Swans, Ducks and Geese – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

First Winter Common Goldeneye Drake Images

By Mia McPherson|January 24th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: 1st winter, bill, breakfast, Bucephala clangula, catch light, Common Goldeneye, crawdad, crayfish, diving ducks, drake, duck, eating, first winter, goldeneye, goldeneyes, immature, male, paddling, pond, prey, Salt Lake County, swallowing, swimming, urban, Utah, water, winter, young|

Two days ago I spent a lot of time focused on a first winter Common Goldeneye drake as he swam, foraged, and ate at an urban pond close to home.

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Canada Goose In Flight – My First Bird Sighting Of 2022

By Mia McPherson|January 2nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, close up, eye, flight, flying, geese, goose, landing, mountains, portrait, skimming, small in frame, snow, snowy, staring, tree, urban, Wasatch Mountains, water, waterfowl, winter|

The first bird that I could positively identify seeing for 2022 was a Canada Goose flying away from my local pond yesterday morning.

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The Tail End of 2021 – My Year End Report

By Mia McPherson|December 31st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: 2021, adult, Bucephala clangula, butt, Common Goldeneye, dive, diving, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, end, goldeneye, goldeneyes, Goodbye 2021, male, pond, splashing, tail, tail end, urban, winter, year end report|

As the tail end of 2021 comes to a close it seemed fitting that the last photo I took yesterday was the tail end of a Common Goldeneye on what might have been my last trip into the field this year.

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Christmas Day Birds 2021

By Mia McPherson|December 26th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Birds, California Gulls, Common Goldeneyes, Great Blue Herons, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Rough-legged Hawks|Tags: adult, American Coot, Anas platyrhynchos, Ardea herodias, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Buteo lagopus, California Gull, calling, Christmas, Christmas Day, close up, Common Goldeneye, coot, coots, crawdad, crayfish, dabbling ducks, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, eating, female, first winter, flight, flying, foraging, Fulica americana, goldeneye, goldeneyes, grackle, grackles, grass, gray sky, Great Blue Heron, Great-tailed Grackle, gull, gulls, hawk, hawks, heron, herons, hovering, Icterids, immature, Larus californicus, low light, male, Mallard, mallards, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, open bill, pond, portrait, Quiscalus mexicanus, rails, Rough-legged Hawk, splashing, urban, wading birds, water, water droplets, wetlands, winter, young|

I did get out to find and photograph birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA and then later in the morning I found more closer to home.

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Christmas Day Bird Photos Through the Years

By Mia McPherson|December 25th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, Common Merganser, diving ducks, duck ducks, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, foggy, four year old, Great Blue Heron, haks, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, heron, herons, immature, marsh, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, perched, post, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, snow, snow storm, subadult, tree, water, wetlands, winter, young|

These are all birds I have photographed on Christmas Day through the years and all of them were photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Great Egret, Mallards and Hooded and Common Mergansers On The Bear River

By Mia McPherson|December 23rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Mergansers, Great Egrets, Hooded Mergansers, Mallards, Utah|Tags: Anas platyrhynchos, Ardea alba, Bear River, Common Merganser, composite, dabbling ducks, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, egret, egrets, female, Great Egret, hen, Hooded Merganser, ice, Lophodytes cucullatus, male, Mallard, mallards, marsh, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, river, riverbank, snow, wading birds, water, waterfowl, winter|

The Great Egret landed where I had views of Hooded and Common Mergansers and three Mallards resting on the ice on the Bear River.

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Common Merganser In A Morning Mist

By Mia McPherson|December 14th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Common Mergansers, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: autumn, backlit, Common Merganser, diving ducks, duck, ducks, fall, immature, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, mist, morning, pond, urban, water, waterfowl, young|

It was early in the morning when I photographed this immature Common Merganser in a morning mist almost five years ago at my local pond.

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Female Hooded Merganser Lifting Off From The Bear River

By Mia McPherson|December 10th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Hooded Mergansers, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Bear River, close, diving ducks, duck, ducks, fall, female, Glover Pond, hen, Hooded Merganser, ice, lift off, lifting off, Lophodytes cucullatus, merganser, mergansers, pond, river, running, take off, taking off, water, waterfowl, wetlands|

I spotted a single female Hooded Merganser on the Bear River two days ago and photographed her as she ran on top of the water to lift off.

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Remembering Higher Water In The Great Salt Lake

By Mia McPherson|November 29th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Conservation, Davis County, Green-winged Teals, Northern Shovelers, Utah|Tags: Anas crecca, breeding plumage, dabbling ducks, drake, duck, ducks, dying lake, eclipse plumage, female, Great Salt Lake, Green-winged Teal, hen, hypersaline lake, inland sea, lake, male, Northern Shoveler, shoveler, shovelers, Spatula clypeata, surf, teal, teals, water, waves|

I came across this photo of a Green-winged Teal with Northern Shovelers in the surf of the Great Salt Lake that I took in December of 2011 yesterday. It was a punch in the gut.

