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

Northern Harrier in flight

By Mia McPherson|March 20th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, flight, flying, Gray Ghost, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Northern Harrier, raptors, wildlife photography|

Just an image I took yesterday of this male Northern Harrier in flight. As simple as the image is I like the great eye contact it has.

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The West Desert of Utah

By Mia McPherson|February 29th, 2012|Categories: Horned Larks, Pronghorn, Red-tailed Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Turkey Vultures, Utah, West Desert|Tags: Antilocapra americana, bird photography, birding, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Cathartes aura, desert, desert flats, Eremophila alpestris, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, Horned Lark, lark, larks, mountains, nature, Pronghorn, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, Stansbury Mountains, Turkey Vulture, Utah, vulture, vultures, west desert, wildlife photography|

I am one of those people who love deserts and the West Desert of Utah is once again beckoning to me. The weather here in Utah is very changeable right now, it can feel like spring one day and the next it still feels like winter but it won't be long before the weather levels out and the west desert will begin to green up.

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Rough-legged Hawks – Is it time to say goodbye?

By Mia McPherson|February 26th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, flight, flying, hawks, lift off, light morph, nature, preening, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk|

I have had such amazing experiences with Rough-legged Hawks this winter. I've captured them in flight, preening, eating, hovering, kiting, resting and so much more.

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Female Northern Harrier ~ Friday Photos

By Mia McPherson|February 17th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, coursing, female, flight, flying, harriers, hawks, Northern Harrier, pale yellow eye, raptors|

This female Northern Harrier was coursing along a road in search of prey and gave me great views of her pale yellow eye and bold barring under her wings.

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Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area

By Mia McPherson|February 9th, 2012|Categories: Bighorn Sheep, Birds, Daggett County, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Golden Eagles, Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Utah|Tags: Antelope Flat, Bighorn Sheep, Dowd Mountain Overlook, Flaming Gorge Dam, Golden Eagle, Green River, John Wesley Powell, Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Pronghorn Antelope, wildlife photography|

Last September I visited Flaming Gorge National Recreation area for the first time. Wow, nature never ceases to delight and amaze me.

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Ferruginous Hawk in Tooele County, Utah

By Mia McPherson|February 8th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, balanced, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, desert, fall, feathered legs, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lift off, light morph, perched, sky, Tooele County, Utah, west desert, wing lift|

There aren't many people in the west desert of Utah thus the raptors and other birds that live there are not habituated to people so they are very skittish even when using a mobile blind.

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Northern Harrier

By Mia McPherson|January 31st, 2012|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: 2nd year, birds of prey, chattering, Circus hudsonius, desert island, diving, flight, flying, Gray Ghost, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, immature, low light, male, Marsh hawk, Northern Harrier, raptors, snow, winter|

This Northern Harrier displayed interesting behavior, it didn't appear to be hunting but it would dive into the vegetation where it would make a sound that reminded me of parrots chattering.

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Wild and Wonderful – Antelope Island State Park – The Birds

By Mia McPherson|January 25th, 2012|Categories: American Barn Owls, American Kestrels, American White Pelicans, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Brewer's Blackbirds, Burrowing Owls, California Gulls, Chukars, Common Ravens, Davis County, Great Horned Owls, Green-winged Teals, Horned Larks, Killdeer, Long-billed Curlews, Northern Harriers, Northern Shovelers, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons, Rough-legged Hawks, Sage Thrashers, Utah, Western Meadowlarks, Willets|Tags: American Barn Owl, American Kestrel, American White Pelican, bird photography, birding, Birds of Antelope Island State Park, Black-billed Magpie, Brewer's Blackbird, Burrowing Owl, California Gull, Chukar, Common Raven, Gray Ghost, Great Horned Owl, Green-winged Teal, Horned Lark, Killdeer, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Harrier, Northern Shoveler, Peregrine Falcon, Prairie Falcons, Rough-legged Hawk, Sage Thrasher, Western Meadowlark, Willet|

This is the third post in my series about Wild and Wonderful Antelope Island State Park, I've saved the best (and longest) for last. The Birds! Okay, maybe they aren't the best thing about Antelope Island State Park, but I am a bird photographer and they are what I am most passionate about!

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Rough-legged Hawk Kiting, Being Bit and Eating on the Fly

By Mia McPherson|January 19th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, eating, eating in flight, flight, flying, goofy, Great Salt Lake, hawks, Hawks of Utah, hovering, immature, kiting, prey, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, vole, young|

These images are from an afternoon just like that when I happened to find and point out a lovely Rough-legged Hawk on a breezy day.

