{"id":98353,"date":"2021-12-21T04:53:58","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T11:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=98353"},"modified":"2023-12-21T03:07:02","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T10:07:02","slug":"happy-winter-solstice-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/12\/21\/happy-winter-solstice-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Winter Solstice 2021!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WinterWinter American Robin foraging in snow \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/2500, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Happy Solstice and Yuletide! Hello Winter! Happy return to the light!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is the astronomical first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest day of the year. The first day of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice, which occurs on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, at 10:59 A.M. EST, 8:59 A.M. MST. After today the days begin to grow longer and longer. The Solstice<\/span><\/a> only lasts a moment but many of us celebrate it the whole day long.<\/p>\n

Did you know that on the Solstice you cast your longest shadow of the year in the Northern Hemisphere? That is because of the sun is the lowest and most southerly on the horizon on this day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Robin against a winter sky \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The start of winter always make me think of birds and wildlife and how tough they are to survive this time of the year. I know that for some people the American Robin is thought to be the harbinger of spring but I see them year round here in the Salt Lake Valley and in large numbers during the winter. I selected these two American Robin photos to go with this post on the Solstice because I often get closer to foraging robins during the winter than I do at other times of the year.<\/p>\n

Winter can be a terrific time in northern Utah for bird photography because the winter light is pleasing longer into the day because it is low on the horizon. I can photograph birds almost all day long without harsh shadows. Winter light is a delight and if there is snow on the ground it only gets better and for me that is a reason to celebrate.<\/p>\n

Happy Solstice everyone.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my American Robin photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happy Solstice and Yuletide! Hello Winter! Happy return to the light!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98346,"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":[456,27,709,26],"tags":[4004,2427,4142,6969,4136,6667,12646,12649,4046,6642,5199,4018,4050,12647,3844,4881,1048,8018,373,12648],"class_list":["post-98353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-robins","category-avian","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-american-robin","tag-close-up","tag-crabapple","tag-foraging","tag-fruit","tag-malus","tag-northern-hemisphere","tag-portrait","tag-robin","tag-robins","tag-sky","tag-snow","tag-solstice","tag-thrush","tag-thrushes","tag-turdus-migratorius","tag-urban","tag-winter","tag-yuletide"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/american-robin-winter-sky-mia-mcpherson-2812.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-pAl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":108923,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/21\/happy-winter-solstice-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":98353,"position":0},"title":"Happy Winter Solstice 2022","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Happy Winter Solstice! May the Winter Solstice bring to you the promise of endless brand new days.","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":"Sun Dog on February 5, 2014. 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On this day, I celebrate Mother Nature and our Mother Earth.","rel":"","context":"In "Miscellaneous"","block_context":{"text":"Miscellaneous","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/miscellaneous\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sunlight and shadows on the snowy Wasatch Mountains, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/wasatch-mountain-range-snowy-peaks-mia-mcpherson-5171.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/wasatch-mountain-range-snowy-peaks-mia-mcpherson-5171.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/wasatch-mountain-range-snowy-peaks-mia-mcpherson-5171.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-winter-snow-fruit-mia-mcpherson-2915.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-winter-snow-fruit-mia-mcpherson-2915.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-winter-snow-fruit-mia-mcpherson-2915.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-winter-snow-fruit-mia-mcpherson-2915.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56237,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/02\/19\/more-american-robins-with-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":98353,"position":3},"title":"More American Robins With Snow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"On February 16th I woke to fresh snow on the ground and I knew I wanted to see if the American Robins were still feeding in the crabapple trees close to home.","rel":"","context":"In "American Robins"","block_context":{"text":"American Robins","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/thrushes\/american-robins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Robin on a bright winter morning, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-snow-adult-mia-mcpherson-4609.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-snow-adult-mia-mcpherson-4609.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-snow-adult-mia-mcpherson-4609.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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McPherson","date":"March 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I took a few American Robin photos yesterday morning high in the Wasatch Mountains in two counties and two very different settings.","rel":"","context":"In "American Robins"","block_context":{"text":"American Robins","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/thrushes\/american-robins\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Robin perched on a barren hawthorn, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-hawthorn-east-canyon-mia-mcpherson-0029.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/american-robin-hawthorn-east-canyon-mia-mcpherson-0029.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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