adult – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

What Do These Grasses Going To Seed Have To Do With A Lazuli Bunting?

By Mia McPherson|June 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Lazuli Buntings, Morgan County, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, bunting, buntings, canyon, close up, creek, creek side, creekside, eating, going to seed, grass, grass seed, grasses, Lazuli Bunting, male, mountains, Passerina amoena, riparian habitat, seed|

Yesterday while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains looking for birds I also noticed some grasses going to seed and took photos of them.

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Male Mountain Bluebird Perched On Mullein

By Mia McPherson|June 18th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Mountain Bluebirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, bluebird, bluebirds, canyon, Common Mullein, male, Mountain Bluebird, mountains, mullein, perched, Sialia currucoides, spring, Verbascum thapsus|

I haven't had many bluebirds in my viewfinder this spring so when this adult male Mountain Bluebird perched on mullein showed up last week I was happy to photograph it.

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Western Kingbird Attempting To Take Over A Bullock’s Oriole Nest

By Mia McPherson|June 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Bullock's Orioles, Utah, Western Kingbirds|Tags: adult, behavior, Bullock's Oriole, Celtis reticulata, desert, down, entering, female, Icterus bullockii, interactions, kingbird, kingbirds, nest, nest take over, Netleaf Hackberry, oriole, orioles, spring, Tyrannus verticalis, tyrant flycatchers, Western Kingbird|

At times I see some odd things in the field and two days ago that was what appeared to be a Western Kingbird attempting to take over a Bullock's Oriole nest.

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Vesper Sparrow Looking Up At The Sky

By Mia McPherson|June 13th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Utah, Vesper Sparrows, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, canyon, fence post, mountains, perched, Poocetes gramineus, sagebrush steppe, sparrow, sparrows, spring, Vesper Sparrow, wooden post|

Friday morning I found this Vesper Sparrow perched on an old fence post next to a dusty road with another sparrow singing from the top of a sage about 100 feet away.

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Song Sparrow Eating A Snail

By Mia McPherson|June 12th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Song Sparrows, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, bill, canyon, creek, eating, Escargot, foraging, grasses, insert, Melospiza melodia, mountains, riparian habitat, snail, Song Sparrow, sparrow, sparrows, spring, stones, water|

Photographing a Song Sparrow eating a snail yesterday morning as it foraged in a creek in the Wasatch Mountains was a unique experience for me.

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Say’s Phoebe In Sage

By Mia McPherson|June 11th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Say's Phoebes, Utah|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, Big Sagebrush, desert, eponymous common names, flycatcher, flycatchers, honorific common names, lift off, lifting off, perched, phoebe, phoebes, precariously, sage, sagebrush, Say's Phoebe, Sayornis saya, spring, take off, taking off, tyrant flycatchers|

I think Rufous-bellied Phoebe would be a great name instead of Say's Phoebe, with or without the hyphen. It is certainly more descriptive.

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Adult Savannah Sparrow in Summit County

By Mia McPherson|June 10th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Savannah Sparrows, Summit County, Utah|Tags: adult, farmlands, fence post, Passerculus sandwichensis, pasture, perched, ranchlands, Savannah Sparrow, sparrow, sparrows, spring, valley, wooden post|

Earlier this week I photographed this adult Savannah Sparrow just outside the town of Kamas, Utah before heading up into the Uinta Mountains.

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Female Brown-headed Cowbird And Willow Catkins

By Mia McPherson|June 9th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, East Canyon, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, brood parasites, Brown-headed Cowbird, canyon, catkins, cowbird, cowbirds, female, interspecific brood parasites, Molothrus ater, mountains, perched, pussywillows, riparian habitat, spring, willow, willows|

Late last month I photographed this female Brown-headed Cowbird surrounded by willow catkins in East Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains.

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Uinta Chipmunks In The High Uinta Mountains

By Mia McPherson|June 8th, 2021|Categories: Summit County, Uinta Chipmunks, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Mountain overlook, boulders, chipmunk, chipmunks, forest, grooming, hidden forest chipmunk, high Uintas, lichen, male, mountains, Neotamias umbrinus, pair, resting, rocks, scenery, spring, tree trunk, Uinta Chipmunk|

I spent yesterday morning traveling Mirror Lake Highway in the Uinta Mountains and came home with a few photos of Uinta Chipmunks.

