flying – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Blooming Common Mullein Images

By Mia McPherson|August 2nd, 2021|Categories: Hunt's Bumble Bees, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: bloom, blooming, Bombus huntii, bumble bee, bumble bees, canyon, Common Mullein, flight, flowering, flying, Hunt's Bumble Bee, mountains, mullein, mulliens, nectaring, non-native, nonnative, riparian habitat, summer, Verbascum thapsus, wildlflowers, yellow wildflowers|

Two days ago in between taking Willow Flycatcher photos in the Wasatch Mountains I took blooming Common Mullein images because they were nearby.

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Goofy Looking Canada Goose Lift Off

By Mia McPherson|July 21st, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Canada Geese, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, flight, flying, funny, geese, goofy, goose, lift off, lifting off, marsh, phragmites, phrags, spring, take off, taking off, water, wetlands|

Some of the bird photos I take make me laugh and this goofy looking Canada Goose lifting off from the marsh at Bear River MBR is one of them.

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Fritillary photobombing a Two-tailed Swallowtail butterfly

By Mia McPherson|July 20th, 2021|Categories: Morgan County, Two-tailed Swallowtails, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Argynnis cybele, Asclepias speciosa, butterflies, butterfly, canyon, flight, flying, forest, fritillary, fritllaries, Great Spangled Fritillary, mountains, nectaring, Papilio multicaudata, photo bomb, photobomb, photobombing, pink wildflowers, Showy Milkweed, summer, swallowtail, swallowtails, Two-tailed Swallowtail, wildflowers|

Last week I photographed a fritillary butterfly photobomb a Two-tailed Swallowtail butterfly as it nectared on a Showy Milkweed high in the Wasatch Mountains.

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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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Adult Golden Eagle In Flight In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|June 1st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Golden Eagles, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Aquila chrysaetos, birds of prey, canyon, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, Golden Eagle, mountains, raptor, spring|

The last time I was in the Wasatch Mountains I had a brief window of opportunity to photograph an adult Golden Eagle in flight.

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Female Black-chinned Hummingbird And A Knothole

By Mia McPherson|May 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, Archilochus alexandri, behavior, Black-chinned Hummingbird, canyon, female, flight, flying, forest, hummingbird, knothole, mountains, sky island mountains, spring, tree, trees|

Yesterday while out in the sky island mountains of the West Desert I spotted a female Black-chinned Hummingbird repeatedly checking out a knothole in a tree.

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Violet-green Swallow Photos

By Mia McPherson|May 27th, 2021|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: adult, alpine forest, branch, branches, canyon, female, flight, flying, forest, guarding, male, mountains, nesting cavity, scuffling, sky, sky island mountains, spring, swallow, swallows, Tachycineta thalassina, Tooele County, tree, trees, tussling, Utah, Violet-green Swallow, west desert|

Yesterday I was able to take the Violet-green Swallow photos that I have been dreaming of since I first moved to Utah in 2009.

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Subadult Peregrine Falcon

By Mia McPherson|May 24th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Peregrine Falcons, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult plumage, birds of prey, calling, desert, Falco peregrinus, falcon, falcons, fence post, First Spring, flight, flying, foothills, immature, juvenal plumage, lift off, lifting off, molt, molting, Peregrine Falcon, raptors, second year bird, sky, spring, sub-adult, subadult, take off, taking off, wooden post, young|

Last week before I found the Rock Wren I wrote about I also found a subadult Peregrine Falcon perched on a wooden post in the West Desert.

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Coyote Stalking Adult Sandhill Cranes

By Mia McPherson|May 12th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Coyotes, Sandhill Cranes, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Antigone canadensis, Canis latrans, canyon, Coyote, coyotes, crane, cranes, flight, flying, grasses, lifted off, mountains, sagebrush, Sandhill Cranes, stalking, took flight, walking, willows|

Yesterday morning while up in the Wasatch Mountains I heard Sandhill Cranes calling repeatedly and when I spotted them I also found a Coyote near the cranes.

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Spring Black-crowned Night Heron Butt Shot

By Mia McPherson|May 5th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, Black-crowned Night Heron, butt shot, close up, flight, flying, heron, herons, marsh, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, phragmites, phrags, portrait, reflections, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter|

Some photos just make me laugh and this spring Black-crowned Night Heron butt shot image does just that.

