Florida – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Great Horned Owl Chick In Coastal Florida

By Mia McPherson|March 5th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Florida, Great Horned Owls, Honeymoon Island State Park, Pinellas County|Tags: barrier island, birds of prey, Bubo virginianus, chick, coastal, coastal island, coastal key, dead tree, Great Horned Owl, Gulf Coast, immature, owl, owlet, owls, pine forest, raptors, slash pine forest, snag, tree, winter, young|

This image of a Great Horned Owl chick resting near its nest on the coast Florida in lovely afternoon light brings back wonderful memories for me. It was 2008.

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Halloween 2023 – The Web We Weave

By Mia McPherson|October 31st, 2023|Categories: Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Miscellaneous, Pinellas County|Tags: fog, foggy, forest, Halloween, Mom, spider web, water droplets|

Tonight, across the country, ghouls, goblins, super heroes, cartoon characters, vampires, werewolves, mummies, ghosts, and witches will be ringing door bells asking for treats.

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Cuban Tree Frog In A Golden Tunnel

By Mia McPherson|October 22nd, 2023|Categories: Cuban Tree Frogs, Florida, Hillsborough County, USF Botanical Garden|Tags: adult, Cuban Tree Frog, frog, frogs, golden tunnel, introduced, nonnative, Osteopilus septentrionalis, plant, summer, swamp, tree frog, tree frogs|

This morning, I am sharing a photo of a Cuban Tree Frog. The image was taken at the USF Botanical Gardens while I was there with my best friend, Patty.

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Live, Love, Laugh, Sing, Dance, Be, Do

By Mia McPherson|May 18th, 2023|Categories: Anclote Key, Florida, Pasco County, Pinellas County|Tags: Anclote Key, Australian Pine, clouds, coastal, Florida, Gulf of Mexico, island, key, Mia McPherson, Nanea Hoffman, New Port Richey, Pasco County, Pinellas County, quote, sand, sky, spit, tree, trees, water, waves|

I saw this quote that aligns with my philosophy of Live, Love, Laugh, Sing, Dance, Be, Do and thought I would share a post about the reason I like the quote.

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World Water Day 2023

By Mia McPherson|March 22nd, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Centennial Valley, Conservation, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, Glacier County, Glacier National Park, Juab County, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Sawgrass Lake Park, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, American Coots, aspens, Box Elder County, canyon, Centennial Mountains, Centennial Valley, clouds, conifers, coots, creek, Cygnus columbianus, Fish Springs Range, flight, flock, Florida, flying, footbridge, foothills, grass, grasses, hills, ice, immature, Juab County, maple swamp, marsh, mountains, Pinellas County, pond, Promontory Mountains, rapids, reflections, river, rocks, rushing, sage, sagebrush, Sawgrass Lake Park, shadows, shrubs, sky, snow, snow-topped, spring, summer, swamp, swan, swans, trail, trees, Tundra Swan, Utah, valley, water, waterfowl, west desert, wetlands, Wigeon Pond, willows, winter, young|

Today is World Water Day. The theme for World Water Day 2023 is: Accelerate Change. Every human being on this planet is roughly 60% water.

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When Life Gives You A Twisted Neck Just Go With The Flow

By Mia McPherson|March 8th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Egrets, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, Ardea alba, buggy eyes, captions, coastal, egret, egrets, funny, goofy, Great Egret, Gulf of Mexico, humor, sky, twisted neck, wading birds, winter|

When I took photos of this Great Egret with a twisted neck and buggy eyes at Fort De Soto I didn't think I'd still be laughing at them fourteen years later.

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Sawgrass Lake Park Photos

By Mia McPherson|January 9th, 2023|Categories: Anhingas, Birds, Florida, Pinellas County, Sawgrass Lake Park|Tags: adult, anhinga, Anhinga anhinga, anhingas, branches, golden light, grasses, hills, lake, leaves, male, misty, morning, nesting material, Spanish Moss, summer, Tillandsia usneoides, tree, trees, water, wetlands|

This morning I am traveling back in time via my archives to revisit Sawgrass Lake Park in Pinellas County, Florida.

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My Birding By Ear Affliction

By Mia McPherson|January 7th, 2023|Categories: American Crows, Barred Owls, Birds, Blue Jays, Florida, Hillsborough County, Lettuce Lake Regional Park, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Crow, autumn, Barred Owl, birding by ear, Blue Jay, branches, corvids, Corvus brachyrhynchos, crow, crows, Cyanocitta cristata, epiphytic flowering plant, fall, hardwood hammock, ice, jay, jays, marsh, owl, owls, peanut, perched, Spanish Moss, Strix varia, Tillandsia usneoides, tree, wetlands, winter|

My birding by ear affliction isn't that I can't hear birds; it is that I can't not hear them. Even when I am on the phone with my friends.