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Spring Female Black-chinned Hummingbird Photos

By Mia McPherson|June 7th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Archilochus alexandri, Black Twin Berry, Black twinberry honeysuckle, Black-chinned Hummingbird, canyon, feeding, female, honeysuckle, honeysuckles, hovering, hummingbird, hummingbirds, Lonicera involucrata, mountains, nectaring, resting, riparian habitat, spring, willows|

I took my first Black-chinned Hummingbird of the year photos in the middle of May but it wasn't until the end of the month that I took some that I liked.

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Male Belted Kingfisher Photos

By Mia McPherson|June 5th, 2021|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Belted Kingfisher, branch, canyon, creek, favored, fish, kingfisher, kingfishers, male, Megaceryle alcyon, metal post, mountains, perch, perched, prey, spring, yellow wildflowers|

Today I am sharing four male Belted Kingfisher photos that I have taken this spring in the Wasatch Mountains starting with one that I took yesterday morning.

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Lark Sparrow In Golden Morning Light

By Mia McPherson|June 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Lark Sparrows, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, Chondestes grammacus, clouds, fence, fence post, fence posts, foothills, golden light, grasses, juniper, junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, Lark Sparrow, mountains, perched, sky, sky island mountains, sparrow, sparrows, spring, Utah Juniper|

Two days ago I photographed this adult Lark Sparrow that I found perched on an old fence post in golden light in the West Desert of Tooele County.

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Chipping Sparrow With Food For Its Chicks

By Mia McPherson|June 3rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Chipping Sparrows, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, breeding season, Chipping Sparrow, food, foothills, juniper, Juniperus osteosperma, mountains, perched, prey, sky island mountains, sparrow, sparrows, Spizella passerina, spring, Utah Juniper|

I was photographing a Lark Sparrow when I spotted this Chipping Sparrow with food in its bill fly in and land on a juniper bough.

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Great Blue Heron and Mountain Goldenbanner

By Mia McPherson|June 2nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Great Blue Herons, Morgan County, Small in the frame, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, blooming, blooms, canyon, Filamentous algae, flowering, grasses, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, Mountain Goldenbanner, mountain meadow, Mountain Thermopsis, mountains, pond, spring, Thermopsis montana, wading birds, water, wildflowers, willows, yellow wildflowers|

Yesterday I wrote about a Golden Eagle in the Wasatch Mountains. Today I am writing about "golden" again. Blooming Mountain Goldenbanner and a Great Blue Heron.

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Adult Golden Eagle In Flight In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|June 1st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Golden Eagles, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Aquila chrysaetos, birds of prey, canyon, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, Golden Eagle, mountains, raptor, spring|

The last time I was in the Wasatch Mountains I had a brief window of opportunity to photograph an adult Golden Eagle in flight.

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Recent Birds I’ve Found In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|May 31st, 2021|Categories: Birds, House Wrens, Lazuli Buntings, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, Warbling Vireos, West Desert, Western Kingbirds|Tags: adult, barbed wire, basking, branch, bunting, buntings, Buteos, canyon, fence, fence post, foothills, foraging, forest, hawk, hawks, House Wren, juniper, junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, kingbird, kingbirds, Lazuli Bunting, male, mixed deciduous conifer forest, morning, mountains, Passerina amoena, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, sky island mountains, spring, sun, Troglodytes aedon, Tyrannus verticalis, tyrant flycatchers, Utah Juniper, vireo, Vireo gilvus, vireos, Warbling Vireo, warmth, Western Kingbird, wild rose, wooden post, wren, wrens|

Last week I made two trips out to the West Desert and today I am sharing a medley of recent birds that I found while I was out there.

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West Desert Rock Wren Photos

By Mia McPherson|May 30th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rock Wrens, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, back view, desert, early morning light, fence post, foothills, gnarly, juniper, Juniperus osteosperma, Rock Wren, Salpinctes obsoletus, singing, sky island mountains, spring, Utah Juniper, wooden post, wren, wrens|

I have been able to take more Rock Wren photos in the West Desert the last two times I have wandered out there.

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Male Western Tanager Close Up Image

By Mia McPherson|May 29th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Western Tanagers|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, close up, fence, foothills, juniper forest, male, mountains, perched, Piranga ludoviciana, sky island mountains, spring, unmistakable, Western Tanager, wire fence|

Two days ago I had the opportunity to photograph a male Western Tanager up close in the foothills of some of the sky island mountains in the West Desert of Utah.

