flock – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Mesmerizing Red-winged Blackbird Murmurations At Sequoyah NWR

By Mia McPherson|December 16th, 2024|Categories: Oklahoma, Red-winged Blackbirds, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: Agelaius phoeniceus, autumn, blackbird, blackbirds, bottomland hardwood forest, bottomlands, fall, field, flight, flock, flying, Murmuration, Red-winged Blackbird, trees|

This morning, I'm sharing one photo that I took of the Red-winged Blackbird murmurations I saw on my last trip to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

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Snow Geese And Avian Flu Reporting

By Mia McPherson|December 10th, 2024|Categories: Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Snow Geese|Tags: Anser caerulescens, autumn, avian flu, fall, field, flight, flock, flocks, flying, geese, goose, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, HPAI, landing, on the wing, reporting, sick birds, Snow Geese, waterfowl|

Watch Snow Geese land in Oklahoma in my video and learn how you can help track avian flu by reporting sick or dead waterfowl to the AGFC.

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Blizzards Of Snow Geese Now At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge

By Mia McPherson|November 29th, 2024|Categories: Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Snow Geese|Tags: Anser caerulescens, autumn, blasting off, blizzard, Blue Geese, blue morph, bottomlands, dark morph, early morning, fall, field, flight, flock, flying, front, gaggle, geese, goose, hatch year, immature, lifting off, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Sequoyah NWR, sky, Snow Geese, Snow Goose, taking off, trees, waterfowl, white morph, young|

Blizzards of Snow Geese have arrived at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge! I’m so excited about all of the Snow Geese that I can barely contain myself. Wow!

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Red-winged Blackbird Flock Video Clip From Sequoyah NWR

By Mia McPherson|November 26th, 2024|Categories: Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Oklahoma, Red-winged Blackbirds, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Utah, Video|Tags: adult, Agelaius phoeniceus, blackbird, blackbirds, changing seasons, displaying, flock, flocking, flocks, male, marsh, mating season, murmurations, Red-winged Blackbird, video, winter|

I meant to share this Red-winged Blackbird video clip earlier, but I hadn’t gotten around to merging the two videos and processing them until last night.

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Flock Of Canada Geese In A Soy Bean Field

By Mia McPherson|August 25th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: adult, bottomlands, Branta canadensis, Canada Geese, crop field, field, flock, geese, goose, soy beans, soybean, summer, waterfowl|

It has dawned on me that I haven't shared any Canada Geese photos since I left Utah in April. Today, it is time to rectify that with these geese in Oklahoma.

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Urban Double-crested Cormorant Photos In Spring

By Mia McPherson|April 9th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Double-crested Cormorants, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, checking, cormorant, cormorants, Double-crested Cormorant, First Spring, flock, immature, Nannopterum auritus, out, park, pond, Salt Lake County, spring, urban, Utah, water, waterbirds|

While looking at my Common Loon photos from last spring, I came across these Double-crested Cormorant photos that I took at the same time last year.

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Flock Of American Avocets At Farmington Bay

By Mia McPherson|February 28th, 2024|Categories: American Avocets, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, American Avocet, avocet, avocets, flock, marsh, Recurvirostra americana, resting, shorebirds, water, wetlands, winter|

On my last trip to Farmington Bay WMA, I was delighted to have a resting flock of American Avocets in my viewfinder. Seeing these shorebirds delights me.

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Gaggle Of Canada Geese At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|February 5th, 2024|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Canada Geese, Utah|Tags: adult, auto tour loop, Branta canadensis, Canada Geese, field, flock, gaggle, geese, goose, marsh, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

When I was up at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge at the end of January, I stopped on the auto tour loop to take photos of a small gaggle of Canada Geese.

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Murmuration Of European Starlings On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|December 16th, 2023|Categories: Birds, European Starlings, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: autumn, bank, blasting off, constellation, edge, European Starling, fall, flight, flock, flying, lifting off, Murmuration, murmurations, on the wing, park, pond, shore, sky, starling, starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, taking off, trees, urban, water|

I wasn't the only person who noticed the huge murmuration of European Starlings at my local pond yesterday morning; other people stopped and admired them too.

