aspens – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Tree Swallows Have Migrated Into Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|March 25th, 2024|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, High Uintas, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Summit County, Tree Swallows, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: adult, aspen, aspens, close up, female, forest, male, mountains, natural, nest, nest box, nesting, nesting box, nesting cavity, nesting season, perched, Populus tremuloides, portrait, Quaking Aspen, spring, Summit County, swallow, swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, Tree Swallow, tree trunk, Utah|

Over the weekend, I read on Facebook that Tree Swallows have migrated back into Northern Utah for their breeding season. I am so excited about that news!

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Yellow Warbler And Golden Quaking Aspen Leaves

By Mia McPherson|September 17th, 2023|Categories: Birds, East Canyon, Morgan County, Quaking Aspens, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: American aspen, aspen, aspens, branches, canyon, Crataegus rivularis, deciduous tree, female/immature, golden, golden aspen, hawthorn, leaves, mountain aspen, mountains, perched, popple, Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen, River Hawthorn, Setophaga petechia, summer, tree, trembling aspen, trembling poplar, warbler, warblers, white poplar, wood-warbler, wood-warblrs, Yellow Warbler, young|

Three years ago today, I was up in the Wasatch Mountains, focused on a bright Yellow Warbler snugly nestled in a hawthorn tree on a hillside.

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3000 Daily Posts In A Row Milestone

By Mia McPherson|July 19th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Clark County, Idaho, Milestone, Targhee National Forest, Williamson's Sapsuckers|Tags: adult, aspen, aspens, breeding season, Clark County, clinging, forest, idaho, male, milestone, nesting, Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen, sapsucker, sapsuckers, Sphyrapicus thyroideus, spring, tree, Williamson's Sapsucker, woodpeckers|

Today is a milestone day for me. I'm celebrating the fact that I have shared 3000 daily posts here at On The Wing Photography in a row.

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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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Young Cedar Waxwing Photos

By Mia McPherson|July 31st, 2022|Categories: Birds, Cedar Waxwings, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: aspens, Bombycilla cedrorum, branches, canyon, Cedar Waxwing, chick, forest, immature, juvenile, Morgan County, mountains, perched, Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspens, summer, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, waxwing, waxwings, young|

I found this young Cedar Waxwing in the remnants of a small aspen forest two days ago while I watched for other birds to come in to feed on ripe serviceberries.

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Tree Swallow Nesting In An Aspen

By Mia McPherson|June 8th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Tree Swallows, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: adult, aspen, aspens, Bald Mountain Pass, clouds, female, ice, lake, Lily Lake, mountains, nest, nesting cavity, nesting season, nesting tree, Populus tremuloides, sky, snow, spring, Summit County, swallow, swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, tree, Tree Swallow, trees, trunk, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah, view|

While up high in the Uinta Mountains yesterday morning I photographed this female Tree Swallow checking out a nesting cavity in a Quaking Aspen.

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Woodland Coyote Watching Me Watching Him

By Mia McPherson|May 24th, 2022|Categories: Coyotes, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, aspen, aspens, Canis latrans, canyon, Coyote, coyotes, forest, forest edge, grasses, male, mammals, mountains, pee, peeing, piddled, Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen, shrubs, spring, trees, Wasatch Mountains, watching, woodland|

While I photographed hummingbirds last week high in the Wasatch Mountains I also took images of an adult male woodland Coyote watching me watching him.

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Low Light Male Mountain Bluebird

By Mia McPherson|April 22nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Mountain Bluebirds, Scenics, Summit County, Trees, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, aspen, aspens, bluebird, bluebirds, branches, canyon, conifers, fog, low light, male, Mountain Bluebird, mountains, perched, Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen, Sialia currucoides, snow, snowy, spring, thrush, thrushes, trees, twigs, Wasatch Mountains|

Two days ago while I was high in the Wasatch Mountains this adult male Mountain Bluebird landed close enough for me to take photos of him.

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I Spy With My Little Eye Something Beginning With C…

By Mia McPherson|August 21st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Cooper’s Hawks, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter cooperii, Accipiters, aspen, aspens, birds of prey, canyon, Cooper’s Hawk, forest, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, I Spy, immature, juvenile, mountains, Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen, raptors, young|

Do you remember playing I Spy when you were a child? I do.