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Great Blue Heron On Ice At Farmington Bay WMA

By Mia McPherson|December 30th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Gandy Beach, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, beach, coastal, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, ice, marsh, Mia McPherson, oysters, photograph, pond, rocks, shadow, taking, Tampa Bay, Utah, vegetation, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter, yawning|

I had some fun photographing a Great Blue Heron on ice along with its shadow yesterday morning on a pond at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Winter California And American Herring Gull Comparison In Utah

By Mia McPherson|November 8th, 2022|Categories: American Herring Gulls, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, California Gulls, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Herring Gull, beach, Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, breeding plumage, California Gull, coastal, comparison, composite, Definitive Alternate Plumage, Definitive Basic Plumage, floating, Gulf of Mexico, gull, gulls, ice, ID features, identification, Larus californicus, Larus smithsonianus, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, river, sand, side by side, water, wetlands, winter, winter plumage|

Since I frequently get asked which is which I thought this would be a good time to do a winter California and American Herring Gull comparison and ID feature post.

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Before and After Bird Photography Took Over My Life

By Mia McPherson|October 26th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: bird photography, coastal, down and dirty, lagoon, life, Mia McPherson, sand, water|

Before and After Bird Photography Took Over My Life - Not sorry for the changes at all. Loving my wild self and life.

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Black Skimmer Photo From 13 Years Ago

By Mia McPherson|April 24th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Black Skimmers, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, Black Skimmer, coast, coastal, flight, flying, Gulf of Mexico, Rynchops niger, skimmer, skimmers, sky, spring|

It was thirteen years ago today when I took this photo of an adult Black Skimmer flying over the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County, Florida.

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Semipalmated Plover Images

By Mia McPherson|October 29th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Semipalmated Plovers|Tags: adult, beach, Charadrius semipalmatus, coast, coastal, head turn, inquisitive, lagoon, low tide, mud, plover, plovers, resting, sand, Semipalmated Plover, shorebirds, summer, walking|

While rifling through my archives I came across some of my Semipalmated Plover photos that I took on the north beach at Fort De Soto County Park in 2008.

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Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and Earth Shadow Memories

By Mia McPherson|October 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, atomospheric conditions, Belt of Venus, coast, coastal, dune, earth shadow, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, low light, pre-dawn, predawn light, preening, sand, sky, wading birds, walking, wind, windy|

Thirteen years ago this morning I photographed a Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and the Earth Shadow on the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park on the west coast of Florida.

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Willet, Sunrise And The Gulf Of Mexico

By Mia McPherson|September 7th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Willets|Tags: adult, coast, coastal, Gulf of Mexico, sandpipers, shorebirds, summer, sun rise, sunrise, surf, Tringa semipalmata, water, waves, Willet, willets|

When I look at this photo of a Willet in the waves of the Gulf of Mexico I can almost hear the sounds, taste the tang of salt in the air and feel the warm water on my skin.

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Sharing Sunrise With A Greater Yellowlegs

By Mia McPherson|August 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Greater Yellowlegs, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, coast, coastal, dawn, Greater Yellowlegs, Gulf Coast, lagoon, shorebirds, sleepy-eyed, summer, sun rise, sunrise, tidal lagoon, Tringa melanoleuca, water, yellowlegs|

When I lived in Florida it wasn't unusual for me to share sunrise alone with birds at the north beach of Fort De Soto. Thirteen years ago I did just that with a Greater Yellowlegs.

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Resting Ruddy Turnstone

By Mia McPherson|May 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Ruddy Turnstones|Tags: adult, Arenaria interpres, beach, breeding plumage, close up, coast, Gulf Coast, Gulf of Mexico, male, resting, Ruddy Turnstone, sand, shorebirds, sky, turnstone, turnstones, water|

Twelve years ago today I was on the beach at Fort De Soto County Park focused on photographing a male Ruddy Turnstone resting on the warm sand with the Gulf behind him.

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My First Of Season Spotted Sandpiper Photos

By Mia McPherson|May 8th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Spotted Sandpipers, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Actitis macularia, adult, breeding plumage, calling, canyon, creek, Definitive Alternate Plumage, Definitive Basic Plumage, mountains, nonbreeding plumage, perched, sandpiper, sandpipers, shorebirds, Spotted Sandpiper, spring, stump, water|

I took my first of season Spotted Sandpiper photos yesterday morning high in the Wasatch Mountains as I sat in my Jeep next to a creek.

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Utah’s Ospreys Are Back For Their Nesting Season

By Mia McPherson|April 1st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Daggett County, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Florida, Honeymoon Island State Park, Ospreys, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: adult, branch, female, Fish Hawk, Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Florida, male, nest, nesting platform, nesting season, Osprey, ospreys, Pandion haliaetus, perched, raptor, Sea Hawk, watchful|

I was hoping to find my first of the year Swainson's Hawks yesterday but instead I spotted my first of year Ospreys.

