{"id":8104,"date":"2013-04-14T04:36:54","date_gmt":"2013-04-14T10:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=8104"},"modified":"2026-01-18T19:07:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T01:07:53","slug":"i-have-montanas-birds-on-my-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/04\/14\/i-have-montanas-birds-on-my-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"I Have Montana’s Birds On My Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SandhillSandhill Crane in a field of wildflowers<\/span><\/p>\n

This time of the year I start dreaming about the Centennial Valley of Montana and of the birds that call the valley home during the summer.\u00a0 In my mind I can hear the Sandhill Cranes and Coyotes calling as the mist rises off of the lake. And the pungent smell of Sagebrush as I move past them.<\/p>\n

\"JuvenileJuvenile Swainson’s Hawk in the Centennial Valley<\/span><\/p>\n

I know that if I am lucky I will get to see hawks, eagles, owls and falcons. I enjoy seeing the hatch year hawks like this Swainson’s Hawk juvenile perched on a fence post near Red Rock Creek.<\/p>\n

\"CentennialCentennial Valley Red-tailed Hawk juvenile<\/span><\/p>\n

And juvenile Red-tailed Hawks warming in the light of the rising sun. Yes, I have Montana’s birds on my mind.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/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":"

This time of the year I start dreaming about the Centennial Valley of Montana and of the birds that call the valley home during the summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":130014,"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":[1513,27,223,12,449,450,206],"tags":[4259,2663,4170,4200,3132,4169,4071,519,153,4209,4518,4034],"class_list":["post-8104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-avian","category-centennial-valley","category-montana","category-red-tailed-hawks","category-sandhill-cranes","category-swainson-hawks","tag-antigone-canadensis","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-jamaicensis","tag-buteo-swainsoni","tag-cranes","tag-hawks","tag-juvenile","tag-nature","tag-raptors","tag-red-tailed-hawk","tag-sandhill-crane","tag-swainsons-hawk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-8431.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-26I","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19197,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/01\/29\/dreaming-of-sandhill-cranes\/","url_meta":{"origin":8104,"position":0},"title":"Dreaming of Sandhill Cranes","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night I only had dreams about Sandhill Cranes but it won't be long before I will be seeing and hearing them for real. I can barely wait.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Calling male Sandhill Crane, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-calling-mia-mcpherson-6147.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-calling-mia-mcpherson-6147.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-calling-mia-mcpherson-6147.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-calling-mia-mcpherson-6147.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15842,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/09\/16\/a-pair-of-sandhill-cranes-in-the-centennial-valley\/","url_meta":{"origin":8104,"position":1},"title":"Pair of Sandhill Cranes in the Centennial Valley","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I was delighted to find quite a few Sandhill Cranes in the Centennial Valley of Montana last week and this pair was close enough to photograph.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mated pair of Sandhill Cranes at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, 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McPherson","date":"June 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I always think of Sandhill Cranes whenever my thoughts drift to the Centennial Valley of Montana where I always hear their calls, see them in the fields or in flight over the marshes.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sandhill Crane in a field of wildflowers, Centennial Valley in Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-flowers-mia-mcpherson-5322.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-flowers-mia-mcpherson-5322.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Crane at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-montana-mia-mcpherson-4506.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-montana-mia-mcpherson-4506.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-montana-mia-mcpherson-4506.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-montana-mia-mcpherson-4506.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7286,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/01\/27\/immature-red-tailed-rough-legged-ferruginous-and-swainsons-hawks\/","url_meta":{"origin":8104,"position":4},"title":"Immature Red-tailed, Rough-legged, Ferruginous and Swainson’s Hawks","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I thought I would post images of the juvenile Buteos that I see most often in Utah and Montana, they are Red-tailed, Rough-legged, Ferruginous and Swainson's Hawks.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk juvenile and an intense stare, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5148.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5148.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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