Hawks, Eagles, Ospreys and Vultures – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

International Vulture Awareness Day 2023

By Mia McPherson|September 2nd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Black Vultures, Box Elder County, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: adult, Black Vulture, bottomland hardwood forests, bottomlands, Cathartes aura, cliff face, Coragyps atratus, desert, foothills, immature, juvenile, lichen, lichens, nest, nesting cavity tree, ranchlands, raptors, rocks, roosting, spring, Steve Creek, summer, tree, Turkey Vulture, vulture, vultures, young|

Today is International Vulture Awareness Day 2023. I admit to having a soft spot for vultures because they are often misunderstood, and because I tend to stand up for those who have no voice.

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Bald Eagle Calling At Dawn

By Mia McPherson|August 10th, 2023|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: adult, Arkansas River, Bald Eagle, bottomland hardwood forest, bottomlands, branch, calling, eagle, eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, perched, raptors, river, sky, spring|

I saw Bald Eagles every time I went to Sequoyah NWR with my friend, Steve Creek. This morning, I am sharing a photo of a Bald Eagle calling from the refuge.

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Young Red-shouldered Hawk at Sequoyah NWR

By Mia McPherson|July 8th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Oklahoma, Red-shouldered Hawks, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: bottomland hardwood forests, bottomlands, branches, Buteo lineatus, Buteos, forest, hawk, hawks, immature, leaves, perched, raptors, Red-shouldered Hawk, summer, trees, young|

When I photographed this young Red-shouldered Hawk at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge it had been fourteen years since I had this species in my viewfinder.

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Young Black Vulture Snuggled Into A Tree Cavity Nest

By Mia McPherson|June 23rd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Black Vultures, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: Black Vulture, bottomland hardwood forests, bottomlands, Coragyps atratus, immature, juvenile, nesting cavity tree, summer, tree, vulture, vultures, young|

This young Black Vulture in a tree cavity nest made me happy dance yesterday morning at Sequoyah NWR when it was close to the entrance of the nesting cavity.

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Peek-a-boo Osprey In Flight Over My Local Pond

By Mia McPherson|May 22nd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Ospreys, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Fish Hawk, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Osprey, ospreys, Pandion haliaetus, park, peek-a-boo, pond, raptors, river hawk, Sea Hawk, sky, spring, urban|

At the end of April I spent the morning photographing birds at my local pond. This peek-a-boo Osprey was one of my favorites images from that day.

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Spring Caspian Tern Photos Plus A Bonus Osprey Image

By Mia McPherson|May 4th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Caspian Terns, Ospreys, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, aerial chase, breeding plumage, Caspian Tern, chasing, dive, eye level, flight, flying, Hydroprogne caspia, Osprey, ospreys, Pandion haliaetus, park, pond, raptors, sky, spring, tern, terns, urban|

At the end of last month, I had the pleasure of taking Caspian Tern photos as these terns were flying and fishing at my local pond.

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Osprey Lifting Off After Missing Prey

By Mia McPherson|April 29th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Ospreys, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, dive, flight, flying, lift off, lifting off, Osprey, ospreys, Pandion haliaetus, park, pond, raptors, spring, take off, taking off, unsuccessful, urban, water|

I had great fun photographing this Osprey lifting off from an unsuccessful dive for prey two days ago. It was definitely a challenge and I will explain why.

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My First Of Season Turkey Vulture Images

By Mia McPherson|April 21st, 2023|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: adult, Cathartes aura, desert, first of season, lichen, lichens, outcropping, raptor, resting, rocks, rocky, spring, Turkey Vulture, vulture, vultures|

I took my first Turkey Vulture images of the season two days ago. That is later than usual for me, but this spring hasn't been normal at all.

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Mix Of Urban Birds Close To Home

By Mia McPherson|April 10th, 2023|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Double-crested Cormorants, Red-winged Blackbirds, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Savannah Sparrows, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Utah|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter striatus, Accipiters, adult, Agelaius phoeniceus, American Robin, Aythya americana, basketball backstop, blackbird, blackbirds, branches, cattail, close up, cormorant, cormorants, curb, Double-crested Cormorant, drake, duck, ducks, edge, habitat, hawks, immature, landing, male, Nannopterum auritus, neighborhood, park, Passerculus sandwichensis, perched, pond, portrait, raptors, Red-winged Blackbird, Redhead, redheads, robin, robins, Savannah Sparrow, Sharp-shinned Hawk, sky, small in frame, snow, sparrow, sparrows, splash, splashy, spring, stinkeye, thrush, thrushes, tree, Turdus migratorius, urban, water, waterbirds, waterfowl, young|

This mix of urban birds were taken over a two day period close to home. Birds, no matter where they are, bring me joy, happiness, and even laughter.

