Box Elder County – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Immature American Herring Gull Testing The Ice

By Mia McPherson|January 6th, 2023|Categories: American Herring Gulls, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: American Herring Gull, gull, gulls, ice, immature, insurrection, January 6th, Larus smithsonianus, marsh, testing, water, wetlands, winter, young|

It was January 6, 2021, when I photographed this immature American Herring Gull testing the ice at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Hello 2023!

By Mia McPherson|January 1st, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, dense, fog, foggy, Great Blue Heron, heavy fog, heron, herons, ice, marsh, snow, wading birds, wetlands, winter|

Hello 2023! I hope that 2023 will be wonderful for each and everyone of us. Right now it isn't clear what 2023 will bring.

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My 2022 Year In Review

By Mia McPherson|December 31st, 2022|Categories: American Kestrels, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Box Elder County, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Golden Eagles, Great Horned Owls, Horned Grebes, Morgan County, Ring-billed Gulls, Rock Wrens, Ruffed Grouse, Tundra Swans, Utah, Warbling Vireos, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, American Kestrel, Aquila chrysaetos, autumn, background, berries, Bewick's Swan, bill, birds of prey, Black-billed Magpie, blooming, blooms, blossoms, Bonasa umbellus, boulder, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Bubo virginianus, building, canyon, close up, corvids, Cygnus columbianus, Cygnus columbianus bewickii, Davis County, desert, dirt, eagle, eagles, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, fall, farmlands, female, fledgling, flight, flock, flowering, flowering shrub, flying, forest edge, fruiting shrub, fruits, fruting shrubs, Golden Eagle, gorget, Great Horned Owl, grebe, grebes, grouse, gull, gulls, Horned Grebe, hummingbird, hummingbirds, immature, juvenile, kestrel, kestrels, Larus delawarensis, lichen, lores, magpie, magpies, male, marsh, mountains, nest, nest box, nesting, nonbreeding plumage, owl, owls, perched, Pica hudsonia, Podiceps auritus, raptors, rare, reflection, Ring-billed Gull, riparian habitat, road, roadside, rock, Rock Wren, rocks, Ruffed Grouse, Salpinctes obsoletus, Selasphorus platycercus, serviceberries, serviceberry, Setophaga petechia, shrub, spring, stink-eye, summer, swan, swans, thicket, tree, Tundra Swans, Utah, Utah Serviceberry, vagrant, warbler, warblers, water, waterbirds, waterfowl, wetlands, willow, willow thicket, willows, winter, winter plumage, wood-warbler, wood-warblers, wren, wrens, Yellow Warbler, young|

On this last day of the year it is time for my annual 2022 Year in Review post. In some ways 2022 has been great for me and in others not so good.

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Wildflowers I Photographed In 2022

By Mia McPherson|December 29th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Blue Elderberry, Box Elder County, Chicory, Common Mullein, Common Sunflowers, Curlycup Gumweed, Davis County, East Canyon, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Flatbud Prickly Poppy, Gray’s Biscuitroot, Hound’s Tongue, Lewis’s Flax, Longleaf Phlox, Morgan County, Mountain Goldenbanner, Parsnipflower Buckwheat, Purple Loosestrife, Roundleaf Snowberry, Rubber Rabbitbrush, Scarlet Gilia, Showy Milkweed, Silvery Lupine, Spearleaf Arnica, Sticky Purple Geraniums, Summit County, Tooele County, Utah, Utah Serviceberry, Wasatch Mountains, Western Chokecherry, White Water Crowfoot, Wood's Rose|Tags: Aster, Beardtongue, blooming, blooms, Blue Elderberry, Blue Flax, Chicory, Common Mullein, Common Sunflower, Curlycup Gumweed, Flatbud Prickly Poppy, flowering, flowers, Gray's Biscuitroot, Houndstongue, Lewis's flax, Longleaf Phlox, Mountain Goldenbanner, Parsnipflower Buckwheat, Penstemon, Prickly Poppy, Purple Loosestrife, Roundleaf Snowberry, Rubber Rabbitbrush, Scarlet Gilia, Showy Milkweed, Silvery Lupine, Spearleaf Arnica, Sticky Purple Geranium, Utah Serviceberry, Western Chokecherry, White Water-crowfoot, wildflower, wildflowers, Woods' Rose|

This morning I wanted to share some of the wildflowers I photographed in 2022. Birds are my primary subjects yet I simply can't resist focusing on wildflowers.

