hawk – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

I had wanted to post this photo of a juvenile Swainson's Hawk last week from Montana but because my cell signal was so cruddy I didn't get this image uploaded.

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Swainson’s Hawk Juvenile Jumping To A New Perch

By Mia McPherson|September 14th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: alula, alulae, bastard wing, birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, hawk, hawks, immature, jumping, juvenile, perch, power pole, raptors, Swainson's Hawk, young|

I photographed a Swainson's Hawk family for several mornings while I was in Montana and this is one of the juveniles I focused on.

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A Swainson’s Hawk missed prey hand off

By Mia McPherson|September 11th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, handoff, hawk, hawks, prey, raptors, Swainson's Hawk|

I sat with some juvenile Swainson's Hawks yesterday morning for quite some time and it eventually paid off when an adult came in to hand off prey but the young hawk missed.

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Centennial Valley Swainson’s Hawk

By Mia McPherson|September 9th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Montana, lift off, light morph, perched, raptors, Swainson's Hawk|

I am enjoying my time in the Centennial Valley especially when I can spend time photographing raptors like this adult light morph Swainson's Hawk.

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Rough-legged Hawk and thoughts about the upcoming winter

By Mia McPherson|August 30th, 2015|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Buteo lagopus, El Niño, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lift off, light morph, male, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, speed limit, winter|

I came across this image of a male Rough-legged Hawk taken this past February and it caused me to wonder what this upcoming winter will be like.

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Red-tailed Hawks Near The Promontory Mountains

By Mia McPherson|August 12th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, close up, desert, hawk, hawks, lichen, portrait, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sub-adult, summer|

Yesterday I spent the morning in Box Elder County driving along the Promontory Mountain Range and Red-tailed Hawks were the most numerous raptors I saw.

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Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk on a bale of hay

By Mia McPherson|August 11th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: bale, bird photography, birds of prey, buteo, Buteo swainsoni, hawk, hawks, hay, immature, juvenile, raptors, Swainson's Hawk, young|

I created this juvenile Swainson's Hawk image two days ago before the sun rose over the mountains and I liked how it turned out despite the low light.

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West Desert Wanderings – Thrashers and Hawks

By Mia McPherson|July 22nd, 2015|Categories: Birds, Red-tailed Hawks, Sage Thrashers, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, birds of prey, desert, hawk, hawks, immature, juniper, juvenile, Oreoscoptes montanus, prey, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, Sage Thrasher, thrasher, thrashers, west desert|

I went wandering in the West Desert of Utah yesterday because the views are always great and because I hoped to find a few birds.

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Pair of Swainson’s Hawks in Beaverhead County, Montana

By Mia McPherson|July 4th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, Buteos, female, hawk, hawks, male, pair, perched, raptors, scratching, summer, Swainson's Hawk, valley|

I am itching to get back out in the field with Swainson's Hawks partly because they are handsome raptors and partly because by now there might be some young that have fledged.

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Swainson’s Hawk in Box Elder County

By Mia McPherson|June 30th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, attack, birds of prey, boulder, Buteo swainsoni, Buteos, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, lichen, lift off, mimids, Mimus polyglottos, molt, molting, Northern Mockingbird, perched, raptors, sage, sagebrush, Swainson's Hawk|

I am always happy to photograph Swainson's Hawks no matter where I find them so I was pleased to find this one perched on a lichen covered rock yesterday in Box Elder County, Utah.

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Happy Father’s Day 2015

By Mia McPherson|June 21st, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, hawk, hawks, male, perched, raptor, raptors, Swainson's Hawk|

To all the wonderful, deserving Dad's out there I'd like to wish you a Happy Father's Day!

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Red-tailed Hawk just after lift off

By Mia McPherson|June 20th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Red-tailed Hawks|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, lift off, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, Western Red-tailed hawk|

This Red-tailed Hawk image was taken last week in the Centennial Valley of Montana just after the hawk lifted off from a power pole.

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A Wet and Bedraggled Swainson’s Hawk

By Mia McPherson|June 11th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: adult, bedraggled, bird photography, birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, fence post, hawk, hawks, low light, rain, raptors, Swainson's Hawk, wet|

It was rainy yesterday evening in southwestern Montana and eastern Idaho but that didn't stop me from getting this image of a wet and bedraggled Swainson's Hawk in the Centennial Valley.

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Mating Swainson’s Hawks in Beaverhead County

By Mia McPherson|May 6th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, copulating, hawk, hawks, mating, raptors, Swainson's Hawk|

Three days ago I felt fortunate to come across a mated pair of Swainson's Hawks in Beaverhead County, Montana, the male was an intermediate morph and the female was a light morph.