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Time To See And Hear Tundra Swans

By Mia McPherson|November 10th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Box Elder County, Cygnus columbianus, fall, flight, flock, flying, marsh, mountains, pair, phragmites, phrags, Promontory Mountains, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

Now is a great time to see and hear Tundra Swans from the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I saw several large flocks of them yesterday from there.

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Fall American White Pelican Images At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|October 27th, 2023|Categories: American White Pelicans, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: American White Pelican, autumn, bank, Bear River, fall, flock, grasses, marsh, mountains, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, pelican, pelicans, river, riverbank, shore, summer, water, waterbirds, wetlands|

On this fall morning, I'm sharing three American White Pelican images from Bear River MBR taken earlier this week and a bonus flock photo from last year.

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Learning More About Collared Tundra Swans

By Mia McPherson|April 3rd, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, banded, collar, collared, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flock, flying, grasses, ice, inset, male, marsh, mountains, neck markers, snow, snow covered, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, U915, U961, U974, USGS, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

As the Tundra Swans in Utah begin to make their long journeys to their breeding grounds, I wanted to do one more post about the collared Tundra Swans I've found.

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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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Tracking Tundra Swan U915: A Story of Survival

By Mia McPherson|March 5th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, banded, collared, Cygnus columbianus, flock, grasses, ice, inset, male, marsh, mountains, Promontory Mountains, sky, snow, snow covered, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, U915, USGS, water, waterfowl, wetlands, Whistling Swan, winter|

Three days ago I found a collared Tundra Swan in a flock of swans at Bear River MBR. The blue collar caught my eye and I took photos of the swan.

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Big & Beautiful: Tundra Swans of Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|March 3rd, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, alert, bath, bathing, bill, close, Cygnus columbianus, droplets, flight, flock, flying, goofy, ice shelf, immature, marsh, nips, Promontory Mountains, relaxing, resting, sky, snow, spot, swans, Tundra Swan, walking, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter, young|

Yesterday morning I spent time with a flock of big, beautiful Tundra Swans at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I loved every moment that I had with the swans.

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West Desert Western Bluebird Memory

By Mia McPherson|February 24th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Western Bluebirds|Tags: adult, bluebird, bluebirds, desert, female, fence post, flock, foothills, lifer, metal post, perched, rusty, Sialia mexicana, sky, sky island mountains, thrush, thrushes, Western Bluebird, winter, wooden post|

This morning I am sharing a Western Bluebird memory from seven years ago. That day I found small flock of these colorful bluebirds in the West Desert.

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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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Cloudy And Gray Winter Solstice

By Mia McPherson|December 22nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, California Gulls, Salt Lake County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: California Gull, clouds, cloudy, flock, gray, gull, gulls, ice, Larus californicus, low light, mountains, nonbreeding plumage, peaks, pond, resting, sky, snow, urban, Wasatch Mountain Range, Wasatch Mountains, water, winter, Winter Solstice|

My Winter Solstice was cloudy and gray. I wandered down to my local pond to take in my first day of winter views of the Wasatch Mountains plus a few birds.

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White-faced Ibis at Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|September 1st, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, White-faced Ibises|Tags: adult, flock, ibis, ibises, immature, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, Plegadis chihi, summer, wading birds, wetlands, White-faced Ibis, young|

Sunday morning at Bear River MBR I could have been found photographing a flock of White-faced Ibis from the north side of the auto tour route.

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Two Phalarope Species At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|August 30th, 2022|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Red-necked Phalaropes, Utah, Wilson's Phalaropes|Tags: adult, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, flight, flock, flying, foraging, Great Salt Lake, hypersaline lake, lake, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, phalarope, phalaropes, Phalaropus lobatus, Phalaropus tricolor, Red-necked Phalarope, shorebirds, summer, Utah, water, wetlands, Wilson's Phalarope|

Two days ago after leaving the auto tour route at Bear River MBR I was able to photograph two phalarope species in a wetlands that were feeding side by side.