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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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National Squirrel Appreciation Day

By Mia McPherson|January 21st, 2021|Categories: American Red Squirrels, Eastern Gray Squirrels, Florida, Glacier County, Juab County, Montana, Morgan County, Pinellas County, Richardson's Ground Squirrels, Rock Squirrels, Sawgrass Lake Park, Summit County, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Utah, Virginia, Wasatch Mountains, West Desert, White-tailed Antelope Squirrels|Tags: American Red Squirrel, Eastern Gray Squirrel, flying squirrels, ground squirrel, ground squirrels, National Squirrel Appreciation Day, Richardson's Ground Squirrels, Rock Squirrel, squirrel, squirrels, Uinta Ground Squirrel, White-tailed Antelope Squirrel|

January 21st is National Squirrel Appreciation Day and it recognizes these creatures that some people consider pests while others find them fascinating.

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Brown Pelicans And Memories

By Mia McPherson|January 6th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Brown Pelicans, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, birds, Brown Pelican, clouds, feeding, flight, flock, flying, foraging, Gulf of Mexico, Laughing Gull, Pelecanus occidentalis, pelican, pelicans, skimmer, skimmers, sky, splashing, tern, terns, water, winter|

Eleven years ago this morning I had an amazing time photographing flocks of Brown Pelicans plunge feeding in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Pileated Woodpecker – The 2021 ABA Bird of The Year

By Mia McPherson|January 5th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Hillsborough County, Lettuce Lake Regional Park, Pileated Woodpeckers, Pinellas County|Tags: ABA Bird of the Year, adult, American Birding Association, Australian Pines, branch, Dryocopus pileatus, female, male, perched, Pileated Woodpecker, woodpecker, woodpeckers|

The American Birding Association has selected the Pileated Woodpecker as their Bird of the Year for 2021 and I think it is an excellent choice.

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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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If You Used this Search Term: How Much To Feed A Juvenile Brown Pelican

By Mia McPherson|November 14th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Brown Pelicans, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Wildlife Ethics|Tags: Brown Pelican, Gulf of Mexico, immature, juvenile, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Pelecanus occidentalis, pelican, pelicans, rehab, rehabilitation, rehabilitator, rescue, resting, search term, search terms, water, young|

Please, please, find an authorized and licensed bird or wildlife rehabilitator in your area immediately.

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How An American Oystercatcher Ruined A New Pair Of Pants

By Mia McPherson|November 6th, 2020|Categories: American Oystercatchers, Birds, Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, American Oystercatcher, beach, cut, Egmont Key, Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, oystercatcher, oystercatchers, pants, ruined, sand, shorebirds, shoreline, surf, water, waves|

Today's post is about an American Oystercatcher image taken in 2009 at Egmont Key in Pinellas County, Florida and the story behind it.

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Great Egret In Front Of Stormy Skies

By Mia McPherson|July 8th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Egrets, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, Ardea alba, clouds, coastal, egret, egrets, Great Egret, Gulf of Mexico, light, morning, north beach, preening, resting, sky, storm, stormy, stormy sky, stump, wading brids, water|

One of the birds I found that summer morning was a Great Egret perched on a stump that the waves of the Gulf had deposited on the shore of the beach.

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Sunrise with a Long-billed Curlew In A Florida Lagoon

By Mia McPherson|May 27th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Long-billed Curlews, Pinellas County|Tags: beach, coastal, curlew, curlews, dunes, early morning light, female, First Spring, Gulf Coast, immature, lagoon, Long-billed Curlew, north beach, Numenius americanus, sand, shorebirds, water|

I will say that my favorite and most memorable times photographing Long-billed Curlews happened while I was still living in Florida well away from their breeding grounds.

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Photographing A Foraging American Oystercatcher In The First Light Of Dawn

By Mia McPherson|May 16th, 2020|Categories: American Oystercatchers, Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, American Oystercatcher, coastal, dawn, foraging, Gulf of Mexico, Haematopus palliatus, morning light, oystercatcher, oystercatchers, quality, shorebirds, special, sunrise, tidal pool, water|

The soft light of dawn has a special quality to it and I believe that it is evident in both of these American Oystercatcher photos.

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What An Odd Mother’s Day But It Is Mother’s Day Nonetheless

By Mia McPherson|May 10th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Black-bellied Plovers, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, beach, Black-bellied Plover, breeding plumage, coastal, lagoon, plover, plovers, Pluvialis squatarola, sand, shore, shoreline, water|

This morning I opted to go back in time to a "normal" Mother's Day by pulling a Black-bellied Plover photo from my archives that was taken on Mother's Day in 2009.

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