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Drake Cinnamon Teal In Flight

By Mia McPherson|May 3rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Cinnamon Teals, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, Cinnamon Teal, dabbling ducks, drake, duck, ducks, flight, flying, male, marsh, on the wing, Spatula cyanoptera, teal, teals, wetlands|

On the same morning that I photographed the drake Northern Shoveler flying by at the refuge I also photographed a drake Cinnamon Teal in flight.

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Great Blue Heron In Flight Photos

By Mia McPherson|May 1st, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, banked, clouds, diffused light, dorsal aspect, flight, flying, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, high, marsh, morning, on the wing, Promontory Mountains, spread, spring, sunlight, thin, wading birds, wetlands, wings|

Today I am sharing seven Great Blue Heron in flight photos from the marsh at Bear River MBR that I took three days ago.

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Drake Northern Shoveler In Flight

By Mia McPherson|April 29th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Shovelers, Utah|Tags: breeding plumage, dabbling duck, dabbling ducks, drake, duck, ducks, flight, flying, male, marsh, Northern Shoveler, shoveler, shovelers, Spatula clypeata, wetlands|

It isn't easy to photograph some birds on the wing so I was thrilled yesterday to photograph a drake Northern Shoveler in flight.

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An Assortment Of Spring Birds From Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|April 23rd, 2021|Categories: American White Pelicans, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Clark's Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, Eared Grebes, Forster's Terns, Gadwalls, Great Blue Herons, Long-billed Curlews, Red-winged Blackbirds, Sandhill Cranes, Utah, Western Grebes, White-faced Ibises, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: adult, Aechmophorus clarkii, Aechmophorus occidentalis, Agelaius phoeniceus, Antigone canadensis, Ardea herodias, Bear River, birds, breeding plumage, Clark's Grebe, Definitive Alternate Plumage, displaying, Double-crested Cormorant, Eared Grebe, flight, flying, Forster's Tern, Gadwall, Great Blue Heron, horn, Long-billed Curlew, Mareca strepera, marsh, Mergus serrator, Nannopterum auritus, Numenius americanus, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, Plegadis chihi, Podiceps nigricollis, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-winged Blackbird, river, Sandhill Crane, spring, Sterna forsteri, Weed Ceremony, Western Grebe, wetlands, white pelican, White-faced Ibis, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, Yellow-headed Blackbird|

Today I wanted to share an assortment of spring birds all photographed at Bear River MBR yesterday on a bright and beautiful morning.

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Black-billed Magpie With Nesting Material

By Mia McPherson|March 25th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, Black-billed Magpie, desert island, flight, flying, magpie, magpies, muddy bill, nesting, nesting material, nesting season, Pica hudsonia, spring|

It is Black-billed Magpie nesting season on Antelope Island State Park and throughout their breeding range in western North America.

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It Is Red-tailed Hawk Nesting Season

By Mia McPherson|March 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, cliff, cliff face, desert, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, juniper, nest, nesting, nesting season, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, spring, Utah|

Red-tailed Hawk nesting season has started in northern Utah and I found a few pairs yesterday morning that have already gotten busy with nest building.

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Swan Day in Utah – March 13, 2021

By Mia McPherson|March 11th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flying, ice, icy, marsh, mountains, pair, Promontory Mountains, resting, sidelit, sky, swan, Swan Day, swans, Tundra Swan, waterfowl, winter|

This Saturday, March 13th, is Swan Day here in Utah. It is a day to celebrate these large, white, beautiful birds that spend time here during the winter.

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Common Raven On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|March 10th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Ravens, Utah|Tags: adult, Common Raven, corvids, Corvus corax, flight, flying, marsh, on the wing, raven, ravens, sky, wetlands, winter|

Earlier this month I had a brief opportunity to photograph a Common Raven on a gate at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on a bright, beautiful morning.

