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

Swainson’s Hawk On A Gnarly Fence Post

By Mia McPherson|March 31st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, Buteos, early morning light, fence post, gnarly, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, raptors, spring, Swainson's Hawk|

I haven't found my first of season Swainson's Hawk yet but I expect that to change any day now as spring migration is almost in full swing.

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Spring Turkey Vulture And A View From The Road

By Mia McPherson|March 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: adult, Cathartes aura, clouds, desert, mountains, pole, rocks, rocky outcroppings, sage, sagebrush, sky, spring, thermoregulating, thermoregulation, Turkey Vulture, vulture, vultures, wooden pole|

Yesterday morning I was able to photograph a spring Turkey Vulture warming up in the morning light from a rural road in Box Elder County.

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Mated Red-tailed Hawk Pair

By Mia McPherson|March 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteo jamaicensis calurus, cliff, cliff face, female, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, mated pair, mates, morning light, nesting material, pair, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk|

Last week I spotted and photographed a mated Red-tailed Hawk pair on the branches of a tree in front of a cliff in early morning light.

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It Is Red-tailed Hawk Nesting Season

By Mia McPherson|March 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, cliff, cliff face, desert, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, juniper, nest, nesting, nesting season, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, spring, Utah|

Red-tailed Hawk nesting season has started in northern Utah and I found a few pairs yesterday morning that have already gotten busy with nest building.

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Signs Of Spring – First Turkey Vulture Sighting Report

By Mia McPherson|March 12th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: adult, behavior, birds of prey, Cathartes aura, fence, fence post, raptors, sage, sagebrush, spring, sunning, thermoregulating, thermoregulation posture, Turkey Vulture, vulture, vultures, wooden post|

Yesterday afternoon I received an email from the UBird Google group with a first of the year Turkey Vulture sighting and that got me excited.

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Immature Bald Eagle In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|March 8th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Bald Eagle, birds of prey, eagle, eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature, mountains, perched, raptors, second winter, snow, subadult, tree, Weber River|

When I spotted this immature Bald Eagle high in the Wasatch Mountains three days ago I hoped at some point to get photos of it in flight.

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West Desert Male Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|March 3rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, alert, birds of prey, boulder, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, fence post, flight, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lichen, lift off, lifting off, male, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, take off, wooden post|

Yesterday morning was clear, bright, chilly, and I spent ten minutes photographing an adult male Rough-legged Hawk that I found in the West Desert.

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Male Rough-legged Hawk Photos

By Mia McPherson|February 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, background, birds of prey, blue sky, Buteo lagopus, Buteo regalis, Buteos, Ferruginous Hawk, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, mountains, raptors, rock, rocks, Rough-legged Hawk, shadows, sky, snow, snow covered, snowy|

Earlier this week I photographed a light morph, adult male Rough-legged Hawk in the West Desert of Utah with three different backgrounds.

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Ferruginous And Rough-legged Hawk Lift Off Photos

By Mia McPherson|February 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteo regalis, Buteos, feathered legs, feathered tarsi, feet, Ferruginous Hawk, first winter, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, legs, lift off, lifting off, light morph, male, power pole, raptors, rock, rocks, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, take off, taking off, young|

Yesterday morning I was able to take Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawk lift off photos where both of the raptors still had their feet on their perches.

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High Key Immature Red-tailed Hawk Photos

By Mia McPherson|February 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Chinese Sumac, clouds, cloudy, first winter, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, high key, immature, low light, marsh, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, tree, winter, young|

Today I am sharing two high key type images of an immature Red-tailed Hawk I photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Immature Male Northern Harrier Flying Over A Wintry Marsh

By Mia McPherson|February 14th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, flight, flying, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, ice, immature, male, marsh, Northern Harrier, raptors, small in frame, snow, water, winter, wintry, young|

This immature male Northern Harrier photo shows the hawk small in the frame with wintry marsh habitat behind and below it.

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Adult Golden Eagle Close Up

By Mia McPherson|February 13th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: adult, Aquila chrysaetos, blue sky, close up, eagle, eagles, flight, fly by, flying, Golden Eagle, raptors, sky, winter|

One year ago this morning spotting and photographing this adult Golden Eagle at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge was the highlight of an otherwise crappy day.

