herons – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Young Great Blue Heron In Front Of The Promontory Mountains

By Mia McPherson|March 14th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, flight, flying, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, immature, marsh, mountains, Promontory Mountains, small in frame, snow, wading birds, wetlands, winter, young|

I liked this image of an immature Great Blue Heron flying in front of the snow covered Promontory Mountains even though the heron is small in the frame.

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Northern Utah Winter Waterfowl Photo

By Mia McPherson|February 27th, 2022|Categories: American Wigeons, Birds, Canada Geese, Great Blue Herons, Mallards|Tags: American Wigeon, Anas platyrhynchos, Ardea herodias, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, dabbling ducks, desert, duck, ducks, fog, frost, geese, goose, grasses, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, hoar frost, Mallard, mallards, Mareca americana, mist, pond, ranchlands, snow, steam fog, water, waterfowl, wigeon, wigeons, winter|

The photo I liked the most from yesterday was of winter waterfowl on a small pond with mist rising from the water and hoar frost covering the vegetation.

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Great Blue Heron On The Bear River

By Mia McPherson|February 23rd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, bank, Bear River, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, ice, marsh, phragmites, phrags, river bank, shore, vegetation, wading birds, warming up, water, wetlands, winter|

On my last trip up to Bear River MBR when I found a Great Blue Heron warming up on the bank of the Bear River I considered not taking any images of it.

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Great Blue Herons At The Farmington Bay Rookery

By Mia McPherson|February 18th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, breeding season, flight, flying, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, marsh, mating season, nest, nest building, nesting, nesting season, nests, perched, pole, rookery, sky, wading birds, wetlands, winter, wooden pole|

The breeding season has begun for the Great Blue Herons at the Farmington Bay rookery and throughout northern Utah.

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Winter Great Blue Heron Images

By Mia McPherson|February 9th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, canal, cattails, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, ice, icy, marsh, morning, phragmites, phrags, resting, snow, standing, vegetation, wading birds, warming up, water, winter|

While I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago I was able to take quite a few Great Blue Heron images of four individual herons in the marsh.

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Great Blue Heron In Fog On The Playa At Farmington Bay

By Mia McPherson|January 20th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, fog, foggy, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, marsh, morning light, playa, resting, wading birds, wetlands, winter|

On my last trip to Farmington Bay WMA ten days ago one of my birdy subjects was an adult Great Blue Heron in a light fog out on the playa in morning light.

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Winter Great Blue Heron Photos From Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|January 7th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, clouds, frost, frosty, frozen, Great Blue Heron, gulls, habitat, heron, herons, ice, ice shelf, lift off, lifting off, marsh, mountains, reflection, sky, slowly, take off, taking off, wading birds, walking, water, wetlands, winter|

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge can be a great location to take winter Great Blue Heron photos out on the frozen marshes and wetlands during January.

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Christmas Day Birds 2021

By Mia McPherson|December 26th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Birds, California Gulls, Common Goldeneyes, Great Blue Herons, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Rough-legged Hawks|Tags: adult, American Coot, Anas platyrhynchos, Ardea herodias, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Buteo lagopus, California Gull, calling, Christmas, Christmas Day, close up, Common Goldeneye, coot, coots, crawdad, crayfish, dabbling ducks, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, eating, female, first winter, flight, flying, foraging, Fulica americana, goldeneye, goldeneyes, grackle, grackles, grass, gray sky, Great Blue Heron, Great-tailed Grackle, gull, gulls, hawk, hawks, heron, herons, hovering, Icterids, immature, Larus californicus, low light, male, Mallard, mallards, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, open bill, pond, portrait, Quiscalus mexicanus, rails, Rough-legged Hawk, splashing, urban, wading birds, water, water droplets, wetlands, winter, young|

I did get out to find and photograph birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA and then later in the morning I found more closer to home.

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Christmas Day Bird Photos Through the Years

By Mia McPherson|December 25th, 2021|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, Common Merganser, diving ducks, duck ducks, eagle, eagles, flight, flying, foggy, four year old, Great Blue Heron, haks, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, heron, herons, immature, marsh, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, perched, post, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, snow, snow storm, subadult, tree, water, wetlands, winter, young|

These are all birds I have photographed on Christmas Day through the years and all of them were photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Great Blue Heron Photos Taken on The Winter Solstice

By Mia McPherson|December 22nd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, chest, driftwood, feathers, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, icy, landing, perched, river, riverbank, snag, snow, Solstice, Utah, wading birds, wetlands, winter|

To my delight I was able to take Great Blue Heron photos yesterday on the Winter Solstice that I found on the banks of the Bear River at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Well Crap – Another Cloudy Day

By Mia McPherson|October 27th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, autumn, cloudy, crap, crapping, defecating, fall, field, flats, Great Blue Heron, hatch year, heron, herons, immature, juvenile, marsh, pooping, refuge, wading birds, weather, wetlands, young|

I selected this hatch year Great Blue Heron photo to share today because it showed the young bird taking a crap on the flats of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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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.

