Gnatcatchers, Kinglets and others – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Plus A Blue Supermoon

By Mia McPherson|August 21st, 2024|Categories: Arkansas, Birds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Miscellaneous, Sebastian County|Tags: adult, blue moon, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, celestial, driftwood, full moon, garden, gnatcatcher, gnatcatchers, landing, moon, nonbreeding plumage, perched, Polioptila caerulea, sky, Sturgeon Moon, summer, Super Moon, urban, yard|

The theme for today is blue subjects: Photos of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on a driftwood perch, along with a Blue Supermoon image from early yesterday morning.

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Young Blue-gray Gnatcatcher At Tishomingo NWR

By Mia McPherson|June 10th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Johnston County, Oklahoma, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, bottomland hardwood forests, bottomlands, gnatcatcher, gnatcatchers, immature, perched, Polioptila caerulea, spring, young|

I couldn't resist photographing this sweet young Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on my most recent trip to Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge. Why would I, anyway?

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Spring Male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

By Mia McPherson|May 14th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, branch, branches, breeding plumage, curious, desert, flowering tree, gnatcatcher, gnatcatchers, juniper woodland, junipers, looking, male, mountains, perched, Polioptila caerulea, singing, sky island mountains, spring, squinting, tree|

I was thrilled to find and photograph a male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in spring breeding plumage yesterday at the edge of a juniper woodland in Tooele County.

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Spring Ruby-crowned Kinglet Photos

By Mia McPherson|April 21st, 2022|Categories: Birds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, canyon, conifers, Corthylio calendula, crown, fog, foggy, kinglet, kinglets, low light, mountains, perched, prey, pussy willows, pussywillows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, snow, snowy, spring, trees, Wasatch Mountains|

Yesterday morning I spent some time high in the Wasatch Mountains and came home with a few Ruby-crowned Kinglet photos that I liked enough to share.

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What The Changes In The 2021 AOS Supplement Meant For Me

By Mia McPherson|June 26th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Double-crested Cormorants, Neotropic Cormorants, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: 2021 AOS Supplement, adult, autumn, Celtis reticulata, cormorant, cormorants, Corthylio calendula, desert, Double-crested Cormorant, fall, hackberry, kinglet, kinglets, landing, marsh, migration, Nannopterum auritus, Nannopterum brasilianum, Neotropic Cormorant, Netleaf Hackberry, perched, pond, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, shrub, spring, stump, urban, water, wetlands, winter|

The 2021 AOS Supplement did mean that I had a bit of work to do on my site after I read that it had been published on the ABA website last night.

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Ruby-crowned Kinglet Photo

By Mia McPherson|February 25th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Corthylio, Corthylio calendula, crown, desert, fall, Genus, kinglet, kinglets, male, new genus, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, seep|

When I photographed this male Ruby-crowned Kinglet a few years ago he was foraging in a sumac close to the edge of road in Box Elder County.

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Kinglets And Turkeys Plus One Scrub-Jay

By Mia McPherson|October 9th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays|Tags: Abies concolor, adult, Aphelocoma woodhouseii, canyon, close up, Corthylio calendula, creek, desert, dry wash, fir, firs, hen, jay, jays, kinglet, kinglets, Meleagris gallopavo, mountains, peeking, perched, portrait, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, scrub-jay, scrub-jays, sky island mountains, tree, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, wash, White Fir, Wild Turkey, willows, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay|

The Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Wild Turkeys and the Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay made the very bumpy and extremely dusty ride into the mountain canyons well worth taking.

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Potpourri Of Ruby-crowned Kinglet Photos

By Mia McPherson|September 18th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, desert, fall, fall colors, Fragrant Sumac, kinglet, kinglets, male, morning, morning light, Rhus aromatica, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, shaking feathers, stretching, sumac|

This morning I wanted to share a potpourri of Ruby-crowned Kinglet photos because I adore seeing and photographing these quick moving, charismatic little birds.

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Ruby-crowned Kinglet Perched Near A Seep

By Mia McPherson|May 11th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah|Tags: adult, branch, Corthylio calendula, dark background, desert, kinglet, kinglets, perched, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, seep, spring|

I know that I have to be alert, paying attention and fast when it comes to photographing Ruby-crowned Kinglets or they will make the statement "she/he who hesitates is lost" a reality.

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Enchanted By Fall Ruby-crowned Kinglets

By Mia McPherson|October 7th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah|Tags: autumn, back view, Corthylio calendula, desert, fall, fall migration, kinglet, kinglets, lifting off, mid morning, migrating, migration, perched, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, sky, trees, watchful|

For a few moments yesterday morning I was absolutely enchanted by a small flock of Ruby-crowned Kinglets in Box Elder County in northern Utah.

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Ruby-crowned Kinglets – Challenging Subjects

By Mia McPherson|September 1st, 2019|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Morgan County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: challenging, Corthylio calendula, Crataegus rivularis, crown, desert, forest, Fragrant Sumac, golden, hawthorn, kinglet, kinglets, morning light, peering, Rhus aromatica, River Hawthorn, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, subjects, tiny|

Ruby-crowned Kinglets always seem to be on the move and blend into their habitat well which makes them challenging subjects to photograph. I love the challenge of photographing small birds though.