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Golden Eagle Flying Over A Hill On Antelope Island

By Mia McPherson|February 9th, 2021|Categories: American Bison, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: adult, American Bison, Aquila chrysaetos, birds of prey, Bison, Bison bison, buffalo, bull, close up, clouds, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, Golden Eagle, grass, grasses, Great Salt Lake, hill, lake, male, portrait, raptors, sky, water, winter|

It has been a couple of years since I have found a Golden Eagle on Antelope Island so when I spotted an adult on a grassy hill yesterday I was excited.

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World Wetlands Day 2021

By Mia McPherson|February 2nd, 2021|Categories: American Barn Owls, American Bitterns, American Coots, Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Black-crowned Night Herons, Blue-winged Teals, Brewer's Blackbirds, Centennial Valley, Checkered White Butterflies, Cinnamon Teals, Common Mergansers, Conservation, Eight-spotted Skimmers, Environment, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Greater Scaups, Green-winged Teals, Halloween Pennants, Hooded Mergansers, Least Sandpipers, Lesser Scaups, Long-tailed Weasels, Marsh Wrens, Montana, Moose, Muskrats, Northern Harriers, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Pectoral Sandpipers, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Red-breasted Mergansers, Red-winged Blackbirds, Reddish Egrets, Redheads, Ruddy Ducks, Rusty Blackbirds, Sandhill Cranes, Scarlet Skimmers, Snowy Egrets, Spotted Sandpipers, Tricolored Herons, Trumpeter Swans, Tundra Swans, Utah, Variegated Meadowhawk, White-faced Ibises, Wildflowers, Wilson's Phalaropes, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: birds, critical, insects, plants, protection, water, wetlands, wildlife, World Wetlands Day|

February 2nd is World Wetlands Day to raise global awareness about the critical role of wetlands for people, wildlife and our planet.

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Rufous Red-tailed Hawk Female Memories

By Mia McPherson|January 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Box Elder County, buteo, Buteo jamaicensis, cliff, cliff face, desert, female, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, resting, rufous, shrub, stretch, stretching, Utah|

This morning I wanted to share a few photos of a stunning rufous Red-tailed Hawk female that I photographed over a period of a couple of years.

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Urban Raptor Photography

By Mia McPherson|January 17th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter cooperii, Accipiters, adult, Bald Eagle, bird, birds of prey, branches, breakfast, Cooper’s Hawk, eagle, eagles, eating, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, home, living room, low light, neighborhood, raptor photography, raptors, tree, urban, window, winter|

When I first moved to Utah in 2009 I never expected to be able to do urban raptor photography from my living room window.

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Photographing Winter Birds

By Mia McPherson|January 15th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Bald Eagles, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Canvasbacks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Pied-billed Grebes, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Coot, Anas platyrhynchos, Aythya americana, Aythya valisineria, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, Black-crowned Night Heron, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Canvasback, chase, close up, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, coot, coots, dabbling ducks, dicks, displaying, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, eagle, eagles, female, fight, fighting, first winter, flight, flying, food, frisky, Fulica americana, goldeneye, goldeneyes, grackle, grackles, Great-tailed Grackle, grebe, grebes, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, heron, herons, immature, male, mallards, marsh, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, pond, portrait, prey, Quiscalus mexicanus, raptors, Redhead, redheads, swimming, wading birds, water, waterfowl, weather loach, winter, young|

I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.

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My First Rough-legged Hawk of 2021

By Mia McPherson|January 8th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, East Canyon, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, male, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, winter|

Two days ago I photographed my first Rough-legged Hawk of 2021 at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Or was it two?

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First Winter Red-tailed Hawk Lift Off Photos

By Mia McPherson|January 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: bird of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, first, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, juvenile, lift off, lifting off, marsh, metal post, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, take off, taking off, Utah, winter, young|

Last month I spent twenty-eight lovely minutes photographing this first winter Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA.

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2020 Photographic Year In Review

By Mia McPherson|December 31st, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Bushtits, Common Loons, Cooper’s Hawks, Desert Tarantulas, Eastern Kingbirds, Elk, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ferruginous Hawks, Golden Eagles, Gray Catbirds, Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Green-tailed Towhees, Merlins, Mountain Bluebirds, Nashville Warblers, Northern Harriers, Pine Siskins, Red Foxes, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red-tailed Hawks, Ring-billed Gulls, Rusty Blackbirds, Short-eared Owls, Townsend's Solitaires, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, West Desert, Wild Turkeys, Wildflowers, Yellow Warblers|Tags: 5.7 earthquake, blackbirds, bluebirds, catbirds, coronavirus, eagles, Elk, fox, ground squirrels, gulls, harriers, hawks, herons, hummingbirds, kingbirds, loons, Merlin, owls, rare birds, red tailed hawks, siskins, tarantula, towhees, turkeys, uncommon, wablers, year in review|

This is my 2020 photographic year in review. I'm selecting some of my favorite photos from 2020 and a few that just make me happy to see them.