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The Bald Eagles are Returning to the Valley

By Mia McPherson|December 19th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Portraits, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, close up, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, four year old, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, over wintering, perched, portrait, raptors, Salt Lake Valley, sky|

During the summer months I don't often see Bald Eagles unless I go up into the high country or travel north of Utah to Idaho, Wyoming or Montana but in the Salt Lake Valley many Bald Eagles come in to spend the winter.

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High Key Fun

By Mia McPherson|December 14th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Mallards, Rough-legged Hawks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Anas platyrhynchos, Bald Eagle, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, ducks, female, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, hen, high key, immature, low light, Mallard, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk|

It seems that people either love high key images or they hate them. Personally; I believe that when a high key image is done well that they can be very appealing and have a place for them in my portfolio.

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Friday Photos – Yes, another Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|December 9th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, desert island, flight, flying, hawks, immature, lift off, light morph, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, young|

I can relate to the hawk in a way, just like it doesn't always get the prey it is intent on, I don't always get the shots I want.

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Rough-legged Hawk Preening

By Mia McPherson|November 30th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: Antelope Island State Park, birds of prey, buteo, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, comical, feet, funny, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, perched, post, preening, raptors, regal, Rough-legged Hawk, side view, wooden post|

Last week though I had the opportunity to photograph a very cooperative Rough-legged Hawk preening.

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More Rough-legged Hawks

By Mia McPherson|November 20th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, flight, hawks, immature, lift off, light morph, natural habitat, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, Stansbury Mountains, young|

I have been very pleased to add so many images of Rough-legged Hawks to my portfolio in just the past week and hopefully these Roughies will stick around until late February of next year so there will be many more opportunities.

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Rough-legged Hawks

By Mia McPherson|November 13th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, bird ID, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, desert island, fall, hare-footed, hawks, immature, light morph, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, young|

Eureka! The Rough-legged Hawks are back from their high subarctic and Arctic breeding grounds and they seem to be showing up in larger numbers than I have seen them since I moved to Utah.

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Ferruginous Hawk – A Regal Raptor

By Mia McPherson|November 7th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, desert, fall, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lift off, light morph, raptors, sky, west desert|

Ferruginous Hawks are the largest hawks found in North America, the "regalis" in the latin name means "kingly" or "regal" and I have to agree with those descriptions.

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Red-tailed Hawk with Long-billed syndrome

By Mia McPherson|November 6th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah|Tags: beak deformity, bill deformity, Buteo jamaicensis, coped, coping, Long bill syndrome, long-billed syndrome, nature, Red-tailed Hawk|

Red-tailed Hawk with Long-billed syndrome, a perfect example of the sickle-bill form (the worst) all the way over in Utah and the first I am aware of for that state.

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Taking a look back on a few previous Autumn Birds

By Mia McPherson|October 28th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Pied-billed Grebes, Red-tailed Hawks, Red-winged Blackbirds, Ring-necked Pheasants, Tooele County, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: Agelaius phoeniceus, autumn, birds of prey, blackbird, blackbirds, Buteo jamaicensis, Circus hudsonius, desert, Gray Ghost, grebe, grebes, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Northern Harrier, Phasianus colchicus, pheasant, Pickleweed, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-winged Blackbird, Ring-necked Pheasant, sparrow, sparrows, White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys|

Photographing birds during Autumn is a wonderful time for me in Utah, the beautiful fall colors delight and enthrall me, the air gets nippy and I find myself feeling a surge of energy whenever I am outdoors.

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Red-shouldered Hawk Juvenile

By Mia McPherson|August 8th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Portraits, Red-shouldered Hawks, Sawgrass Lake Park|Tags: Buteo lineatus, close up, fledgling, Florida, forest, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Florida, immature, juvenile, perched, Pinellas County, portrait, raptor, RAW files, Red-shouldered Hawk, Sawgrass Lake Park, swamp, young|

This very cooperative juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk was used to the people who frequented Sawgrass County Park and it would land very close to humans.

