close up – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Pretty but Problematic: The Bradford Pear Tree

By Mia McPherson|May 7th, 2023|Categories: Bradford Pears, Salt Lake County, Trees, Shrubs and Flowers, Utah|Tags: blooming, blossoms, Bradford Pear, Callery Pear, close up, flowering, flowering tree, flowers, invasive, nonnative, park, pear, Pyrus calleryana, spring, tree, trees, urban|

On the first of May I took a series of blossoming Bradford Pear tree images. I've been meaning to do that for years to show that they are pretty, but...

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Female Great-tailed Grackle Portraits

By Mia McPherson|May 5th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Great-tailed Grackles, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, close up, female, fishing line, grackes, grackle, grass, Great-tailed Grackle, head on, park, picking up, portrait, Quiscalus mexicanus, spring, urban|

On the last day of April, I had a bit of good luck when a female Great-tailed Grackle walked so close to me at a local pond that I could take portraits of her.

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Springtime Grebe And Avocet Portraits

By Mia McPherson|May 3rd, 2023|Categories: American Avocets, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Western Grebes|Tags: adult, Aechmophorus occidentalis, American Avocet, avocet, avocets, breeding plumage, close up, grebe, grebes, male, marsh, portrait, Recurvirostra americana, shorebirds, spring, springtime, water, Western Grebe, wetlands|

This morning I am sharing two springtime portraits that I took last week at Bear River MBR. The first is a Western Grebe, the second, an American Avocet.

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Urban Male Yellow-headed Blackbird Portraits

By Mia McPherson|May 1st, 2023|Categories: Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: adult, blackbird, blackbirds, close up, male, pond, portrait, spring, urban, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, Yellow-headed Blackbird|

While I was at my local pond yesterday, a male Yellow-headed Blackbird flew in close enough to me that I was able to take a few portraits of him.

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Drake Ruddy Duck And His Sky Blue Bill

By Mia McPherson|April 28th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: blue bill, bluebill, breeding plumage, Bubbling Display, close up, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, male, Oxyura jamaicensis, park, pond, portrait, Ruddy Duck, spring, stiff, swimming, tail, up close, urban, water, waterfowl|

Yesterday morning, I had a real treat photographing a drake Ruddy Duck close to home. He was in his most dapper breeding plumage, including his sky blue bill.

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One Ticked Off Looking American White Pelican

By Mia McPherson|April 24th, 2023|Categories: American White Pelicans, Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American White Pelican, breeding plumage, close up, park, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, pelican, pelicans, pond, spring, ticked off, urban, water|

When I photographed this ticked off looking American White Pelican yesterday I laughed out loud. Why? Because I was kind of feeling ticked off myself.

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Female Great-tailed Grackle Iris Variation

By Mia McPherson|April 23rd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Great-tailed Grackles, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, blackbirds, close up, eye, eyes, female, First Spring, grackle, grackles, Great-tailed Grackle, iris, park, portrait, Quiscalus mexicanus, Salt Lake County, spring, urban, Utah, variation|

While I photographed Common Loons at my local park this month I also took some female Great-tailed Grackle images and today I am sharing two of them.

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Crazy About Common Loons

By Mia McPherson|April 15th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Common Loons, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, calling, chased, close up, Common Loon, defensive posture, dripping, fighting, fishing lure, Gavia immer, loon, loons, passing, pond, portrait, rushing, Salt Lake County, spring, spring migration, urban, Utah, Vulture Posture, water, waterbirds|

Yesterday morning I didn't go out looking for Common Loons. But I found two and they were fighting, calling, preening and getting up close and personal with me.

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Mix Of Urban Birds Close To Home

By Mia McPherson|April 10th, 2023|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Double-crested Cormorants, Red-winged Blackbirds, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Savannah Sparrows, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Utah|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter striatus, Accipiters, adult, Agelaius phoeniceus, American Robin, Aythya americana, basketball backstop, blackbird, blackbirds, branches, cattail, close up, cormorant, cormorants, curb, Double-crested Cormorant, drake, duck, ducks, edge, habitat, hawks, immature, landing, male, Nannopterum auritus, neighborhood, park, Passerculus sandwichensis, perched, pond, portrait, raptors, Red-winged Blackbird, Redhead, redheads, robin, robins, Savannah Sparrow, Sharp-shinned Hawk, sky, small in frame, snow, sparrow, sparrows, splash, splashy, spring, stinkeye, thrush, thrushes, tree, Turdus migratorius, urban, water, waterbirds, waterfowl, young|

This mix of urban birds were taken over a two day period close to home. Birds, no matter where they are, bring me joy, happiness, and even laughter.