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Young Female Northern Harrier In Flight

By Mia McPherson|December 29th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: Circus hudsonius, female, flight, flying, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, Marsh Hawks, Northern Harrier, Promontory Mountains, raptors, sky, young|

Last week I was able to photograph this young Northern Harrier flying over a marsh on a trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Five Bird Photos From Christmas Day 2020

By Mia McPherson|December 26th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, Ardea herodias, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Christmas Day, close up, eagle, eales, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, field, first winter, Great Blue Heron, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, heron, herons, immature, lift off, lifting off, male, marsh, mountains, perched, pole, portrait, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, take off, taking off, tree, wading birds, wooden post, young|

Much to my delight I was able to photograph some birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.

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Christmas Day Bird Photos Thru The Years

By Mia McPherson|December 25th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Goldeneyes, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Golden Eagles, Long-eared Owls, Pied-billed Grebes, Pinellas County, Red-tailed Hawks, Roseate Spoonbills, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, Christmas Day, close up, Common Merganser, crayfish, eagle, eagles, first year, foggy, Golden Eagle, grebes, haek, hawks, immature, landing Bear River, Long-eared Owl, oel, owls, Pied-billed Grebe, portrait, Red-tailed Hawk, Roseate Spoonbill, snow, snow storm, snowy, spoonbill, wading birds, winter, young|

Today I wanted to share some of the Christmas Day bird photos I have taken through the years out in the field and close to home.

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First Winter Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|December 16th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: Buteo regalis, Buteos, desert, Ferruginous Hawk, first winter, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, head on, immature, light morph, mountains, perched, raptors, rocks, snow, snowy, winter, young|

Two years and one day ago I only photographed two birds on a trip out into the West Desert and this light morph Ferruginous Hawk made the trip well worth the journey out into the cold.

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Photographing Bald Eagles At Farmington Bay WMA During An Inversion

By Mia McPherson|December 10th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: Accipiter cooperii, adult, air pollition, Antelope Island, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Circus hudsonius, Cooper’s Hawk, eagle, eagles, EPA, flight, flying, government, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, hawks, hazy, hazy sky, ice, inversion, inversions, marsh, Northern Harrier, on the wing, perched, polluted sky, pollution, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, tree, turning, winter|

Think carefully before you make a trip to Utah to photograph our overwintering Bald Eagles in the valley. The inversions are awful and can be life threatening.

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Focusing On A Gray Ghost – AKA Male Northern Harrier

By Mia McPherson|December 9th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, flight, flying, Gray Ghost, harrier, harriers, Hawks of Utah, hunting, male, marsh, Northern Harrier, on the wing, raptors, side view, vegetation, winter|

Today I am focusing on an adult male Northern Harrier that I had in my viewfinder for a few seconds yesterday that was on the wing over the marsh.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk Harassed By A Northern Harrier

By Mia McPherson|December 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: alert, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Circus hudsonius, defensive posture, harassed, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, metal pole, metal post, Northern Harrier, perched, phragmites, phrags, pole, post, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, wide-eyed, winter, young|

I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and spent 28 minutes photographing it including when a Northern Harrier harassed it.

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Frosty Female Northern Harrier In Flight

By Mia McPherson|December 1st, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, female, flight, flying, frost, frosty, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, marsh, Marsh hawk, Northern Harrier, on the wing, raptors, winter|

I saw a few harriers on the wing yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA and I was able to take a few photos of a female Northern Harrier that still had frost on her nape.

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Photographing An Immature Ferruginous Hawk Hunting For Breakfast

By Mia McPherson|November 28th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, foothills, hatch year, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, hunting, immature, lifting off, light morph, mountains, prey, raptors, scanning, snow-topped, staring, taking off, wooden post, young|

Yesterday morning not long after sunrise I spent some time photographing a light morph, immature Ferruginous Hawk hunting for its breakfast.

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Focusing On Adult Male Rough-legged Hawks

By Mia McPherson|November 27th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, clouds, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, high key, male, marsh, perched, raptor, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, Russian Olive, sky, stump, tree, winter|

Ten days ago I found and photographed this adult male Rough-legged Hawk as it perched on a Russian Olive tree at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I was heading home.

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