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Adult Barn Owl On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|February 17th, 2021|Categories: American Barn Owls, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, American Barn Owl, day, daylight, flats, flight, flying, marsh, nocturnal, on the wing, owl, owls, Tyto furcata, winter|

So far this winter I have only seen one Barn Owl on the wing on the 6th of January as it flew over the marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Immature Male Northern Harrier Flying Over A Wintry Marsh

By Mia McPherson|February 14th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, flight, flying, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, ice, immature, male, marsh, Northern Harrier, raptors, small in frame, snow, water, winter, wintry, young|

This immature male Northern Harrier photo shows the hawk small in the frame with wintry marsh habitat behind and below it.

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Adult Golden Eagle Close Up

By Mia McPherson|February 13th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: adult, Aquila chrysaetos, blue sky, close up, eagle, eagles, flight, fly by, flying, Golden Eagle, raptors, sky, winter|

One year ago this morning spotting and photographing this adult Golden Eagle at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge was the highlight of an otherwise crappy day.

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It’s Isn’t Too Early To Spot An American White Pelican

By Mia McPherson|February 10th, 2021|Categories: American White Pelicans, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: American White Pelican, clouds, flight, flying, immature, marsh, on the wing, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, pelican, pelicans, sky, winter|

February isn't too early in the year to spot an American White Pelican on the wing in northern Utah. In fact I expect them to start showing up right about now.

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Golden Eagle Flying Over A Hill On Antelope Island

By Mia McPherson|February 9th, 2021|Categories: American Bison, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Golden Eagles, Utah|Tags: adult, American Bison, Aquila chrysaetos, birds of prey, Bison, Bison bison, buffalo, bull, close up, clouds, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, Golden Eagle, grass, grasses, Great Salt Lake, hill, lake, male, portrait, raptors, sky, water, winter|

It has been a couple of years since I have found a Golden Eagle on Antelope Island so when I spotted an adult on a grassy hill yesterday I was excited.

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Winter Female American Kestrel Photos

By Mia McPherson|February 3rd, 2021|Categories: American Kestrels, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, Antelope Island State Park, back view, Davis County, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, female, flight, flying, kestrel, kestrels, lift off, lifting off, perched, raptors, resting, rock, rocks, stalk, Utah, winter|

Yesterday morning I was able to take female American Kestrel photos from the causeway to Antelope Island State Park twice.

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Winter Great Blue Heron In Flight

By Mia McPherson|January 31st, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, flight, flying, heron, herons, marsh, mountains, phragmites, phrags, sky, snow, wading birds, wetlands, winter|

I'm keeping it simple today and sharing a single photo of a winter Great Blue Heron in flight over the marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Adult Tundra Swan On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|January 30th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, clouds, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flying, marsh, on the wing, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, waterfowl, winter|

I've been thinking that I need to hop into my Jeep and head to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to photograph the Tundra Swans before they head north to breed and nest.

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Rufous Red-tailed Hawk Female Memories

By Mia McPherson|January 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Box Elder County, buteo, Buteo jamaicensis, cliff, cliff face, desert, female, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, resting, rufous, shrub, stretch, stretching, Utah|

This morning I wanted to share a few photos of a stunning rufous Red-tailed Hawk female that I photographed over a period of a couple of years.

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Photographing Winter Birds

By Mia McPherson|January 15th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Bald Eagles, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Canvasbacks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Pied-billed Grebes, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Coot, Anas platyrhynchos, Aythya americana, Aythya valisineria, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, Black-crowned Night Heron, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Canvasback, chase, close up, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, coot, coots, dabbling ducks, dicks, displaying, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, eagle, eagles, female, fight, fighting, first winter, flight, flying, food, frisky, Fulica americana, goldeneye, goldeneyes, grackle, grackles, Great-tailed Grackle, grebe, grebes, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, heron, herons, immature, male, mallards, marsh, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, pond, portrait, prey, Quiscalus mexicanus, raptors, Redhead, redheads, swimming, wading birds, water, waterfowl, weather loach, winter, young|

I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.

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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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First Winter Red-tailed Hawk Lift Off Photos

By Mia McPherson|January 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: bird of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, first, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, juvenile, lift off, lifting off, marsh, metal post, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, take off, taking off, Utah, winter, young|

Last month I spent twenty-eight lovely minutes photographing this first winter Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA.

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