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Birds On Ice In Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|December 14th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Canada Geese, Common Ravens, Ring-billed Gulls, Salt Lake County, Trumpeter Swans, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Geese, Canada Goose, Common Raven, corvids, Corvus corax, Cygnus buccinator, Cygnus columbianus, feathers, geese, goose, gull, gulls, ice, Larus delawarensis, marsh, phragmites, phrags, pond, raven, ravens, Ring-billed Gull, shadow, stretching, swan, swans, Trumpeter Swan, Tundra Swan, urban, vegetation, walking, wary, waterfowl, wetlands, wings, winter|

This morning I'm sharing photos of five bird species that I find on ice during the coldest months of the year in marsh and urban locations.

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Bright Winter Light VS A Winter Whiteout

By Mia McPherson|December 3rd, 2022|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Antelope Island Causeway, back view, bright, Cygnus columbianus, field of snow, fog, ice, light, marsh, snow, standing, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, waterfowl, wetlands, white on white, white out, winter|

Earlier this year I photographed a Tundra Swan in bright winter light that today I am comparing to another swan image I took in winter whiteout conditions.

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My Fondness For American Pipits

By Mia McPherson|December 2nd, 2022|Categories: American Pipits, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Pipit, Anthus rubescens, autumn, cold, fall, flats, fondness, morning, old lake bed, pipit, pipits, playa, rock, rocks, staring, walking|

It has been almost exactly one year since I have taken high quality images of American Pipits. I have a fondness for these birds and I have missed them.

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Male Northern Harrier Photo

By Mia McPherson|November 22nd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Circus hudsonius, dorsal view, duck club, fall, flats, flight, flying, Gray Ghost, harrier, harriers, hawks, male, Marsh hawk, Northern Harrier, raptors, trailers|

I'd like this photo of a male Northern Harrier more if there weren't camping trailers from a duck hunting club near the auto loop of Bear River MBR behind him.

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Tundra Swan Framed By Phrags

By Mia McPherson|November 17th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Cygnus columbianus, fall, framed, ice, marsh, phragmites, phrags, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, water, waterfowl, wetlands|

When I explored the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on Monday I was able to take photos of one Tundra Swan framed by phrags from the dirt road.

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Ring-billed Gull Feeding Frenzy Excitement

By Mia McPherson|November 16th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: autumn, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, fall, feeding, flight, flying, frenzy, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, marsh, Promontory Mountains, Ring-billed Gull, Utah, video, water, wetlands|

When I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago I witnessed several Ring-billed Gull feeding frenzies out on the marshes of the refuge.

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Great Blue Heron On Driftwood

By Mia McPherson|November 15th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, autumn, driftwood, fall, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, marsh, morning, standing, wading birds, water, wetlands|

I drove up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge early yesterday morning where the first bird I photographed was a Great Blue Heron standing on driftwood.

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My First Of Season Common Goldeneye

By Mia McPherson|November 12th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: autumn, Bear River, Bucephala clangula, Common Goldeneye, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, fall, first of season, lifting off, male, pond, preening, river, taking off, urban, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

I found my first of season Common Goldeneye near a stand of rushes while walking around a local pond after a light skiff of snow had fallen overnight.

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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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Fall Views At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|November 6th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Scenics, Utah|Tags: auto tour loop, autumn, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, calm, clouds, fall, fog, grasses, ground fog, marsh, mountains, Promontory Mountains, road, sky, sunrise, trees, Utah, vegetation, water, wetlands|

Yes, I go to Bear River MBR to find and photograph birds, but I also go there to unwind and find comfort in the marsh and the magnificent surroundings.

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Marsh Wren At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|November 5th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Marsh Wrens, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Cistothorus palustris, clinging, fall, hanging, marsh, Marsh Wren, perspective, phragmites, phrags, upside down, wetlands, wren, wrens|

This morning I am sharing this photo of a tiny Marsh Wren hanging upside down in the marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge simply because I like it.

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American Coot Reflection

By Mia McPherson|November 3rd, 2022|Categories: American Coots, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Coot, autumn, coot, coots, fall, feet, Fulica americana, marsh, reflection, reflections, vegetation, water, wetlands|

This American Coot caught my eye on my latest trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge three days ago in part because of the still water and the reflection of the bird.

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Immature Clark’s Grebe And A Mystery

By Mia McPherson|November 2nd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Clark's Grebes, Utah|Tags: Aechmophorus clarkii, autumn, begging, Clark's Grebe, fall, feathers, grebe, grebes, immature, juvenal plumage, juvenile, loop, marsh, molt, twisted, water, waterbirds, wetlands, young|

I came across an immature Clark's Grebe on Monday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I took photos of the grebe because I could see something on its fluffy neck.

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Surprise Swamp Sparrow At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|November 1st, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Swamp Sparrows, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, fall, foraging, marsh, Melospiza georgiana, phragmites, phrags, rare, rear view, sparrow, sparrows, Swamp Sparrow, uncommon, wetlands|

At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning, I was surprised to find a Swamp Sparrow near the far southern corner of the auto tour loop.

