Canvasbacks – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Aythya valisineria

Canvasbacks are large diving ducks. Males have pale gray bodies, breasts and tails with reddish heads and necks, red eyes, black bills and a long sloping profile. Females have brown heads and necks, pale brown gray flanks, dark eyes, and dark bills.

Six Canvasback Hen Photos

By Mia McPherson|December 20th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Canvasbacks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, afternoon, Aythya valisineria, Canvasback, coy, diving ducks, duck, ducks, female, flight, flying, hen, park, pond, preening, sunny, urban, water, winter|

This morning, I'm sharing six Canvasback hen photos that were taken two winters ago. I found the hen mixed in with other ducks at my local pond.

Hen Canvasback Preening Her Belly

By Mia McPherson|November 9th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Canvasbacks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Aythya valisineria, belly, Canvasback, diving ducks, duck, ducks, feathers, female, hen, pond, preening, urban, water, winter|

I took this photo of a hen Canvasback preening her belly feathers at my local pond back in January of 2021 and thought I would share it this morning.

Bathing Canvasback Hen And The Story Behind The Images

By Mia McPherson|January 25th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Canvasbacks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, April Olson, Aythya valisineria, bathing, Canvasback, diving ducks, duck, ducks, feathers, female, hen, pond, reflections, rehab, rehabilitated, release, Salt Lake County, shaking, urban, Utah, water, water droplets, Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah, winter, WRCNU|

When I photographed this bathing Canvasback hen three days ago at a pond close to home I was really happy to see her doing well and doing what ducks do.

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.

Canvasback drake on a frigid February morning

By Mia McPherson|November 4th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Canvasbacks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Aythya valisineria, breeding plumage, Canvasback, diving duck, drake, duck, ducks, male, pond, running, urban, water, waterfowl, winter|

When I came across the Canvasback drake on a frigid February morning at a pond near where I live I simply had to get a few images of him.