{"id":24888,"date":"2015-05-30T06:29:38","date_gmt":"2015-05-30T12:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=24888"},"modified":"2025-05-24T15:15:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T20:15:05","slug":"killdeer-in-flight-over-bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/05\/30\/killdeer-in-flight-over-bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Killdeer in Flight Over Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-146812 size-full\" title=\"Killdeer in flight over Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-flight-mia-mcpherson-7658.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-flight-mia-mcpherson-7658.jpg\" alt=\"Killdeer in flight over Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah\" width=\"850\" height=\"607\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20607%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-flight-mia-mcpherson-7658-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-flight-mia-mcpherson-7658-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-flight-mia-mcpherson-7658-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-flight-mia-mcpherson-7658-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-flight-mia-mcpherson-7658-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-flight-mia-mcpherson-7658.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Killdeer in flight over Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge &#8211; Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/4000, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I have found trying to capture a Killdeer in flight a difficult endeavor because they fly fast and are hard to track but yesterday I did just that. I was photographing Forester&#8217;s Terns in flight over the marshes from the auto tour route at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I saw the Killdeer flying my way so I focused on it and created three nice flight shots.<\/p>\n<p>Killdeer are medium sized shorebirds from the plover family that can be found in most of North America. I am fortunate to see them here in many locations including the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fws.gov\/refuge\/bear_river_migratory_bird_refuge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> in northern Utah.<\/p>\n<p>It was lovely to head to the refuge and have totally clear skies for a change after all the rain and cloudy weather we have had here in May.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/killdeer-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Killdeer photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have found trying to capture a Killdeer in flight a difficult endeavor because they fly fast and are hard to track but yesterday I did just that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":146812,"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":[124,27,1148,267,26],"tags":[4004,4144,9450,4052,4122,270,4094,610,9451,5841,275,4092,274,4018,4095],"class_list":["post-24888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-killdeer","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-charadrius-vociferus","tag-difficult","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-killdeer","tag-marsh","tag-marshes","tag-medium-sized","tag-plover","tag-plovers","tag-refuge","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-sky","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-flight-mia-mcpherson-7658.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-6tq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":105042,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/16\/young-killdeer-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":24888,"position":0},"title":"Young Killdeer At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I drove up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge where the second bird that I photographed was a young Killdeer in the early light of dawn.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":"Young Killdeer just after dawn, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/killdeer-young-refuge-mia-mcpherson-3508.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/killdeer-young-refuge-mia-mcpherson-3508.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/killdeer-young-refuge-mia-mcpherson-3508.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/killdeer-young-refuge-mia-mcpherson-3508.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":117589,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/29\/fall-killdeer-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":24888,"position":1},"title":"Fall Killdeer at Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Since moving to Utah, I have seen and photographed Killdeer in every month of the year. It was no surprise that I found several at Bear River MBR last Monday.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":"Killdeer walking in shallow water at Bear River MBR, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/killdeer-flats-marsh-mia-mcpherson-5519.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/killdeer-flats-marsh-mia-mcpherson-5519.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/killdeer-flats-marsh-mia-mcpherson-5519.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/killdeer-flats-marsh-mia-mcpherson-5519.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":124694,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/19\/close-up-killdeer-in-soft-morning-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":24888,"position":2},"title":"Close Up Killdeer In Soft Morning Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The first bird I photographed yesterday morning at Bear River MBR was this Killdeer in soft morning light. Truthfully, I am glad my first bird was a Killdeer.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":"Killdeer in soft morning light, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-adult-early-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-0647.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-adult-early-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-0647.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-adult-early-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-0647.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-adult-early-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-0647.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52230,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/05\/23\/mating-killdeer-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":24888,"position":3},"title":"Mating Killdeer at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week when I took my Mom to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge we were fortunate to see and photograph Killdeer mating while on the auto tour route.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":"Mating Killdeer, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-mating-mia-mcpherson-0623.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-mating-mia-mcpherson-0623.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-mating-mia-mcpherson-0623.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-mating-mia-mcpherson-0623.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101068,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/27\/killdeer-in-spring-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":24888,"position":4},"title":"Killdeer In Spring At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was at Bear River MBR two days ago I stopped and took a long series of photos of three Killdeer near the entrance to the auto loop.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":"Preening adult Killdeer, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/killdeer-spring-refuge-mia-mcpherson-5378.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/killdeer-spring-refuge-mia-mcpherson-5378.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/killdeer-spring-refuge-mia-mcpherson-5378.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/killdeer-spring-refuge-mia-mcpherson-5378.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56963,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/03\/31\/spring-killdeer-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":24888,"position":5},"title":"Spring Killdeer At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 31, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent my morning yesterday driving on the very muddy auto tour route at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the birds that I photographed the most were Killdeer, it seemed like I saw them everywhere.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":"Spring Killdeer on a log, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-bear-river-mbr-log-mia-mcpherson-4570.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-bear-river-mbr-log-mia-mcpherson-4570.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-bear-river-mbr-log-mia-mcpherson-4570.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/killdeer-bear-river-mbr-log-mia-mcpherson-4570.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\/24888","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=24888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}