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Female Black-chinned Hummingbird And A Knothole

By Mia McPherson|May 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, Archilochus alexandri, behavior, Black-chinned Hummingbird, canyon, female, flight, flying, forest, hummingbird, knothole, mountains, sky island mountains, spring, tree, trees|

Yesterday while out in the sky island mountains of the West Desert I spotted a female Black-chinned Hummingbird repeatedly checking out a knothole in a tree.

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Violet-green Swallow Photos

By Mia McPherson|May 27th, 2021|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: adult, alpine forest, branch, branches, canyon, female, flight, flying, forest, guarding, male, mountains, nesting cavity, scuffling, sky, sky island mountains, spring, swallow, swallows, Tachycineta thalassina, Tooele County, tree, trees, tussling, Utah, Violet-green Swallow, west desert|

Yesterday I was able to take the Violet-green Swallow photos that I have been dreaming of since I first moved to Utah in 2009.

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Spring Male American Goldfinch

By Mia McPherson|May 26th, 2021|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Morgan County, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, American Goldfinch, blooming, blooms, branches, breeding plumage, canyon, Common Dandelion, Dandelion, dandelions, finch, finches, male, mountains, perched, Spinus tristis, Taraxacum officinale, wildflowers, willows, yellow wildflowers|

Yesterday I photographed this male American Goldfinch and thought about how he is as bright as the dandelions that are blooming now in the mountains.

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Resting Willow Flycatcher

By Mia McPherson|May 25th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Willow Flycatchers|Tags: adult, branch, canyon, Empidonax traillii, Empids, flycatcher, flycatchers, forest, mountains, perched, resting, riparian habitat, spring, willow, Willow Flycatcher|

The last time I was up in the Wasatch Mountains I heard several "FITZ-bew" calls but didn't see a single Willow Flycatcher out in the open.

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Nesting Lark Sparrow Photos

By Mia McPherson|May 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Lark Sparrows, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, barbed wire, Big Sagebrush, bill, Chondestes grammacus, desert, fence, foothills, gathering, grass, grasses, Lark Sparrow, mountains, nesting material, nesting materials, sage, sagebrush, sparrow, sparrows|

One of the first birds I heard singing three days ago in the West Desert of Tooele County was a Lark Sparrow perched on top of a sagebrush.

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Spring Female Cassin’s Finch

By Mia McPherson|May 21st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Cassin's Finches, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, alpine creek, branches, canyon, Cassin's Finch, creek, creekside, female, finch, finches, Haemorhous cassinii, mountains, paying attention, sky island mountains, spring, willows|

When this female Cassin's Finch landed next to a creek two days ago in the West Desert I was happy to take her photo.

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Singing Rock Wren In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|May 20th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rock Wrens, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, back view, clod, desert, dirt, end, foothills, grass, grasses, juniper, junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, perched, rock, Rock Wren, rocks, Salpinctes obsoletus, singing, sky island mountains, spring, tail, Tooele County, Utah, Utah Juniper, west desert, wren, wrens|

Yesterday when I spotted a Rock Wren singing from the top of a juniper in Utah's West Desert I hoped to take a few decent photos of it before it flew away.

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Spring Orange-crowned Warbler

By Mia McPherson|May 19th, 2021|Categories: Orange-crowned Warblers, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, Leiothlypis celata, Orange-crowned Warbler, perched, spring, Utah Serviceberry, warbler, warblers, wood-warblers|

I was happy to spot and photograph my first of season Orange-crowned Warbler yesterday morning high in the Wasatch Mountains.

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Uinta Ground Squirrel And An Ant

By Mia McPherson|May 18th, 2021|Categories: Summit County, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, ant, eating, grass, grasses, ground squirrel, ground squirrels, insect, spring, squirrel, squirrels, Uinta Ground Squirrel, Urocitellus armatus|

Last week while up in the Wasatch Mountains I took a series of close up images of this Uinta Ground Squirrel plus an ant on its right front leg.

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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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Male Belted Kingfisher With His Catch Of The Day

By Mia McPherson|May 16th, 2021|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Belted Kingfisher, bill, branch, canyon, catch, catch of the day, creek, fingerling, fish, kingfisher, kingfishers, male, Megaceryle alcyon, mountains, prey, swallowing, trout|

Three days ago I watched as a male Belted Kingfisher caught a small fish, landed on a branch and swallowed his catch of the day high in the Wasatch Mountains.

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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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