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Desert Red-tailed Hawk Photos

By Mia McPherson|October 28th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, autumn, Big Sagebrush, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Celtis reticulata, cliff, cliff face, dark morph, desert, dwelling, fall, hackberries, hackberry, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, leaves, lichen, lift off, lifting off, metal post, Netleaf Hackberry, perched, preparing, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, rocks, sage, sagebrush, sky, stony eyed, take off, taking off, Utah, young|

While I was up in far northern Utah looking for birds last week, I took quite a few Red-tailed Hawk photos. I shared one image a few days ago and here are a few more.

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Rough-legged Hawk Season Has Begun

By Mia McPherson|October 25th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, back view, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, frost, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, perched, portrait, raptors, refuge information sign, Rough-legged Hawk, wetlands, winter|

Rough-legged Hawk season has begun in northern Utah. I spotted my first of season Rough-legged Hawks on the wing last Friday.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk With ‘Tude

By Mia McPherson|October 24th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: attitude, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, cliff, desert, fall, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, laughing, laughter, lichen, looking, perception, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, rocks, sky, surly, young|

While I was up in far northern Utah last week, the first bird I photographed was this immature Red-tailed Hawk that seemed to have a surly attitude about it.

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Jaywalking Wild Turkey Pictures

By Mia McPherson|October 23rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Wild Turkeys|Tags: autumn, Box Elder County, desert, fall, female, hen, jaywalking, Meleagris gallopavo, ranchlands, road, turkey, turkeys, Utah, walking, Wild Turkey|

Three days ago, while I was in northern Utah I found some jaywalking Wild Turkey hens near some ranchlands, which made me chuckle out loud.

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Golden Eagle Rising Above A Ridge

By Mia McPherson|October 22nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: adult, Aquila chrysaetos, autumn, birds of prey, desert, eagle, eagles, fall, flight, flying, foothills, Golden Eagle, grasses, rabbitbrush, raptors, ridge, sky|

This morning I'm sharing a photo of a gorgeous adult Golden Eagle that I took just as it was taking off from a ridge, shortly after I found it.

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Desert Townsend’s Solitaire

By Mia McPherson|October 21st, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Townsend's Solitaires, Utah|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, autumn, Big Sagebrush, desert, fall, Fragrant Sumac, Myadestes townsendi, perched, Rhus aromatica, roadside, sage, sagebrush, solitaire, solitaires, sumac, Townsend's Solitaire|

I was thrilled to find and take pictures of a Townsend's Solitaire perched on the bare branches of a sumac on my journey yesterday morning to far northern Utah.

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Surprise Rooster At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|October 5th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Domestic Chickens, Utah|Tags: chicken, chickens, Dominique, Gallus gallus domesticus, male, marsh, rooster, wetlands|

I had a surprise encounter with a Barred Plymouth Rock rooster when I stopped at the Bear River MBR restroom closest to the I-15 Interstate last week.

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Fall White-crowned Sparrow At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|October 3rd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: adult, autumn, fall, marsh, perched, sparrow, sparrows, wetlands, White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys|

Three days ago I photographed a fall White-crowned Sparrow perched on some vegetation from the auto tour loop at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Red-winged Blackbird In Warm Morning Light

By Mia McPherson|October 2nd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: adult, Agelaius phoeniceus, autumn, blackbird, blackbirds, fall, male, marsh, morning light, perched, phragmites, phrags, Red-winged Blackbird, warm, wetlands|

At Bear River MBR two days ago, I paused to take pictures of this Red-winged Blackbird in the warm morning light despite the mosquitoes trying to bite my neck.

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Male Brewer’s Blackbird On A Sign

By Mia McPherson|October 1st, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Brewer's Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, blackbird, blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus, fall, feet, interpretive sign, male, marsh, perched, sign, staring, wetlands|

While traveling the auto tour loop at Bear River MBR yesterday morning, I was thrilled to see an adult male Brewer's Blackbird on an interpretive sign.

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Great Blue Heron With A Cow

By Mia McPherson|September 20th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, Bear River, cow, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, perched, ranchlands, river, snag, summer, wading birds, wetlands|

This morning I decided to share photos of a Great Blue Heron with a cow behind it that I photographed resting on a snag above the Bear River.

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Young Eastern Kingbird

By Mia McPherson|September 12th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Eastern Kingbirds, Utah|Tags: close up, Eastern Kingbird, immature, kingbird, kingbirds, marsh, perched, portrait, sky, summer, Tyrannus tyrannus, tyrant flycatchers, wetlands, young|

While I was driving around the auto tour loop of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge last month, I had a nice opportunity to photograph a young Eastern Kingbird.

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