breeding grounds – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Long-Billed Curlews – Spring Birds I look Forward To

By Mia McPherson|March 14th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Long-billed Curlews|Tags: adult, breeding grounds, curlew, curlews, displaying, fighting, grasses, Long-billed Curlew, male, mating season, Numenius americanus, shorebirds, sparring, spring, territorial behavior|

Spring birds I look forward to seeing and hearing include Long-billed Curlews which should be arriving in northern Utah any day now.

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Swainson’s Hawk Chicks, Sub-adult And Adults

By Mia McPherson|March 31st, 2020|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Box Elder County, Centennial Valley, Clark County, Idaho, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, breeding grounds, Buteo swainsoni, Buteos, chicks, conifer, dark morph, defecating, female, hawk, hawks, immature, intermediate morph, juvenile, light morph, male, nest tree, nesting tree, perched, pooping, post, raptors, rousing, sky, storm, stormy, sub-adult, subadult, Swainson's Hawk, wooden post, young|

These are the life stages of the Swainson's Hawks I see, observe and photograph here in Utah, Idaho and Montana.

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I Spotted My First Of Season Western Kingbirds Four Days Ago

By Mia McPherson|March 25th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Western Kingbirds|Tags: adult, Arkansas Kingbirds, begging, breeding grounds, early, facts, fence post, flycatcher, flycatchers, immature, information, juvenile, kingbird, kingbirds, migration, perched, post, resting, Tyrannus verticalis, tyrant flycatchers, Western Kingbird, wooden post, young|

While I was up in Box Elder County, Utah four days ago I spotted my first of season Western Kingbirds chasing each other around in flight near a ranch.

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Greater-Sage Grouse Leks In March

By Mia McPherson|March 8th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Greater Sage-Grouse, Utah, Wayne County|Tags: adult, battle, breeding behavior, breeding display, breeding grounds, breeding season, calling, Centrocercus urophasianus, displaying, early morning, face off, facing off, fight, Greater Sage-Grouse, grouse, lek, male, mate, pops, puffed up, sage-grouse, sounds, spar, sunrise, whistles|

March is a time when my mind wanders to windswept, high country sagebrush steppes where Greater-Sage Grouse will dance, fight and court on their leks as they have done for eons.

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Adult Uinta Ground Squirrel Eating Grasses In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|June 29th, 2019|Categories: Summit County, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, breeding grounds, close up, eating, grass, grass seeds, grasses, ground squirrel, ground squirrels, hiding, munching, seed head, squirrel, squirrels, stem, Uinta Ground Squirrel, Urocitellus armatus|

Uinta Ground Squirrels spend most of their lives underground and because they do they need to make the most of their time above ground matter and they certainly do.

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Royal Terns Courting in Florida

By Mia McPherson|April 25th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Royal Terns|Tags: adult, beach, breeding grounds, call, circling, courting, courtship behavior, crest, female, fish, gift, male, parade, prey, Royal Tern, sand, tern, terns, Thalasseus maximus|

The "Circling" courtship behavior of Royal Terns was one that I found interesting because as the male circled the female she moved too and kept her sides facing him.

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One Frigid Morning On A Greater Sage-Grouse Lek

By Mia McPherson|November 21st, 2016|Categories: Birds, Greater Sage-Grouse, Utah, Wayne County|Tags: adult, battling, breeding display, breeding grounds, Centrocercus urophasianus, filoplumes, Greater Sage-Grouse, grouse, lek, males, mating behavior, mating season, sage-grouse, sagebrush obligate, sagebrush sea, sagebrush steppe, yellow eye-combs|

It was 21°F one frigid morning on a Greater Sage-Grouse Lek and before dawn broke the grouse began to display on the high country sagebrush steppe in Wayne County, Utah.

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Mesmerizing Mating Displays at a Greater Sage-Grouse Lek

By Mia McPherson|March 30th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Greater Sage-Grouse, Utah, Wayne County|Tags: adult, breeding grounds, Centrocercus urophasianus, Greater Sage-Grouse, lek, mating display, mesmerizing, sage-grouse, sagebrush steppe, upland terestrial bird, upland terrestrial birds|

I will share more Greater Sage-Grouse images from this lek soon but as usual I came home from this trip exhausted and it will take me a few days to get through all the images I took.

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