{"id":2354,"date":"2011-05-19T12:59:03","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T19:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=2354"},"modified":"2025-05-17T15:27:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T20:27:12","slug":"it-has-only-been-4-days-really","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/05\/19\/it-has-only-been-4-days-really\/","title":{"rendered":"It has only been 4 days? Really?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BackBack view of an adult Clark’s Grebe – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 400, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400, natural light <\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve written before about my addiction to bird photography and today I am beginning to have serious withdrawals. For days it has been raining (sometimes hailing), cloudy and a miserable gray here in the Salt Lake Valley though it seems like two weeks<\/strong> to this bird photographer. It has only been four days since I was out to photograph birds.<\/p>\n

Oh sure, there have been sucker holes where the blue sky and fluffy white clouds can be seen. For about 10 minutes. When the sucker holes happen I’m tempted to hop into my Jeep and head anywhere there are birds even if it means I only get to shoot 5 minutes before the rain starts again. That probably sounds very odd to a non-bird photographer.\u00a0 But it is what it is.<\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/p>\n

Northern Rough-winged Swallow adult in defensive posture – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The withdrawal symptoms are setting in, my shutter button finger is twitching, when I see a bird outside the window my pulse races, I keep looking longingly at my camera mounted on the tripod in the corner of the living room wondering how long it will be before a fine coating of dust settles on it for lack of use.<\/p>\n

I’ve been working my tail feathers off trying to keep my mind occupied. It isn’t helping. I’ve also been reading a book but the author keeps mentioning birds in the story and I can’t seem to focus (sorry for the pun). Sure, the rotten weather is giving me time at my desk to edit and cull the images I have already taken though that just seems make this withdrawal affect me more.<\/p>\n

\"Double-crested<\/p>\n

Adult Double-crested Cormorant in flight –\u00a0 Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light <\/span><\/p>\n

I looked at the 10 day weather forecast earlier and saw that this gloomy weather may last until Thursday of next week. That is awful!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, I am addicted to bird photography.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

For days it has been raining (sometimes hailing), cloudy and a miserable gray here in the Salt Lake Valley though it seems like two weeks to this bird photographer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143770,"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":[27,162,144,758,542,709,26],"tags":[4051,4155,4021,4016,763,149,4052,4173,519,2181,4081,760,102,16369],"class_list":["post-2354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-clarks-grebes","category-double-crested-cormorant","category-jordan-river-trail","category-northern-rough-winged-swallows","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adults","tag-aechmophorus-clarkii","tag-bird-photography","tag-clarks-grebe","tag-defensive-posture","tag-double-crested-cormorant","tag-flight","tag-nannopterum-auritus","tag-nature","tag-northern-rough-winged-swallow","tag-salt-lake-valley","tag-stelgidopteryx-serripennis","tag-wildlife","tag-willow-pond-park"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-Mia-McPherson-utah-6727.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-BY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37583,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/03\/30\/clarks-grebes-return-to-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":2354,"position":0},"title":"Clark’s 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2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This spring and summer I've a little been disappointed by how few Clark's Grebe images I have been able to take.","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":"Adult Clark's Grebe stretching at a pond in Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-6745.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-6745.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/clarks-grebe-adult-mia-mcpherson-6745.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/long-billed-dowitchers-flock-mia-mcpherson-9688.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/long-billed-dowitchers-flock-mia-mcpherson-9688.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/long-billed-dowitchers-flock-mia-mcpherson-9688.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/long-billed-dowitchers-flock-mia-mcpherson-9688.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":138373,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/12\/28\/aba-birding-magazine-december-2024-my-clarks-grebe-cover\/","url_meta":{"origin":2354,"position":4},"title":"ABA Birding Magazine – December 2024 – My Clark’s Grebe Cover","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"My Clark's Grebe photo graces the cover of the ABA's Birding Magazine December 2024 edition, and I wanted to share the cover along with what I wrote about it.","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":"ABA Birding Magazine - December 2024 Clark's Grebe cover thumbnail","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ABA-Birding-Magazne-December-2024-Clarks-Grebes-cover-thumbnail-.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ABA-Birding-Magazne-December-2024-Clarks-Grebes-cover-thumbnail-.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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