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Friday Photos – A split second does matter

By Mia McPherson|July 29th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Frustrations in bird photography, Handheld, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah|Tags: bird photographer, bird photography, Buteo jamaicensis, clipped, frustration, frustrations in photography, hawk, nature, photography, Red-tailed Hawk, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, wildlife|

For the past two days I have been having an amazing time photographing a family of Red-tailed Hawks; including at least 4 juveniles, in Tooele County, Utah

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Summer Lunacy – Nikon’s Image Overlay Function

By Mia McPherson|July 9th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Egmont Key State Park, Florida, Image Overlay, Ospreys|Tags: bird, bird photography, clouds, d200, full moon, image overlay, in camera composite, merged, nature, Nikon, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, perched, photoshop, Pinellas County, raptor, sunrise, trees, wildlife|

Nikon's Image Overlay Function. Yes, I was experimenting with a little bit of Summer Lunacy. This is a bit whimsical and it makes me smile.

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Friday Photos: A Friendly Swainson’s Hawk

By Mia McPherson|June 3rd, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Portraits, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Antelope Island State Park, bird ID, Buteo swainsoni, close up, Great Salt Lake, hawk, hawks, mobile blind, perched, portrait, preening, raptor, sign, speed limit sign, Swainson's Hawk, water|

Last Friday I came upon this Swainson's Hawk; not just once but twice, perched on signs very close to the road.

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Northern Harrier in Low Light

By Mia McPherson|May 16th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: bird ID, bird photography, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, falling snow, flight, fog, harrier, harriers, hawks, hovering, inversion, low light, Marsh hawk, marshes, Northern Harrier, raptors, snow, Wasatch Mountains, winter|

I don't mind the motion blur in these images and because northern harriers hunt by looking down at the ground for their prey I was very happy to get eye contact in both frames.

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Nesting Northern Harrier

By Mia McPherson|May 7th, 2011|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, female, flight, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hen Harrier, hovering, landing, marsh, Marsh hawk, marshes, nest, nesting, nesting material, Northern Harrier, wetlands|

Tt was the first time that I have ever seen a Northern Harrier building a nest. It more than made my day!

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Iowa Bald Eagle nest cam

By Mia McPherson|March 16th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: Bald Eagle, bird photography, Decorah, eagle, Eagle nest cam, eagles, eggs, flight, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Iowa, nest, nesting behavior, sky|

Yesterday a friend of mine sent me a link to an Eagle nest cam in Decorah, Iowa that I have been having fun watching so I thought I'd share it.

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Red-tailed Hawks

By Mia McPherson|March 2nd, 2011|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah|Tags: Buteo jamaicensis, desert, fence post, hawk, hawks, immature, juvenile, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, tree, Utah, young|

I'm looking forward to seeing red-tailed hawks in the high country of Utah and Montana this summer and hopefully getting some more images of both the juveniles and adult.

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An amazing encounter…or two with a young Bald Eagle

By Mia McPherson|February 17th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: Bald Eagle, bird photography, birds of prey, close up, eagle, eagles, fence, fence rail, flight, flying, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature, juvenile, juveniles, marsh, mountains, one year old, perched, portrait, raptors, snow, winter, yearling, young|

I've found Bald Eagles difficult to approach most of the time which is why a long lens is often needed. But not this one year old bald eagle.

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Bald Eagles – Age Progression From One To Five Years Old

By Mia McPherson|February 16th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: 80 inch wingspan, adult, age progression, aging, aging bald eagles, Bald Eagle, bald eagle age progression, bill, bird ID, development, eagles, first year, fourth year, growth, growth stages, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, plumage, plumage phase, second year, third year, under wing|

A simple guide to aging Bald Eagles by their plumage development, legs and their bills with images showing the age progression.

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So ya think ya want to be a bird photographer?

By Mia McPherson|February 8th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Burrowing Owls, Davis County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Humor, Loggerhead Shrikes, Montana, Northern Harriers, Pinellas County, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Semipalmated Plovers, Snowy Egrets, Swainson's Hawks, Utah, Willets|Tags: Athene cunicularia, bird humor, bird photography, birding, Burrowing Owl, Buteo swainsoni, Charadrius semipalmatus, Circus hudsonius, Egretta thula, Gray Ghost, humor, Lanius ludovicianus, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Harrier, Semipalmated Plover, Snowy Egret, Swainson's Hawk, Tringa semipalmata, Willet|

Be prepared to become addicted to birds. You will have withdrawals if you don't shoot often enough, your shutter button finger will develop a nervous twitch

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The Importance of Honest Self Critique in Bird Photography

By Mia McPherson|January 24th, 2011|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Critique Forums, Self critique, Utah|Tags: Bald Eagle, birds of prey, critique, eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, nature critique forums, raptors, self critique, Utah|

I've enjoyed photography for a long time but for quite awhile I didn't understand the value or importance of honest self critique.

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