{"id":7443,"date":"2013-02-06T03:55:12","date_gmt":"2013-02-06T10:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=7443"},"modified":"2025-11-07T11:05:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T17:05:37","slug":"some-of-the-birds-i-love-at-bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/02\/06\/some-of-the-birds-i-love-at-bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Some of the Birds I Love at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite locations to photograph birds in northern Utah is Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/a><\/span>. I’ve selected some of the Bear River birds there that delight and entertain me while I observe and photograph them.<\/p>\n

\"CallingCalling Eastern Kingbird on a barbed wire fence<\/span><\/p>\n

There are several different species of flycatchers that visit the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, among them the ones I see most often during the warmer months are the Eastern Kingbirds…<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Kingbird on a June morning<\/span><\/p>\n

and Western Kingbirds. Both of them look rather dapper in my opinion.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Black-necked Stilt foraging in a wetland<\/span><\/p>\n

There are also many shorebirds the pass through or nest on the refuge, Black-necked Stilts nest on the refuge…<\/p>\n

\"AdultAmerican Avocet<\/span><\/p>\n

as do American Avocets. Both of these shorebirds appear rather elegant in looks and movements.<\/p>\n

\"Black-crownedBlack-crowned Night Heron<\/span><\/p>\n

Black-crowned Night Herons are common wading birds at the refuge and despite their name, they aren’t strictly nocturnal. Black-crowned Night Herons are year round residents…<\/p>\n

\"SnowySnowy Egret flying over a Bear River wetland<\/span><\/p>\n

but Snowy Egrets are not, they migrate to the refuge. This Snowy Egret is showing the peachy-colored lores seen during the breeding season.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Barn Owl flying in the snow & fog<\/span><\/p>\n

Barn Owls are year-round residents of the refuge and although they are primarily nocturnal they do fly during the day when the weather is bitter cold and there is heavy snow cover on the ground and they will fly later at dawn and earlier at dusk when they have chicks to feed. This one was flying during the day as the snow fell.<\/p>\n

\"Swainson'sSwainson’s Hawk<\/span><\/p>\n

Swainson’s Hawks are also migratory birds and they are seen on the refuge during the warmer months. Their diet consists primarily of insects like grasshoppers and there aren’t many of those around during the cold months in Utah.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican White Pelican on a smooth Bear River<\/span><\/p>\n

American White Pelicans also nest on the refuge and come into to feed on fish in the fresh water impoundments.<\/p>\n

\"SpreadSpread Eagle Yellow-headed Blackbird male<\/span><\/p>\n

Yellow-headed Blackbirds, with their mechanical sounding call, can be found perching in cattails, reeds, phragmites and other vegetation as they forage for food. I was tickled to get this male in this pose.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Grebe flapping its wings<\/span><\/p>\n

The most commonly found grebes on the refuge are Pied-billed, Clark’s and Western although Eared and Horned Grebes are also spotted there at different times of the year.<\/p>\n

\"TundraTundra Swan at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah<\/span><\/p>\n

Tundra Swans by the thousands call the refuge home during the winter and can be seen flying overhead, swimming in open water or standing on ice. This adult shows a stained head and neck.<\/p>\n

\"MarshMarsh Wren<\/span><\/p>\n

The sound of Marsh Wrens can be heard all over the refuge, they may be tiny but their voices aren’t.<\/p>\n

\"OddCinnamon x Blue-winged Teal hybrid<\/span><\/p>\n

All types of ducks can be found on the refuge during different seasons of the year. It pays to keep a look out for unusual ducks, you never know when a hybrid might be seen like this Cinnamon x Blue-winged Teal that I spotted and pointed out.<\/p>\n

\"Forester'sForster’s Tern<\/span><\/p>\n

Terns and gulls can also been seeing hunting over the water and nesting there as well. This Forester’s Tern in breeding plumage was hunting for small fish.<\/p>\n

This is just a small selection of the birds that can be found at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, a location that I treasure.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

One of my favorite locations to photograph birds in northern Utah is Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I’ve selected some of the birds there that delight and entertain me while I observe and photograph them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":148930,"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":[451,129,3,124,27,321,1463,1148,123,1519,1412,538,255,206,158,26,161,534,427],"tags":[1634,3985,3966,5828,5350,2663,1533,1464,3813,3483,2119,1521,2120,707,4033,4169,127,5684,2118,3956,3957,4,706,153,3988,3950,3951,4034,3122,2090,629,2117,4014,4411,5802,3822,1386],"class_list":["post-7443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-avocets","category-barn-owls","category-white-pelicans","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-black-crowned-night-herons","category-black-necked-stilts","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-duck-hybrids","category-eastern-kingbirds","category-forsters-terns","category-marsh-wrens","category-snowy-egrets","category-swainson-hawks","category-tundra-swans","category-utah","category-western-grebes","category-western-kingbirds","category-yellow-headed-blackbird","tag-american-avocet","tag-barn-owl","tag-american-white-pelican","tag-avocet","tag-avocets","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-black-crowned-night-heron","tag-black-necked-stilt","tag-blackbird","tag-blackbirds","tag-cinnamon-x-green-winged-teal-hybrid","tag-eastern-kingbird","tag-forsters-tern-2","tag-grebes-2","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hybrid","tag-hybrids","tag-marsh-wren","tag-night-heron","tag-night-herons","tag-pelican","tag-pelicans","tag-raptors","tag-snowy-egret","tag-stilt","tag-stilts","tag-swainsons-hawk","tag-swans","tag-tern","tag-terns","tag-tundra-swan","tag-western-grebe","tag-western-kingbird","tag-wren","tag-wrens","tag-yellow-headed-blackbird"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-mia-mcpherson-5986.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1W3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42548,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/10\/09\/birds-of-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge-celebrating-national-wildlife-refuge-week\/","url_meta":{"origin":7443,"position":0},"title":"Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge – Celebrating National Wildlife Refuge Week","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This is National Wildlife Refuge Week and in celebration I wanted to do a pictorial essay that includes some of my images of the Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Virginia Rail and its reflection at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/virginia-rail-adult-mia-mcpherson-1903.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/virginia-rail-adult-mia-mcpherson-1903.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/western-kingbird-mustard-mia-mcpherson-0797.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/western-kingbird-mustard-mia-mcpherson-0797.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/western-kingbird-mustard-mia-mcpherson-0797.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/western-kingbird-mustard-mia-mcpherson-0797.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57784,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/05\/13\/male-ring-necked-pheasant-and-midges-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":7443,"position":2},"title":"Male Ring-necked Pheasant And Midges At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't know if the Ring-necked Pheasants eat the midges but I know that many of the other birds at the refuge do so I like to think of midges as bird food on the wing.","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":"Ring-necked Pheasant and Midges, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ring-necked-pheasant-portrait-midges-mia-mcpherson-5855.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ring-necked-pheasant-portrait-midges-mia-mcpherson-5855.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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I am snow weary. What I need is a bird, nature, gone exploring in the wild fix with no real or clear return time.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring male Red-winged Blackbird singing, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-spring-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1613.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-spring-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1613.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-spring-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1613.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent part of my morning yesterday photographing American Avocet and Black-necked Stilt chicks from the auto tour route at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and it was a blast watching these young shorebirds.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black-necked Stilt chick wing lift, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/black-necked-stilt-chick-wing-lift-mia-mcpherson-8463.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/black-necked-stilt-chick-wing-lift-mia-mcpherson-8463.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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