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Turkey Vulture With An Open Bill

By Mia McPherson|April 1st, 2023|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: adult, Cathartes aura, desert, open bill, perched, post, ranchlands, spring, Turkey Vulture, vulture, vultures, wooden post|

I took this photo of a Turkey Vulture with its bill wide open exactly a year ago today on a warm spring morning in far northern Utah under the bright sun.

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First of Year Osprey Plus A Spring Snowstorm

By Mia McPherson|March 27th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Ospreys, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, first of year, Fish Hawk, male, Osprey, ospreys, Pandion haliaetus, perched, pole, raptor, sky, snowstorm, spring, urban, urban birds, Utah|

I had something wonderful happen yesterday following a spring snowstorm in Salt Lake City. I found my first of year Osprey close to home perched on a pole.

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Red-tailed Hawk Pre-Lift Off

By Mia McPherson|March 15th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteo jamaicensis calurus, Buteos, desert, grasses, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lichens, lift off, pre-lift off, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, rocks, rufous, sky, take off, Utah, winter|

It's been about four years since I photographed this rufous Red-tailed Hawk in in a pre-lift off pose way up in northern Utah. This pose can be hard to capture.

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Wings Over People: My Love for Bird Photography

By Mia McPherson|March 2nd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-billed Gulls, Rough-legged Hawks, Salt Lake County, San Juan County, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, American Robin, bird photography, Buteo lagopus, Larus delawarensis, Ring-billed Gull, Rough-legged Hawk, Turdus migratorius|

This could also be titled "Why I prefer to bird photography over people photography" and I will explain why this morning.

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Young Bald Eagle Looking Fierce

By Mia McPherson|February 28th, 2023|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: Bald Eagle, blue, desert, eagle, eagles, Eagles of Utah, fierce, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, looking, perched, pole, power pole, ranchlands, raptors, sky, subadult, winter, young|

Today I'm sharing a photo of a young Bald Eagle who was looking mighty fierce while perched on a power pole that I took last February on a very cold morning.

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Driftwood Guardian: Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|February 6th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, driftwood, frosty, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, male, perched, ranchlands, raptors, river, Rough-legged Hawk, snag, snow, wetlands, winter|

I stopped to take photos of an adult male Rough-legged Hawk perched on a driftwood snag over the Bear River when I was leaving Bear River MBR four days ago.

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Leaning Post Bald Eagle

By Mia McPherson|February 4th, 2023|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, eagle, eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, leaning, looking, marsh, perched, post, raptors, stern, tradition, wetlands, winter|

After my recent visit to Bear River MBR I wanted to share photos of a Bald Eagle on a leaning post that can be seen from the road leading to the auto tour loop.

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Missing Our Neighborhood Bald Eagle

By Mia McPherson|January 23rd, 2023|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, branches, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, mountains, neighborhood, pond, raptors, sky, tree, trees, urban, winter|

By this time in January I have usually already seen and photographed our neighborhood Bald Eagle that visits during the winter for a few weeks.

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Rough-legged Hawk Staredown

By Mia McPherson|January 11th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, cold, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, mountains, perched, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, sky, snow, staredown, wetlands, winter|

One year ago this morning I was on the road to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge where my best subject of the day was a male light morph Rough-legged Hawk.

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My 2022 Year In Review

By Mia McPherson|December 31st, 2022|Categories: American Kestrels, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Box Elder County, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Golden Eagles, Great Horned Owls, Horned Grebes, Morgan County, Ring-billed Gulls, Rock Wrens, Ruffed Grouse, Tundra Swans, Utah, Warbling Vireos, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, American Kestrel, Aquila chrysaetos, autumn, background, berries, Bewick's Swan, bill, birds of prey, Black-billed Magpie, blooming, blooms, blossoms, Bonasa umbellus, boulder, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Bubo virginianus, building, canyon, close up, corvids, Cygnus columbianus, Cygnus columbianus bewickii, Davis County, desert, dirt, eagle, eagles, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, fall, farmlands, female, fledgling, flight, flock, flowering, flowering shrub, flying, forest edge, fruiting shrub, fruits, fruting shrubs, Golden Eagle, gorget, Great Horned Owl, grebe, grebes, grouse, gull, gulls, Horned Grebe, hummingbird, hummingbirds, immature, juvenile, kestrel, kestrels, Larus delawarensis, lichen, lores, magpie, magpies, male, marsh, mountains, nest, nest box, nesting, nonbreeding plumage, owl, owls, perched, Pica hudsonia, Podiceps auritus, raptors, rare, reflection, Ring-billed Gull, riparian habitat, road, roadside, rock, Rock Wren, rocks, Ruffed Grouse, Salpinctes obsoletus, Selasphorus platycercus, serviceberries, serviceberry, Setophaga petechia, shrub, spring, stink-eye, summer, swan, swans, thicket, tree, Tundra Swans, Utah, Utah Serviceberry, vagrant, warbler, warblers, water, waterbirds, waterfowl, wetlands, willow, willow thicket, willows, winter, winter plumage, wood-warbler, wood-warblers, wren, wrens, Yellow Warbler, young|

On this last day of the year it is time for my annual 2022 Year in Review post. In some ways 2022 has been great for me and in others not so good.

