{"id":141569,"date":"2025-03-13T02:37:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T07:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=141569"},"modified":"2025-03-12T17:41:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T22:41:13","slug":"smoky-sunrise-at-sunnymede-trail-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/13\/smoky-sunrise-at-sunnymede-trail-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Smoky Sunrise At Sunnymede Trail Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

I went to a new area of Arkansas yesterday morning and explored Sunnymede Trail Park which is in Fort Smith on the banks of the Arkansas River with Steve Creek.<\/p>\n

See some of the photos Steve has taken at the park here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"SunriseSunrise and the Arkansas River at Sunnymede Trail Park \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/3200, ISO 1600, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 124mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t know precisely what caused all of the smoke in the air yesterday, but I smelled it all morning long, even hours before daylight and getting to the park.<\/p>\n

The smoky air added to the drama of sunrise though so just know I am not really complaining. As a rule, the air here in Arkansas is ever so much better than where I lived in Utah.<\/p>\n

The Arkansas River, the on the other side, and the glowing light all combined, delighted me. There were also more than a hundred cormorants on the water along with a few Canada Geese, some ducks, a Bald Eagle, and a chattering Belted Kingfisher. One American White Pelican also flew past.<\/p>\n

\"SmokySmoky sunrise on the Arkansas River at Sunnymede \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/8000, ISO 1600, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 117mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the birds on the river, I saw two barges in the dim light at dawn.<\/p>\n

The main trail is easily walkable and wheelchair accessible. Some of the secondary trails might not be wheelchair accessible.<\/p>\n

We were a bit early for spring migrants, but I did see my first Tree Swallow of the year. Other birds seen from the trail included Eastern Phoebes, numerous sparrows, American Robins, Eastern Meadowlarks, Northern Mockingbirds, European Starlings, Eastern Bluebirds, and more.<\/p>\n

I hope to head back to Sunnymede once more migrant birds arrive, which should be any day now!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Arkansas landscape photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I went to a new area of Arkansas yesterday morning and explored Sunnymede Trail Park which is in Fort Smith on the banks of the Arkansas River with Steve Creek.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13950,13951,16285],"tags":[14023,1030,5370,10698,16286,10404,4190,13769,4076,8018,3996,373],"class_list":["post-141569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-sebastian-county","category-sunnymede-trail-park","tag-arkansas-river","tag-dawn","tag-forest","tag-park","tag-silhouette","tag-smoky","tag-sunrise","tag-trail","tag-trees","tag-urban","tag-water","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/sunnymede-trail-park-smoky-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-7646.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-APn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":115419,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/08\/26\/day-at-mount-magazine-state-park-with-steve-creek\/","url_meta":{"origin":141569,"position":0},"title":"Day At Mount Magazine State Park With Steve Creek","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been meaning to share these images taken on a June day spent with my dear friend Steve Creek from Mount Magazine State Park in Arkansas for weeks.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cloudy, smoky view at Mount Magazine State Park, Logan County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/mount-magazine-state-park-mia-mcpherson-075836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/mount-magazine-state-park-mia-mcpherson-075836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/mount-magazine-state-park-mia-mcpherson-075836.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/mount-magazine-state-park-mia-mcpherson-075836.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":137309,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/11\/23\/pink-hour-kerr-lock-and-dam-american-white-pelican-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":141569,"position":1},"title":"Pink Hour: Kerr Lock and Dam American White Pelican Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, I visited the Robert S. Kerr Lock and Dam in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, where one of the first birds I photographed was this American White Pelican.","rel":"","context":"In "American White Pelicans"","block_context":{"text":"American White Pelicans","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/pelicans\/white-pelicans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American White Pelican preening on the Arkansas River at dawn, Robert S. 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Steve had been there before, it was my first visit.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Moonshiners Cave sign on the trail, Washington County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/moonshiners-cave-sign-mia-mcpherson-3154.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/moonshiners-cave-sign-mia-mcpherson-3154.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/moonshiners-cave-sign-mia-mcpherson-3154.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/moonshiners-cave-sign-mia-mcpherson-3154.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm thrilled with the photos I took of a male Indigo Bunting at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma yesterday morning near the Arkansas River.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Indigo Bunting near the Arkansas River, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/indigo-bunting-adult-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-0383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/indigo-bunting-adult-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-0383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/indigo-bunting-adult-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-0383.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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