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Crow, autumn, Barred Owl, birding by ear, Blue Jay, branches, corvids, Corvus brachyrhynchos, crow, crows, Cyanocitta cristata, epiphytic flowering plant, fall, hardwood hammock, ice, jay, jays, marsh, owl, owls, peanut, perched, Spanish Moss, Strix varia, Tillandsia usneoides, tree, wetlands, winter|

My birding by ear affliction isn't that I can't hear birds; it is that I can't not hear them. Even when I am on the phone with my friends.

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Immature Herring Gull Testing The Ice

By Mia McPherson|2023-01-06T13:07:02-06:00January 6th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Herring Gulls, Utah|Tags: gull, gulls, Herring Gull, ice, immature, insurrection, January 6th, Larus argentatus, marsh, testing, water, wetlands, winter, young|

It was January 6, 2021, when I photographed this immature Herring Gull testing the ice at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Hello 2023!

By Mia McPherson|2023-09-15T14:45:05-05:00January 1st, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, dense, fog, foggy, Great Blue Heron, heavy fog, heron, herons, ice, marsh, snow, wading birds, wetlands, winter|

Hello 2023! I hope that 2023 will be wonderful for each and everyone of us. Right now it isn't clear what 2023 will bring.

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My 2022 Year In Review

By Mia McPherson|2023-11-10T04:24:07-06:00December 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, Ring-billed Gulls, Rock Wrens, Ruffed Grouse, Tundra Swans, Utah, Warbling Vireos, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|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 petechia, 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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Great Blue Heron On Ice At Farmington Bay WMA

By Mia McPherson|2023-09-15T05:45:37-05:00December 30th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Gandy Beach, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, beach, coastal, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, ice, marsh, Mia McPherson, oysters, photograph, pond, rocks, shadow, taking, Tampa Bay, Utah, vegetation, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter, yawning|

I had some fun photographing a Great Blue Heron on ice along with its shadow yesterday morning on a pond at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Some Mammals I Loved In 2022

By Mia McPherson|2022-12-28T07:17:09-06:00December 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, Mustela frenata, mustelids, 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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