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Great-tailed Grackle Photos After a Spring Snowstorm

By Mia McPherson|April 9th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Great-tailed Grackles, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, bill, close up, displaying, grackle, grackles, Great-tailed Grackle, male, mound, park, poking, portrait, Quiscalus mexicanus, Salt Lake County, snow, snowy, spring, trudging, unique, urban, Utah|

Taking Great-tailed Grackle photos after our recent spring snowstorm was fun. I had never seen photos of this species in the snow before I took these.

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Killdeer In A Spring Snowstorm

By Mia McPherson|April 5th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Killdeer, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: Charadrius vociferus, close up, cloudy, Killdeer, killdeers, low light, parking lot, parking lot stripe, parking space stripe, plover, plovers, portrait, puddle, shorebirds, snow, snowstorm, spring, standing, urban, walking, water|

Yesterday morning, after blowing, shoveling, and scraping about nine to ten inches of snow, I went looking for birds and found a Killdeer in a spring snowstorm.

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Eurasian Collared-Dove Portraits

By Mia McPherson|March 20th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Eurasian Collared-Doves, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, close up, collared-dove, collared-doves, dove, doves, Eurasian Collared-Dove, grass, grasses, portrait, Streptopelia decaocto, urban, winking, winter|

Yesterday morning while photographing male Brewer's Blackbirds I took my eye away from my viewfinder and found a Eurasian Collared-Dove directly in front of me.

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American Wigeon Portraits – I See Spats

By Mia McPherson|March 18th, 2023|Categories: American Wigeons, Birds, Humor, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Wigeon, close up, dabbling ducks, drake, duck, ducks, female, hen, male, Mareca americana, park, pond, portrait, spat, spats, urban, wigeon, wigeons, winter|

This morning, I am sharing two American Wigeon portraits. I felt fortunate to take them recently at one of my local urban ponds on a frosty, cold morning.

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Male Brewer’s Blackbird Portraits

By Mia McPherson|March 17th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, blackbird, blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbird, close up, displaying, Euphagus cyanocephalus, frost, frosty, funny, grasses, head on, humor, male, portrait, urban, winter|

I took these two male Brewer's Blackbird portraits yesterday at my local pond. In one the blackbird was displaying, in the other he just looked funny to me.

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Coming Soon: Great-tailed Grackle Breeding Season

By Mia McPherson|February 21st, 2023|Categories: Birds, Great-tailed Grackles, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, bath, blackbirds, breeding display, close up, display, displaying, duo, feather, female, grackle, grackles, Great-tailed Grackle, Head-Up, intensely, looking, male, park, portrait, preening-tail, Quiscalus mexicanus, Ruff-Out, solo, spring, urban, winter|

On two of my most recent walks I have seen Great-tailed Grackles. Seeing them reminded me that Great-tailed Grackle breeding season is coming soon.

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Common Ravens – Valentine’s Day Love Birds

By Mia McPherson|February 14th, 2023|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Common Ravens, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, close up, Common Raven, corvids, Corvus corax, desert island, fall, mates, pair, portrait, rabbitbrush, raven, snow storm, storm, summer|

If you don't know much about Common Ravens you might wonder why I selected them to be the featured love birds on this Valentine's Day.

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American Robin Photos – Borbs In Snow

By Mia McPherson|January 28th, 2023|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Robin, bill, borb, borbiest, borbiness, borbs, borby, close up, crabapple, fruit, head on, leaves, robin, robins, Salt Lake County, snow, snowy, thrush, thrushes, tree trunk, Turdus migratorius, urban, Utah, winter|

This morning I am sharing four American Robin photos taken three days ago close to home. Each one of the robins looks like a borb in the snow.

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Two American Coot Portraits

By Mia McPherson|January 24th, 2023|Categories: American Coots, Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Coot, background, close, close up, coot, coots, Fulica americana, pond, portrait, snow, snowy, urban, winter|

I like these two American Coot portraits that I took at my local pond two years ago. The snowy background on one and the gray in the other set off the coots.

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Male Red-winged Blackbird In January

By Mia McPherson|January 15th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: adult, Agelaius phoeniceus, blackbird, blackbirds, branch, close up, displaying, male, marsh, perched, Red-winged Blackbird, sky, up close, wetlands, winter|

While I was at Farmington Bay WMA three days ago I stopped to photograph a male Red-winged Blackbird that I spotted on an old dead branch.