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West Desert Medley Of Birds

By Mia McPherson|April 22nd, 2015|Categories: Birds, Cassin's Finches, Chipping Sparrows, Horned Larks, Red-tailed Hawks, Say's Phoebes, Spotted Towhees, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: bird photography, Buteo jamaicensis, Cassin's Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Eremophila alpestris, finch, finches, Haemorhous cassinii, hawk, hawks, Horned Lark, lark, larks, phobes, phoebe, Pipilo maculatus, Red-tailed Hawk, Say's Phoebe, Sayornis saya, sparows, sparrow, Spizella passerina, Spotted Towhee, towhee, towhees|

Yesterday was a delight in the West Desert because there were plentiful birds to photograph including this male Spotted Towhee singing on its territory.

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Return of the Swainson’s Hawks

By Mia McPherson|April 8th, 2015|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: adult, bird photography, birds of prey, buteo, Buteo swainsoni, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Montana, juvenile, migration, sub-adult, Swainson's Hawk|

Last week I saw my first of the season Swainson's Hawk not too far from the visitor's center at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge and that got me excited.

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Red-shouldered Hawk at Myakka River State Park, Florida

By Mia McPherson|March 24th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Florida, Myakka River State Park, Red-shouldered Hawks, Sarasota County|Tags: adult, birds of prey, branch, Buteo lineatus, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Florida, lift off, perched, raptors, Red-shouldered Hawk, sky, swamp, tree, winter|

In January of 2009 I went to Myakka River State Park with three of my bird photography friends and the raptor highlight of the day was this Red-shouldered Hawk.

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Northern Harriers On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|February 20th, 2015|Categories: Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: bird photography, birds of prey, facial discs, flight, flying, Gray Ghosts, habitat, harrier, harriers, hawk, Hawks of Utah, marsh, Marsh hawk, marshy, Northern Harrier, owl-like, snow, Wasatch Range, winter|

Male Northern Harriers, also called Gray Ghosts, are especially delightful to my eye when their plumage contrasts with soft bluebird skies that have just a touch of habitat in them

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Red-shouldered Hawk Surveying Fort De Soto’s North Beach

By Mia McPherson|February 5th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Red-shouldered Hawks|Tags: adult, birds of prey, blue sky, Buteo lineatus, Buteos, coast, coastal, Gulf of Mexico, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Florida, north beach, perched, raptors, Red-shouldered Hawk, resting, snag, surveying, tree|

This Red-shouldered Hawk was just a few feet away from a tidal lagoon and just yards away from the Gulf when I photographed it in November of 2008.

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Raising my glass to 2015!

By Mia McPherson|January 1st, 2015|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Beaverhead County, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Centennial Valley, Clark County, Davis County, House Wrens, Idaho, Montana, Moose, Swainson's Hawks, Targhee National Forest, Utah|Tags: Alces alces, bird photography, Black-billed Magpie, Buteo swainsoni, Buteos, calf, close up, flight, flying, grasses, hawk, hawks, House Wren, immature, juvenile, magpie, magpies, Moose, Pica hudsonia, portrait, raptors, road, running, Swainson's Hawk, Troglodytes aedon, wildlife photography, wren, wrens|

Raising the glass attached to my camera that is! I'm excited about the photographic opportunities that will present themselves in 2015.

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Perched Red-tailed Hawk in a snow storm

By Mia McPherson|December 26th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, hawk, hawks, low light, raptors, red tailed hawks, Red-tailed Hawk, snow, snow storm, winter|

This beautiful rufous Red-tailed Hawk has been hanging around Farmington Bay for a couple of months now much to the delight of many photographers and myself.

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Christmas Day snow storm and a Red-tailed Hawk

By Mia McPherson|December 25th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Christmas, Davis County, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, snow, snow storm|

I'm glad the hawk wasn't any closer or I would have missed out on exactly this image that I will always remember was created on this Christmas Day.

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Rough-legged Hawk on a gray day

By Mia McPherson|December 13th, 2014|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, flight, flying, gray day, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, winter, young|

The day in 2011 when I photographed this Rough-legged Hawk was gray but it didn't really bother me to capture this handsome bird in low light.

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Happy Thanksgiving

By Mia McPherson|November 27th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: bird photography, birds of prey, Davis County, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, raptors, snow|

This year has been zipping by so quickly and it is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already here and I really have so much to be grateful for.

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Red-tailed Hawk juvenile in flight in low light

By Mia McPherson|November 21st, 2014|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Hawks, Eagles, Ospreys and Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: bird photography, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, flight, flying, fog, hawk, hawks, high key, immature, juvenile, low light, Red-tailed Hawk, snow|

I could not resist photographing the young Red-tailed Hawk though as it lifted off and flew in front of me after prey even though conditions were not ideal.

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Juvenile Northern Harrier in flight

By Mia McPherson|November 12th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, clouds, dive-bombed, female, flight, flying, harrier, harriers, harsh winter, hawk, hawks, immature, juvenile, Marsh hawk, marshes, Northern Harrier, raptor, sky, survival rate, vole population|

Northern Harriers are year round residents in Utah and I am encouraged by the numbers of them I have seen lately at Farmington Bay WMA.

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