{"id":90481,"date":"2021-06-16T05:34:49","date_gmt":"2021-06-16T11:34:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=90481"},"modified":"2026-04-11T15:28:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T20:28:45","slug":"utah-is-hot-cooling-winter-wetland-views","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/06\/16\/utah-is-hot-cooling-winter-wetland-views\/","title":{"rendered":"Utah Is Hot – Cooling Winter Wetland Views"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FarmingtonFarmington Bay WMA wetlands in winter 2015 – Nikon D300, f10, 1\/800, ISO 320, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 18mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday temps tied the all-time hottest temperature ever recorded in Salt Lake City and broke the all-time June record when the thermometer hit 107\u00b0F. It felt even hotter than that because of our extreme drought conditions in the state.<\/p>\n

Salt Lake City ties all time record; what the heat wave means for Utah’s climate, drought and fire risk<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Usually I don’t feel the need to look through my cooling winter landscape photos until mid July or early August to remind myself that the heat will pass when autumn and then winter arrive. According to the calendar that people have constructed it isn’t even summer here yet. We are still technically in the season we call spring.<\/p>\n

If people are hot so are the birds and animals that live in our mountains, marshes, wetlands, plains, grasslands, sagebrush steppes, deserts and urban areas.<\/p>\n

\"BearBear River MBR wetlands in winter 2020 – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 400, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 52mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Utah is hot. It is scorching. Our hottest temps are yet to come and there is no relief in sight for our drought.<\/p>\n

I selected two photos to share today of the wetlands of Farmington Bay WMA and Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in winter. Both photos show the Wasatch Mountain Range covered in snow. They do cool me down when I look at them but only temporarily because I know we are getting less snow in those mountains now than when I moved here in 2009. I also know that the reservoirs in those mountains that provide us with drinking water are currently at extremely low levels.<\/p>\n

Shockingly low.<\/p>\n

For a moment I’m going to recall the cold, crisp air of winter, fresh snow and the beauty of Utah’s wetlands in the winter.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Utah landscape\u00a0 and travel photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Utah is hot. It is scorching. Our hottest temps are yet to come and there is no relief in sight for our drought.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":174461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,1148,1022,697,26],"tags":[4101,521,4064,4094,4069,11900,958,4018,4050,4076,1164,4176,3996,4095,373],"class_list":["post-90481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","tag-clouds","tag-gulls","tag-ice","tag-marsh","tag-mountains","tag-record-breaking-temps","tag-reflections","tag-sky","tag-snow","tag-trees","tag-wasatch-mountain-range","tag-wasatch-mountains","tag-water","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/farmington-bay-winter-snow-mia-mcpherson-9163.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-nxn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":98197,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/12\/15\/overnight-snow-storm-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":90481,"position":0},"title":"Overnight Snow Storm In Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I haven't been outside to measure the snow but I'd estimate that 6 to 8 inches have fallen already just by looking out my living room window.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Egret in snow at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/great-egret-snowy-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/great-egret-snowy-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/great-egret-snowy-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/great-egret-snowy-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8024.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108991,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/25\/christmas-day-american-kestrel\/","url_meta":{"origin":90481,"position":1},"title":"Christmas Day American Kestrel","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this Christmas Day American Kestrel in 2020 at Farmington Bay WMA. That Christmas Day was bright and sunny, today isn't going to be at all.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Christmas Day American Kestrel, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34189,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/12\/16\/a-great-egret-resting-in-snow-at-farmington-bay-wma\/","url_meta":{"origin":90481,"position":2},"title":"Great Egret Resting In Snow At Farmington Bay WMA","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I was quite pleased to find this Great Egret resting in snow yesterday while I was photographing other birds at the WMA.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Egret resting in snow at Farmington Bay WMA in Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-winter-mia-mcpherson-8000.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-winter-mia-mcpherson-8000.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-winter-mia-mcpherson-8000.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-winter-mia-mcpherson-8000.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5215,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/06\/22\/summer-heat-and-winter-cold\/","url_meta":{"origin":90481,"position":3},"title":"Summer Heat and Winter Cold","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I decided to post an image that said... cold, snow and winter. Just looking at it seems to cool me down.","rel":"","context":"In "Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area"","block_context":{"text":"Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/farmington-bay-wma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snow covered Wasatch Range view from Farmington Bay, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/wasatch-mountains-winter-mia-mcpherson-2756.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/wasatch-mountains-winter-mia-mcpherson-2756.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/wasatch-mountains-winter-mia-mcpherson-2756.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/wasatch-mountains-winter-mia-mcpherson-2756.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":77662,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/01\/12\/where-is-our-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":90481,"position":4},"title":"Where is Our Snow?","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It is wintertime here in the Salt Lake Valley of northern Utah but given the lack of snow if it weren't for the cold temps you might not know that.","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":"Snow covered mountains on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/antelope-island-snow-january-13-mia-mpcherson-4108.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/antelope-island-snow-january-13-mia-mpcherson-4108.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/antelope-island-snow-january-13-mia-mpcherson-4108.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/antelope-island-snow-january-13-mia-mpcherson-4108.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108672,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/11\/queenfisher-2023-aba-bird-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":90481,"position":5},"title":"Queenfisher – 2023 ABA Bird of the Year","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The 2023 ABA Bird of the Year was revealed yesterday evening. The bird of the year is the Queenfisher, also known as the female Belted Kingfisher.","rel":"","context":"In "Belted Kingfishers"","block_context":{"text":"Belted Kingfishers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/kingfishers\/belted-kingfishers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Belted Kingfisher on her throne, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/belted-kingfisher-female-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-9262.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/belted-kingfisher-female-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-9262.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/belted-kingfisher-female-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-9262.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/belted-kingfisher-female-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-9262.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\/90481","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=90481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}