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Rough-legged Hawk Staredown

By Mia McPherson|January 11th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, cold, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, mountains, perched, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, sky, snow, staredown, wetlands, winter|

One year ago this morning I was on the road to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge where my best subject of the day was a male light morph Rough-legged Hawk.

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Some Days Are Golden

By Mia McPherson|January 10th, 2023|Categories: Salt Lake County, Trees, Utah, Water Birch|Tags: Betula occidentalis, birch, birches, broadleaf tree, close up, golden, leaf, Salt Lake County, specular highlight, tree, trees, urban, Utah, Water Birch|

Some days are golden. Some days are decidedly not. This is just a short post because yesterday was definitely not.

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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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Some Mammals I Loved In 2022

By Mia McPherson|December 28th, 2022|Categories: American Badgers, Davis County, Elk, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Least Chipmunks, Long-tailed Weasels, Morgan County, Mule Deer, Summit County, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow-bellied Marmots|Tags: adult, American Badger, autumn, baby, badger, badger burrow, badgers, canyon, Cervus canadensis, chipmunk, chipmunks, close up, cow, curious, cute, Elk, elks, fall, female, fence post, grazing, ground squirrel, ground squirrels, high Uintas, hillside, kissing, Least Chipmunk, Long-tailed Weasel, mammals, marmot, Marmota flaviventris, marmots, marsh, mountains, Mustela frenata, mustelids, Neotamias minimus, portrait, profile, roadside, rock, rock pile, rocks, rocky slope, shadow, spring, squirrel, squirrels, summer, summer coat, Taxidea taxus, Uinta Ground Squirrel, Urocitellus armatus, weasel, weasels, wetlands, wooden post, Yellow-bellied Marmot, young|

This morning I am sharing some photos of the mammals I loved finding, seeing, photographing and having in my viewfinder in 2022.

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Sycamore Bark Close Up

By Mia McPherson|December 5th, 2022|Categories: American Sycamore, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: American Sycamore, Australia, autumn, bark, close up, deciduous tree, eucalyptus trees, fall, gum trees, Pigeon House Mountain Didthul walking track, Platanus occidentalis, sycamore, termite mound, tree, tree trunk, trees, trunk|

Yesterday afternoon, after I walked around my local pond and the Jordan River Parkway Trail, I stopped to take close up photos of the bark on my neighbor's American Sycamore tree.

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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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Calling Ring-billed Gull Tongue

By Mia McPherson|October 17th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, bill, calling, close up, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, marsh, open, portrait, Ring-billed Gull, sky, tongue, wetlands|

Late last month I had the opportunity to take portraits of a calling Ring-billed Gull while I was looking for birds at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Recent Wild Turkey Images

By Mia McPherson|October 14th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wild Turkeys|Tags: adult, autumn, beard, canyon, close up, colors, creek, creekside, fall, long, male, Meleagris gallopavo, mountains, plumage, tom, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, Wild Turkey|

On my three recent trips up into the Wasatch Mountains I have been able to take Wild Turkey images on two of the chilly mornings.

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Blooming Sunflower And Bee

By Mia McPherson|September 28th, 2022|Categories: Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Trees, Shrubs and Flowers, Utah, Wildlife|Tags: bee, bloom, blooming, blossom, close up, Common Sunflower, cultivar, cultivated, flowering, Helianthus annuus, sunflower, sunflowers|

Nowadays, I don't take as many photos of cultivated flowers, but in the fall, I can't help but take pictures of a sunflower field close to the nature center at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Rock Wren On The Last Day Of Summer

By Mia McPherson|September 23rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Rock Wrens, Utah|Tags: boulder, close up, Long-tailed Weasel, mammals, marsh, Mustela frenata, mustelids, rock, Rock Wren, rocks, Salpinctes obsoletus, summer, summer coat, weasel, weasels, wetlands, wren, wrens|

I spotted this Rock Wren at Farmington Bay WMA two days ago. The wren looked slightly out of place surrounded by the marshes that are found at this location.

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Long-tailed Weasel Close Up Photos

By Mia McPherson|September 22nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Long-tailed Weasels, Rock Wrens, Utah, Wildlife|Tags: adult, close up, curious, focused, leaning, Long-tailed Weasel, mammals, marsh, Mustela frenata, mustelids, portrait, rock, Rock Wren, rocks, Salpinctes obsoletus, staring, summer, summer coat, weasel, weasels, wetlands, wren, wrens|

This morning I am thrilled to share these Long-tailed Weasel photos taken on the last full day of summer at Farmington Bay WMA which are all thanks to a Rock Wren.

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