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Drake Northern Pintail Lift Off Images

By Mia McPherson|March 8th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Pintails, Utah, Video|Tags: adult, Anas acuta, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, dabbling ducks, drake, ducks, female, flight, flock, flying, hen, lift off, lifting off, male, marsh, mountains, Northern Pintail, pintail, pintails, sky, snow, take off, taking off, Utah, video, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

I drove up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning and came home with some drake Northern Pintail lift off images that I am pleased with.

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Tundra Swans On Ice And Open Water

By Mia McPherson|January 29th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: Cygnus columbianus, duck, ducks, flock, gull, gulls, ice, ice shelf, marsh, mountains, open water, sky, snow, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, Wasatch Mountain Range, Wasatch Mountains, water, waterbirds, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

I haven't yet gotten the photos of Tundra Swans this year that I would like to take but that won't stop me from sharing some that I have taken this winter.

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Ruddy Ducks In Flight

By Mia McPherson|November 24th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ruddy Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, fall, female, flight, flock, flying, hen, male, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, Oxyura jamaicensis, pond, preening, Ruddy Duck, sky, swimming, urban, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

A few days ago I saw someone say that they rarely saw photos of Ruddy Ducks in flight and I remembered I had a series of them flying past taken 11 years ago.

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Twelve Years In Utah

By Mia McPherson|July 10th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Red-necked Phalaropes, Utah, Wilson's Phalaropes|Tags: adult, flight, flock, flocks, flying, Great Salt Lake, hypersaline lake, lake, migration, Murmuration, phalarope, phalaropes, Phalaropus lobatus, Phalaropus tricolor, phenomenon, Red-necked Phalaropes, shorebirds, summer, water, Wilson's Phalaropes|

Twelve years ago this morning I woke in Grand Island, Nebraska. I was a little more than 800 miles from my destination of Salt Lake City.

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Spring American Avocets At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|April 28th, 2021|Categories: American Avocets, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Avocet, American Avocets, avocet, avocets, early morning, flock, marsh, preening, Recurvirostra americana, resting, river, shorebirds, spring, water, wetlands|

At the end of last month I spotted a small flock of American Avocets early in the morning at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Tree Swallows Have Returned

By Mia McPherson|March 23rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Idaho, Modoc Creek, Summit County, Targhee National Forest, Tree Swallows, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah|Tags: adult, aspen, flock, forest, gathering, low light, male, marsh, migration, mountains, nest, nest boxes, nesting cavity, perched, phragmites, spring, swallow, swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, Tree Swallow, wetlands|

A little birdie told me that Tree Swallows returned to the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge about the middle of this month.

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Brown Pelicans And Memories

By Mia McPherson|January 6th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Brown Pelicans, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, birds, Brown Pelican, clouds, feeding, flight, flock, flying, foraging, Gulf of Mexico, Laughing Gull, Pelecanus occidentalis, pelican, pelicans, skimmer, skimmers, sky, splashing, tern, terns, water, winter|

Eleven years ago this morning I had an amazing time photographing flocks of Brown Pelicans plunge feeding in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Drake Green-winged Teal At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|November 18th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Green-winged Teals, Utah|Tags: alternate plumage, Anas crecca, breeding plumage, dabbling ducks, dead, deceased, drake, ducks, female, flight, flock, flying, Green-winged Teal, hen, injured, male, marsh, paddling, swimming, teal, teals, water, waterfowl|

Yesterday morning I was able to take close up photos of a drake Green-winged Teal paddling away from me at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Tundra Swans Are Showing Up In Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|October 21st, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, clouds, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flock, fly by, flying, immature, marsh, mountains, phragmites, phrags, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, Tundra Swans, waterfowl, winter|

I can barely wait to hear and see my first of season Tundra Swans and to see them on the wing over the marshes that surround the Great Salt Lake.

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Wild Turkey Tom Foraging After A Snowfall

By Mia McPherson|November 5th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: flock, flocks, foraging, forest, male, Meleagris gallopavo, mountains, snow, tom, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, Wild Turkey|

Six days ago I was happy to see three flocks of Wild Turkeys and the smallest flock was in good light, at the edge of a forest and they were cooperative.

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