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Immature Ferruginous Hawk In December

By Mia McPherson|December 23rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, clouds, desert, eyes, fall, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, foothills, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, lifting off, light morph, raptors, sky, taking off, young|

I was overjoyed to see an immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk in my viewfinder four years ago in December while I was out in Utah's West Desert.

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Immature Rough-legged Hawk, Staring Prey And Feaking

By Mia McPherson|December 15th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, Davis County, fall, feaking, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, landing, light morph, looking, marsh, nest box, prey, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, staring, vole, wetlands, young|

This morning I am sharing photos of an immature Rough-legged Hawk, its staring prey, of the bird feaking and a bonus image that shows the tongue of the hawk.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk In A Safety Zone

By Mia McPherson|December 4th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Circus hudsonius, defensive mode, dive, dive bombing, fall, flight, flying, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, Nothern Harrier, perched, post, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, resting, safety zone, sign, wetlands, wooden post, young|

About two years ago, I photographed this immature Red-tailed Hawk resting above a safety zone sign at Farmington Bay WMA on a cold morning.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk Head On Stare

By Mia McPherson|November 28th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, fall, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, head on, immature, marsh, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, stare, tree, young|

If I were a vole, I'd tremble in fear under the head on stare of this immature Red-tailed Hawk that I photographed last week at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Male Northern Harrier Photo

By Mia McPherson|November 22nd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Circus hudsonius, dorsal view, duck club, fall, flats, flight, flying, Gray Ghost, harrier, harriers, hawks, male, Marsh hawk, Northern Harrier, raptors, trailers|

I'd like this photo of a male Northern Harrier more if there weren't camping trailers from a duck hunting club near the auto loop of Bear River MBR behind him.

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West Desert Dark Morph Ferruginous Hawk

By Mia McPherson|November 21st, 2022|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, autumn, Buteo regalis, Buteos, clouds, conifers, dark morph, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, foot, foothills, hawk, hawks, lifting, mountain, mountains, peak, raptors, rocks, sky island mountains, snow, trees, wooden post|

Nearly three years have passed since I found, pointed out, and photographed this stunning dark morph Ferruginous Hawk in the West Desert of Utah.

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Desert Red-tailed Hawk Photos

By Mia McPherson|October 28th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, autumn, Big Sagebrush, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Celtis reticulata, cliff, cliff face, dark morph, desert, dwelling, fall, hackberries, hackberry, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, leaves, lichen, lift off, lifting off, metal post, Netleaf Hackberry, perched, preparing, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, rocks, sage, sagebrush, sky, stony eyed, take off, taking off, Utah, young|

While I was up in far northern Utah looking for birds last week, I took quite a few Red-tailed Hawk photos. I shared one image a few days ago and here are a few more.

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Rough-legged Hawk Season Has Begun

By Mia McPherson|October 25th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, back view, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, frost, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, perched, portrait, raptors, refuge information sign, Rough-legged Hawk, wetlands, winter|

Rough-legged Hawk season has begun in northern Utah. I spotted my first of season Rough-legged Hawks on the wing last Friday.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk With ‘Tude

By Mia McPherson|October 24th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: attitude, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, cliff, desert, fall, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, laughing, laughter, lichen, looking, perception, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, rocks, sky, surly, young|

While I was up in far northern Utah last week, the first bird I photographed was this immature Red-tailed Hawk that seemed to have a surly attitude about it.

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Golden Eagle Rising Above A Ridge

By Mia McPherson|October 22nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: adult, Aquila chrysaetos, autumn, birds of prey, desert, eagle, eagles, fall, flight, flying, foothills, Golden Eagle, grasses, rabbitbrush, raptors, ridge, sky|

This morning I'm sharing a photo of a gorgeous adult Golden Eagle that I took just as it was taking off from a ridge, shortly after I found it.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk With Mountains In The Background

By Mia McPherson|October 15th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, early morning light, fall, hatch year, hawk, hawks, immature, marsh, mountains, nest box, nestbox, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, slopes, stern, young|

My best bird photos from yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA were of an immature Red-tailed Hawk with the shadowed Wasatch Mountain slopes in the background.

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