dune – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and Earth Shadow Memories

By Mia McPherson|October 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, atomospheric conditions, Belt of Venus, coast, coastal, dune, earth shadow, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, low light, pre-dawn, predawn light, preening, sand, sky, wading birds, walking, wind, windy|

Thirteen years ago this morning I photographed a Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and the Earth Shadow on the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park on the west coast of Florida.

Gulf Shore Yellow-crowned Night Heron

By Mia McPherson|September 2nd, 2016|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Yellow-crowned Night Herons|Tags: adult, beach, coast, coastal, dune, Gulf of Mexico, heron, herons, night heron, night herons, Nyctanassa violacea, resting, sand, sand dunes, sky, summer, wading birds, water, Yellow-crowned Night Heron|

I did see and photograph this adult Yellow-crowned Night Heron standing on a grassy sand dune overlooking the Gulf of Mexico in beautiful, soft light.

Camouflaged Wilson’s Plover Chick

By Mia McPherson|April 28th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Wilson's Plovers|Tags: Anarhynchus wilsonia, beach, camouflage, camouflaged, chick, chicks, cryptic plumage pattern, disappear, dune, habitat, juvenile, plover, plovers, protection, sand, shorebirds, vegetation, Wilson's Plover, wrack line|

I knew where this camouflaged Wilson's Plover chick was when I photographed it from a distance but realized that if I didn't point out that there was a chick in the image that other people might not even know it was there.