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Ruby-crowned Kinglet Photographed in Golden Light

By Mia McPherson|October 3rd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah|Tags: adult, Corthylio calendula, desert, Fragrant Sumac, golden light, kinglet, kinglets, morning light, Rhus aromatica, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, sumac|

The same morning that I photographed the Sage Thrasher with the berry in mid air I was also able to take a series of images of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the sweet golden light just after dawn.

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Ruby-crowned Kinglet – Just A Tiny Bird On A Stick Photo

By Mia McPherson|September 20th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah|Tags: bird on a stick, BOAS, Corthylio calendula, desert, kinglet, kinglets, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Salt Cedar, Tamarisk|

This Ruby-crowned Kinglet had been actively foraging in a tamarisk when suddenly it flew to this bare stick and perched out in the open for a few seconds.

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Focusing on Ruby-crowned Kinglets in the Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|September 17th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, berries, Chokecherry, Corthylio calendula, dynamos, favorite, foraged, foraging, hawthorn, kinglet, kinglets, perched, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, sky, tiny, trees, windy|

Yesterday morning I spent time focused on photographing Ruby-crowned Kinglets in a Wasatch Mountain Canyon in a thicket of hawthorn and chokecherry trees.

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My Year of Bird Photography in 2017

By Mia McPherson|December 31st, 2017|Categories: American Tree Sparrows, American White Pelicans, Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Green-tailed Towhees, Idaho, Prairie Falcons, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Short-eared Owls, Swainson's Hawks, Utah, Yellow-rumped Warblers|Tags: American Tree Sparrow, American White Pelican, Asio flammeus, bird photography, Bucephala clangula, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteo lagopus, Buteo swainsoni, Common Goldeneye, Corthylio calendula, Falco mexicanus, Green-tailed Towhee, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, Pipilo chlorurus, Prairie Falcon, Red-naped Sapsucker, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Setophaga coronata, Short-eared Owl, Sphyrapicus nuchalis, Spizella arborea, Swainson's Hawk, Yellow-rumped Warbler|

I love what I do, I love my subjects and it doesn't matter if I find them close to home or further away. I am blessed. 2017 has been wonderful and I am excited for what 2018 may bring.

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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Goldfinch & American Tree Sparrow in Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|October 30th, 2017|Categories: American Goldfinches, American Tree Sparrows, Birds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: American Goldfinch, American Tree Sparrow, autumn, bi-colored bill, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, branch, fall, finches, Fragrant Sumac, gnatcatcher, gnatcatchers, goldfinch, goldfinches, nonbreeding plumage, perched, Polioptila caerulea, shadow, sparrow, sparrows, Spinus tristis, Spizelloides arborea, tree sparrow|

I spent time photographing primarily small birds yesterday in northern Utah which included Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, American Goldfinches and American Tree Sparrows.

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Photographing a Dynasty of Ruby-crowned Kinglets

By Mia McPherson|October 8th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, bright, Celtis reticulata, colors, Corthylio calendula, crowns, dynasty, fall colors, Fragrant Sumac, hackberry, kinglet, kinglets, lift off, male, Netleaf Hackberry, perched, photograph, photographing, Rhus aromatica, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, sumac, sunny|

Yesterday I saw so many Ruby-crowned Kinglets in northern Utah that it was impossible for me to keep up with them, I am certain I missed some excellent images because of that.

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Ruby-crowned Kinglets in Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|October 1st, 2017|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Utah|Tags: close up, Corthylio calendula, desert, Greasewood, island, kinglet, kinglets, perched, rabbitbrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, wild Sunflowers, wildflowers|

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are tiny little songbirds weighing in at a mere 0.23 ounces but what they lack in size they make up for in high-powered energy, they just don't sit still.

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Towhees, Warblers, Kinglets, Gnatcatchers – Oh My!

By Mia McPherson|September 26th, 2017|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Common Yellowthroats, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Spotted Towhees, Utah, Yellow-rumped Warblers|Tags: Audubon's warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, cattail, cattails, Common Yellowthroat, Corthylio calendula, Geothlypis trichas, gnatcatchers, Greasewood, kinglets, Moth Mullein, Pipilo maculatus, Polioptila caerulea, rabbitbrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Setophaga coronata, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, sunflowers, towhees, warblers, wildflowers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, yellowthroats|

It has been a long time since I have had such a birdy day and the towhees, warblers, kinglets, gnatcatchers and the rest of the birds that I saw thrilled me all morning long.

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Juvenile American Dippers

By Mia McPherson|September 24th, 2014|Categories: American Dippers, Birds, Cascade Springs, Utah, Wasatch County|Tags: American Dipper, aquatic songbird, autumn, behavior, Cinclus mexicanus, display, fall, foraging, immature, juvenile, prey, rushing water, stream, Uinta National Forest, water, water ouzel, young|

The drive to Cascade Springs was beautiful yesterday with the beginnings of fall colors on the mountains but for me the best part was photographing American Dippers again.

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Still on a Lifer Streak – American Dipper with prey

By Mia McPherson|June 6th, 2014|Categories: American Dippers, Birds, Cascade Springs|Tags: adult, American Dipper, aquatic, bird photography, bird watching, birding, birds, Cinclus mexicanus, nature photography, prey, wildlife photography|

Yesterday I photographed another lifer! An American Dipper with prey at Cascade Springs in the Heber Valley of Utah.

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