My Daily Story Timeline
Every day, I write about the true stories behind my images and share them on my site. One day, I might write about birds; the next, about an insect; and the following day, I might focus on a specific location. Each of these stories revolves around nature, my connection to it, or my concerns about preserving our natural world. This daily journal primarily serves as a collection of factual accounts from my journeys in the field.
While my primary passion is for birds, since everything in nature is interconnected, I photograph everything and write about it all. My life has always been intertwined with nature, and I hope it always will be.
Best wishes,
Mia
First Winter Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert
Two years and one day ago I only photographed two birds on a trip out into the West Desert and this light morph Ferruginous Hawk made the trip well worth the journey out into the cold.
Wild Utah Mink Tests Positive For Coronavirus
I'm concerned for our wild American Mink and have begun to wonder of the coronavirus could be passed to the other native mustelids here in Utah.
Still Life – Great Blue Heron And Its Reflection
Great Blue Herons are very patient hunters and there are times when they are hunting that they move so slowly that it is barely perceptible.
Drake Common Goldeneye With Pigment Issues On His Bill
When I got back home and uploaded the images I took of the drake Common Goldeneye I could see that his bill had pigment issues and that it wasn't a white feather stuck on his bill.
Seeing All Birds – European Starling On A Frosty Perch
I have a backlog of raptor images I took earlier this week but I wanted to share one of a species that some people hate or many bird photographers prefer to ignore, the European Starling.
Female American Kestrel With Her Prey
Three days ago I had one minute with a beautiful adult female American Kestrel and her partially eaten prey at Farmington Bay WMA.
Photographing Bald Eagles At Farmington Bay WMA During An Inversion
Think carefully before you make a trip to Utah to photograph our overwintering Bald Eagles in the valley. The inversions are awful and can be life threatening.
Focusing On A Gray Ghost – AKA Male Northern Harrier
Today I am focusing on an adult male Northern Harrier that I had in my viewfinder for a few seconds yesterday that was on the wing over the marsh.
Diving American Coot – Breaking My Own Rules
Typically I have a personal rule about having eye contact with my subject and I also want a catch light but to get this coot photo I had to break my own bird photography rules.
Female American Kestrels On The Same Post Ten Years Apart
I was only going to share this image today but as I processed this photo I thought about all the times I have photographed American Kestrels on this same exact post over the years.
Females And First Winter Male Hooded Mergansers
All three of the Hooded Mergansers were close to me because there was a shelf of ice that prevented them from swimming out into the middle of the pond.
Finding Two Uncommon Birds In One Week – Rusty Blackbird And Common Grackle
Finding two uncommon birds this week at the same olive tree really has me buzzed and to finally see a Rusty Blackbird has made me feel like jumping over the moon.
Immature Red-tailed Hawk Harassed By A Northern Harrier
I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and spent 28 minutes photographing it including when a Northern Harrier harassed it.
First Winter Common Mergansers In Flight
Some winters here in the Salt Lake Valley I see quite a lot Common Mergansers while in other years I only see a few. I'm hoping that this winter I will see plenty of these beautiful, sleek diving ducks.
46,000 Year Old Horned Lark Found In Siberian Permafrost
In 2018 fossil hunters in Siberia found a extremely well preserved bird seven meters down a tunnel in permafrost that turned out to be a 46,000 year old Horned Lark.
Frosty Female Northern Harrier In Flight
I saw a few harriers on the wing yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA and I was able to take a few photos of a female Northern Harrier that still had frost on her nape.
Snowy Wasatch Mountain Peak And Sunlight
There are days I spend as much time looking at the scenery as I do photographing birds because I think we live on an amazingly beautiful planet.
Landing Drake Common Goldeneye
I'm anxious to start photographing the ducks I see close to home during the winter here in the Salt Lake Valley and from what I understand a few Common Goldeneyes have shown up.
Photographing An Immature Ferruginous Hawk Hunting For Breakfast
Yesterday morning not long after sunrise I spent some time photographing a light morph, immature Ferruginous Hawk hunting for its breakfast.
Focusing On Adult Male Rough-legged Hawks
Ten days ago I found and photographed this adult male Rough-legged Hawk as it perched on a Russian Olive tree at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I was heading home.
Adult American Robin Gobbling Down A Crabapple – Thanksgiving 2020
You might wonder why I decided to use an American Robin photo on my Thanksgiving post today and I will explain how I picked this image.
Hen And Drake American Wigeons Close To Home
Among the duck species I look for during the winter are American Wigeons which are medium sized dabbling ducks.
Autumn American Bison Bull And The Great Salt Lake
When I see American Bison at Antelope Island State Park I am always very aware of how close we came to losing them entirely and that fact makes me appreciate them even more.
Cozy Red-tailed Hawks And Finches Galore
Yesterday morning the first birds I spotted and photographed was a pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks side by side on a rocky ledge in early morning light.
Adult Common Raven On A Sign At Bear River MBR
This Common Raven looked to be alone but there was another raven foraging on the ground across the river that this bird could see.
Time To Keep An Eye On The Sky For Bald Eagles
I could see a Bald Eagle being chased by a gull in the sky and my heart skipped a beat because I know it is time for me to keep an eye on the sky for Bald Eagles again.
Winter Whiteouts – High Key Canada Goose In A Snowstorm
Lately I've been seeing and hearing more and more Canada Geese close to home and that has made me start thinking about winter, snowstorms, whiteouts and high key images of birds.
Photographing An Immature Great Blue Heron At Farmington Bay
Three days ago I spotted an immature Great Blue Heron resting at the edge of the water at Farmington Bay WMA and couldn't resist taking photos of it.
Drake Green-winged Teal At Bear River MBR
Yesterday morning I was able to take close up photos of a drake Green-winged Teal paddling away from me at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
You Know You Are A Gull Lover When…
You take photos of ten species of birds and the twelve photos of a Ring-billed Gull in flight are the images you are the most excited to view when you get home.