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Turkey Vulture, An Aspen And A Smoky Haze

By Mia McPherson|July 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Turkey Vultures, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, aspen, aspens, birds of prey, canyon, Cathartes aura, leaves, mountains, perched, Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen, raptors, smoky, smoky haze, summer, tree, Turkey Vulture, vulture, vultures, wildfires|

The last bird I photographed high in the Wasatch Mountains three days ago was an adult Turkey Vulture perched in an aspen in a smoky haze.

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Trees, Shrubs, Wildflowers And A Butterfly

By Mia McPherson|May 23rd, 2021|Categories: California Tortoiseshell Butterflies, Shrubs, Tooele County, Trees, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: Abies concolor, aspen, aspens, bloom, blooming, blossoms, butterflies, butterfly, California Tortoiseshell butterfly, cone, cones, currant, currants, Douglas fir, fir, firs, Gray's Biscuitroot, Hydrophyllum occidentale, Lomatium grayi, Nymphalis californica, Populus tremuloides, prunus, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Quaking Aspen, Ribes cereum, shrubs, spring, trees, Wax Currant, Western Chokecherry, Western Waterleaf, White Fir|

On a recent trip to the West Desert sky island mountains in Tooele County I found my lens pointed at trees, shrubs, wildflowers and a butterfly.

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Fall Colors In The Wasatch Mountains Plus A Male Dusky Grouse

By Mia McPherson|September 28th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Dusky Grouse, Sky Line Drive, Bountiful Canyon, Trees, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: aspens, autumn, autumn colors, Bountiful Peak, changing seasons, conifers, Dendragapus obscurus, Dusky Grouse, fall, fall colors, Francis Peak, Gambel Oak, grouse, male, mountains, oaks, Quaking Aspen, road, upland terrestrial birds|

This morning is cloudy and gray but seven years ago today it was bright, the air was crisp and the fall colors of the Front Range of the Wasatch Mountains were in their full glory.

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Photographing Immature American Robins In A Smoky Wildfire Haze

By Mia McPherson|August 7th, 2018|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Amelanchier utahensis, American Robin, aspen, aspens, berry, haze, immature, perched, photograph, photographing, resting, robin, robins, shrub, smoke, smoky haze, thrushes, Turdus migratorius, Utah Serviceberry, wildfire|

While photographing some waxwings a flash of movement caught my eye and I spotted an immature American Robin reaching for a berry in a Utah Serviceberry shrub, I couldn't help myself, I had to photograph this young bird too.

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Aspen Eyes – Where Trees Appear To Gaze At The World Around Them

By Mia McPherson|June 17th, 2018|Categories: Clark County, Idaho, Summit County, Targhee National Forest, Trees, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: aspen, aspen eyes, aspens, branches, eyes, forest, montane forest, Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspens, self pruning, tree, trees|

I love seeing the Aspen eyes of the forest upon me and I find myself happy to photograph them whenever I can.

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Scenic Views of My Recent Trip to Montana and Idaho

By Mia McPherson|September 20th, 2016|Categories: Beaverhead County, Centennial Valley, Clark County, Idaho, Montana, Targhee National Forest|Tags: aspens, clouds, fall colors, fog, foggy, harvest moon, hills, predawn, sagebrush, sunrise, Tetons, valley, willows|

When I go on trips to Montana and Idaho it is primarily about finding and photographing birds but the places I visit are so beautiful that I feel I have to photograph the scenic views too.

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Camping on Public Lands in Clark County, Idaho

By Mia McPherson|July 12th, 2016|Categories: Clark County, Idaho, Targhee National Forest, Trees|Tags: aspens, camping, campsite, clouds, disperse camping, keep public lands in public hands, public lands, willows|

Good morning! I am writing this morning from a campsite that is on OUR Public Lands just outside the Targhee National Forest in Clark County, Idaho.

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Male Yellow Warbler and Aspens in the Uinta National Forest

By Mia McPherson|July 10th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Cascade Springs, Uinta National Forest, Utah, Wasatch County, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, aspens, male, mountains, perched, Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen, Setophaga petechia, warbler, warblers, wood-warblers, Yellow Warbler|

Yellow Warblers are so bright it is not hard to see them as they flit around gleaning insects from the trees in the Uinta National Forest.

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Mule Deer on the Parker Range

By Mia McPherson|June 4th, 2015|Categories: Mule Deer, Parker Range, Utah, Wayne County|Tags: aspen, aspens, deer, doe, female, forest, grasses, Mule Deer, muley, nature, nature photography, Odocoileus hemionus, Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen, spring, wildlife, wildlife photography|

High up on the Parker Range there was a large stand of Quaking Aspen and just outside of the trees there was a Mule Deer grazing on the green grasses.

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