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Help With Drake Scaup Identification

By Mia McPherson|November 28th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Greater Scaups, Lesser Scaups, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: autumn, Aythya affinis, Aythya marila, breeding plumage, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, fall, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, male, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, pond, scaup, scaups, urban, water, wetlands, winter|

Every fall and winter when Lesser and Greater Scaups are seen in northern Utah I hear questions about scaup identification.

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Drake Northern Shoveler Landing On A Chilly Pond

By Mia McPherson|November 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Shovelers, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, breeding plumage, chilly, dabbling ducks, drake, duck, ducks, fall, flight, flying, Glover Pond, landing, male, marsh, Northern Shoveler, pond, shoveler, shovelers, Spatula clypeata, water, waterfowl, wetlands|

This morning I am sharing a simple photo of a drake Northern Shoveler landing on a chilly pond that I took in early December of last year.

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Ruddy Ducks In Flight

By Mia McPherson|November 24th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, fall, female, flight, flock, flying, hen, male, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, Oxyura jamaicensis, pond, preening, Ruddy Duck, sky, swimming, urban, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

A few days ago I saw someone say that they rarely saw photos of Ruddy Ducks in flight and I remembered I had a series of them flying past taken 11 years ago.

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Three Canada Geese On An Autumn Morning

By Mia McPherson|November 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, fall, flight, flying, geese, Glover Pond, goose, grass, grasses, lift off, lifting off, pond, take off, taking off, teasels, water, waterfowl, wetlands|

Last week I photographed three Canada Geese lifting off from Glover Pond at Farmington Bay and it brought memories from November of 2008.

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It Is Time To Look And Listen For Tundra Swans In Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|October 23rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, clouds, Cygnus columbianus, eagle, eagles, feeding, flight, flying, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature, marsh, mountains, on the wing, Promontory Mountains, raptors, scenery, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

This morning I noticed in my Facebook memories that I saw and heard my first of season Tundra Swans at Bear River MBR on this date in 2015 and that made me happy.

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Fall Hooded Merganser At Farmington Bay

By Mia McPherson|October 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Hooded Mergansers, Utah|Tags: autumn, autumn colors, colors, diving ducks, duck, ducks, fall, female, hen, Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus, marsh, merganser, mergansers, mirror, Nikon D500, pond, reflections, shutter replacement cost, small in frame, water, wetlands|

This morning I am sharing a simple image of a Hooded Merganser I found two days ago on a pond at Farmington Bay WMA that had autumn colors reflected on the water.

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Flying Canada Goose With Snow Covered Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|October 6th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, flight, flying, geese, goose, mountains, Salt Lake County, snow, snow covered, Wasatch Mountains, winter|

Last evening when I walked outside to move my Jeep into the driveway I glanced towards the east to view the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains.

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Soothing Sounds of Birds From My Living Room Window

By Mia McPherson|September 6th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Black-capped Chickadees, Canada Geese, Capitol Reef National Park, Downy Woodpeckers, Morgan County, Utah, Wayne County|Tags: adult, autumn, ballet, Black-capped Chickadee, branch, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, canyon, chickadee, chickadees, Downy Woodpecker, Dryobates pubescens, fall, forest edge, geese, goose, lift off, lifting off, male, mountains, perched, Poecile atricapillus, pond, take off, taking off, urban, waterfowl, winter, woodpecker, woodpeckers|

I like having my windows open so I can hear the sounds of birds when I can't be in the field. It helps me to hear them especially when the world is so crazy.

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Goofy Looking Canada Goose Lift Off

By Mia McPherson|July 21st, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Canada Geese, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, flight, flying, funny, geese, goofy, goose, lift off, lifting off, marsh, phragmites, phrags, spring, take off, taking off, water, wetlands|

Some of the bird photos I take make me laugh and this goofy looking Canada Goose lifting off from the marsh at Bear River MBR is one of them.

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Bluebells, Currants, Warblers And A Duck

By Mia McPherson|May 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Mallards, Morgan County, Shrubs, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, alpine, Anas platyrhynchos, bath, bathing, beaver damage, bloom, blooming, blossoms, blue wildflowers, branch, branches, canyon, creek, creekside, currant, currants, dabbling ducks, drake, duck, ducks, female, flowering, flowers, fork, Golden Currant, male, Mallard, mallards, Mertensia ciliata, Mountain Bluebells, mountains, perched, pink wildflowers, purple wildflowers, Ribes aureum, riparian zone, Setophaga petechia, shrub, singing, spring, stump, tapestry, warbler, warblers, water, water droplets, wildflowers, Yellow Warbler, yellow wildflowers|

I spent my morning up in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday and came home with photos of bluebells, currants, warblers, and a duck.

