{"id":16000,"date":"2014-09-27T06:17:29","date_gmt":"2014-09-27T12:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=16000"},"modified":"2025-07-26T08:49:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T13:49:55","slug":"looking-ahead-to-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/09\/27\/looking-ahead-to-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking Ahead To Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

The weather has been unseasonably warm here in Utah the past few weeks\u00a0 but I know that it won’t be long before temperatures drop, snow starts falling and I will have opportunities to photograph birds that I only see here in winter. It felt weird yesterday to see a temperature of 77\u00b0F before 7 am but we have had odd weather lately.<\/p>\n

\"LesserLesser Scaup drake – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Last winter I was able to photograph this drake Lesser Scaup as it floated near some hens at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area. I see these ducks up in Montana during the summer but not here in Utah.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult White Crowned Sparrow on a cold winter day\u00a0– Nikon D300, f10, 1\/200, ISO 400, +1 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is time to check my winter clothing out to see if I need to add to the wardrobe I wear in the field. It gets bitter cold and I want to be prepared for it.<\/p>\n

The White-crowned Sparrows don’t seem to mind the cold much and as soon as the sun warms them they are off searching for food.<\/p>\n

\"JuvenileJuvenile White-crowned Sparrow perched on frost covered Rabbitbrush\u00a0– Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I see other sparrow species in the winter here in Utah but the White-crowned Sparrows seem to be the ones I see most often. The juveniles look very different from the adults but their song is just as beautiful.<\/p>\n

\"CommonCommon Raven on a mound of snow\u00a0– Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 500, +1.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The snow will fall, the winds will blow, the fog will blot out the Great Salt Lake and the mountaintops and\u00a0the freezing temps will chill me to the bone.<\/p>\n

But guess where I will be?<\/p>\n

Out in it all soaking up the winter scenery and being delighted by the birds that make a home in the Great Basin during the winter.<\/p>\n

Another wonderful thing happens in the winter and it involves people. During the warmer months my fellow bird-loving and photography friends and myself are spread all over the place like dandelion fluff in the wind but during the winter it seems we all\u00a0go to a few locations where large numbers of our birds overwinter and form\u00a0a delightful flock of our own.<\/p>\n

We catch up and share stories of birds we saw in the warmer months and reveal the journeys we have been on. We complain about the cold yet we have a light in our eyes that says we enjoy it all.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good, isn’t it?<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

We catch up and share stories of birds we saw in the warmer months and reveal the journeys we have been on. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,27,219,1022,697,2681,26,356],"tags":[4004,970,2682,1544,4257,4753,4483,1129,4620,4564,4062,4094,6400,6401,3996,4095,4327,373,4256],"class_list":["post-16000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-common-ravens","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-lesser-scaups","category-utah","category-white-crowned-sparrows","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-aythya-affinis","tag-common-raven","tag-corvus-corax","tag-diving-ducks","tag-drake","tag-duck","tag-fall","tag-lesser-scaup","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-scaup","tag-scaups","tag-water","tag-wetlands","tag-white-crowned-sparrow","tag-winter","tag-zonotrichia-leucophrys"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-male-mia-mcpherson-0566.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-4a4","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":100354,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/03\/lesser-scaup-hen-and-drake-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":16000,"position":0},"title":"Lesser Scaup Hen And Drake At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"On my last trip up to Bear River MBR I had a brief opportunity to photograph a Lesser Scaup hen next to the auto tour loop as she flapped her wings.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lesser Scaup hen flapping her wings, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/lesser-scaup-hen-wing-flap-mia-mcpherson-7243.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/lesser-scaup-hen-wing-flap-mia-mcpherson-7243.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":97707,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/28\/help-with-drake-scaup-identification\/","url_meta":{"origin":16000,"position":2},"title":"Help With Drake Scaup Identification","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Every fall and winter when Lesser and Greater Scaups are seen in northern Utah I hear questions about scaup identification.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Winter drake Lesser Scaup, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-winter-mia-mcpherson-6489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-winter-mia-mcpherson-6489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-winter-mia-mcpherson-6489.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-winter-mia-mcpherson-6489.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51240,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/13\/drake-lesser-scaup-in-salt-lake-county\/","url_meta":{"origin":16000,"position":3},"title":"Drake Lesser Scaup in Salt Lake County","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The drake Lesser Scaup did come in close enough to be able to take a few images of it where it almost filled the frame before a man and his dog walked by and caused the scaup to make a hasty retreat to the middle of the pond.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lesser Scaup drake floating on a pond, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-pond-mia-mcpherson-6558.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/lesser-scaup-drake-pond-mia-mcpherson-6558.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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The scaup puzzled me and I wondered if he might be a hybrid.","rel":"","context":"In "Bird ID"","block_context":{"text":"Bird ID","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/bird-identification\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ring-necked Duck and an odd Lesser Scaup, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ring-necked-duck-and-weird-scaup-mia-mcpherson-1489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ring-necked-duck-and-weird-scaup-mia-mcpherson-1489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ring-necked-duck-and-weird-scaup-mia-mcpherson-1489.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ring-necked-duck-and-weird-scaup-mia-mcpherson-1489.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28796,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/10\/03\/a-greater-scaup-drake-in-autumn\/","url_meta":{"origin":16000,"position":5},"title":"Greater Scaup drake in Autumn","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Last autumn I was able to get up close to a drake Greater Scaup at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and I'm hoping that I see more of them this year.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Greater Scaup drake in Autumn, Greater Scaup drake in Autumn, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/greater-scaup-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-9408.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/greater-scaup-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-9408.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/greater-scaup-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-9408.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/greater-scaup-male-adult-mia-mcpherson-9408.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}