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Drake Cinnamon Teal In Flight

By Mia McPherson|May 3rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Cinnamon Teals, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, Cinnamon Teal, dabbling ducks, drake, duck, ducks, flight, flying, male, marsh, on the wing, Spatula cyanoptera, teal, teals, wetlands|

On the same morning that I photographed the drake Northern Shoveler flying by at the refuge I also photographed a drake Cinnamon Teal in flight.

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Drake Northern Shoveler In Flight

By Mia McPherson|April 29th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Shovelers, Utah|Tags: breeding plumage, dabbling duck, dabbling ducks, drake, duck, ducks, flight, flying, male, marsh, Northern Shoveler, shoveler, shovelers, Spatula clypeata, wetlands|

It isn't easy to photograph some birds on the wing so I was thrilled yesterday to photograph a drake Northern Shoveler in flight.

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An Assortment Of Spring Birds From Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|April 23rd, 2021|Categories: American White Pelicans, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Clark's Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, Eared Grebes, Forster's Terns, Gadwalls, Great Blue Herons, Long-billed Curlews, Red-winged Blackbirds, Sandhill Cranes, Utah, Western Grebes, White-faced Ibises, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: adult, Aechmophorus clarkii, Aechmophorus occidentalis, Agelaius phoeniceus, Antigone canadensis, Ardea herodias, Bear River, breeding plumage, Clark's Grebe, Definitive Alternate Plumage, displaying, Double-crested Cormorant, Eared Grebe, flight, flying, Forster's Tern, Gadwall, Great Blue Heron, horn, Long-billed Curlew, Mareca strepera, marsh, Mergus serrator, Nannopterum auritus, Numenius americanus, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, Plegadis chihi, Podiceps nigricollis, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-winged Blackbird, river, Sandhill Crane, spring, Sterna forsteri, Weed Ceremony, Western Grebe, wetlands, white pelican, White-faced Ibis, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, Yellow-headed Blackbird|

Today I wanted to share an assortment of spring birds all photographed at Bear River MBR yesterday on a bright and beautiful morning.

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Swan Day in Utah – March 13, 2021

By Mia McPherson|March 11th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flying, ice, icy, marsh, mountains, pair, Promontory Mountains, resting, sidelit, sky, swan, Swan Day, swans, Tundra Swan, waterfowl, winter|

This Saturday, March 13th, is Swan Day here in Utah. It is a day to celebrate these large, white, beautiful birds that spend time here during the winter.

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Tundra Swans On Ice At Farmington Bay WMA

By Mia McPherson|February 23rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: Cygnus columbianus, ice, landscape, marsh, morning, mountains, Oquirrh Mountains, sky, snow, snowy, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, waterfowl, winter|

I photographed Tundra Swans on the ice at Farmington Bay WMA that showed the snow covered Oquirrh Mountains in the background last week.

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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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Adult Tundra Swan On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|January 30th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, clouds, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flying, marsh, on the wing, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, waterfowl, winter|

I've been thinking that I need to hop into my Jeep and head to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to photograph the Tundra Swans before they head north to breed and nest.

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Winter Ruddy Duck Close To Home

By Mia McPherson|January 27th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: blue bill, diving, diving ducks, duck, ducks, first winter, hint, immature/female, male, Oxyura jamaicensis, pond, Ruddy Duck, water, waterfowl, winter|

Two days ago I photographed a Ruddy Duck close to home at my local pond. I was only able to take 14 image of it before it dove under the water and swam away.

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Leucistic Canada Goose

By Mia McPherson|January 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Leucistic, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Geese, Canada Goose, geese, goose, head, leucism, leucistic, odd plumage, partial leucism, Partially leucistic, plumage variation, pond, water, waterfowl, white head, white-headed, winter|

I didn't see any American Robins feeding on crabapples yesterday but I did find a leucistic Canada Goose at my local pond.

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Canada Goose Portrait

By Mia McPherson|January 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, close up, geese, goose, pond, portrait, relaxed, resting, waterfowl, winter|

Today I wanted to share this simple Canada Goose portrait. I took this portrait three years ago today at a pond close to where I live in Salt Lake City.

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Mallard Hen On Slippery Ice

By Mia McPherson|January 20th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Mallards|Tags: Anas platyrhynchos, dabbling, duck, ducks, female, hen, ice, Mallard, mallards, pond, sliding, winter|

Last week I took a series of photos of a Mallard hen as she landed on slippery ice at a pond close to home in Salt Lake City.

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