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Immature Black-crowned Night Heron In Marsh Habitat

By Mia McPherson|September 28th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: autumn, Black-crowned Night Heron, camouflage, fall, heron, herons, immature, juvenile, marsh, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, phragmites, phrags, prey, water, wetlands, young|

Nearly hidden in the marsh vegetation was an immature Black-crowned Night Heron perched on some phrags at the edge of the water.

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Great Blue Heron In The High Country

By Mia McPherson|August 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Great Blue Herons, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, air quality, Ardea herodias, canyon, creek, fire, grasses, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, mountains, rain, smoke, stream, summer, wading birds, water, wind|

It has been a week now since I photographed this Great Blue Heron and have been able to get out into the field because of smoke, wind, fire, and rain.

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Great Blue Heron and Mountain Goldenbanner

By Mia McPherson|June 2nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Great Blue Herons, Morgan County, Small in the frame, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, blooming, blooms, canyon, Filamentous algae, flowering, grasses, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, Mountain Goldenbanner, mountain meadow, Mountain Thermopsis, mountains, pond, spring, Thermopsis montana, wading birds, water, wildflowers, willows, yellow wildflowers|

Yesterday I wrote about a Golden Eagle in the Wasatch Mountains. Today I am writing about "golden" again. Blooming Mountain Goldenbanner and a Great Blue Heron.

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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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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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Great Blue Heron Foraging In A Farm Pond

By Mia McPherson|April 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, farm pond, foraging, golden light, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, sun rise, sunrise, wading birds, water|

Two days ago the second bird I photographed was a Great Blue Heron foraging in a farm pond just after sunrise in Box Elder County.

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Spring Great Blue Heron Photos

By Mia McPherson|April 17th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, celebrate, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, marsh, marshes, river, spring, survival, wading, wading birds, wetlands, winter|

The first Great Blue Heron was quietly wading through the water in search of prey and the second heron was looking at something in the distance.

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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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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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Immature Great Blue Heron On Ice

By Mia McPherson|January 9th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, first winter, fluffy, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, ice, immature, landing, marsh, rest, resting, wading birds, walking, winter, young|

Three days ago I photographed an immature Great Blue Heron on ice from the auto tour route at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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2020 Photographic Year In Review

By Mia McPherson|December 31st, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Bushtits, Common Loons, Cooper’s Hawks, Desert Tarantulas, Eastern Kingbirds, Elk, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ferruginous Hawks, Golden Eagles, Gray Catbirds, Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Green-tailed Towhees, Merlins, Mountain Bluebirds, Nashville Warblers, Northern Harriers, Pine Siskins, Red Foxes, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red-tailed Hawks, Ring-billed Gulls, Rusty Blackbirds, Short-eared Owls, Townsend's Solitaires, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, West Desert, Wild Turkeys, Wildflowers, Yellow Warblers|Tags: 5.7 earthquake, blackbirds, bluebirds, catbirds, coronavirus, eagles, Elk, fox, ground squirrels, gulls, harriers, hawks, herons, hummingbirds, kingbirds, loons, Merlin, owls, rare birds, red tailed hawks, siskins, tarantula, towhees, turkeys, uncommon, wablers, year in review|

This is my 2020 photographic year in review. I'm selecting some of my favorite photos from 2020 and a few that just make me happy to see them.

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Second Winter Black-crowned Night Heron

By Mia McPherson|December 30th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, Black-crowned Night Heron, first winter, heron, herons, immature, juvenile, marsh, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, Second Basic Plumage, Second Prebasic Molt, second winter, snow, snowy, sub-adult, wading birds, winter, young|

Yesterday morning at Farmington Bay I found and photographed a second winter Black-crowned Night Heron at the edge of the frozen marsh.

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Immature Great Blue Heron On Christmas Day

By Mia McPherson|December 28th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, Christmas Day, close up, field, first winter, foraging, grass, grasses, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, immature, portrait, rookery, wading birds, winter, young|

One of my Christmas Day gifts from Mother Nature was the chance to photograph an immature Great Blue Heron in a field.

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Five Bird Photos From Christmas Day 2020

By Mia McPherson|December 26th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, Ardea herodias, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Christmas Day, close up, eagle, eales, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, field, first winter, Great Blue Heron, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, heron, herons, immature, lift off, lifting off, male, marsh, mountains, perched, pole, portrait, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, take off, taking off, tree, wading birds, wooden post, young|

Much to my delight I was able to photograph some birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.

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Great Blue Heron Resting On A Goose Nest

By Mia McPherson|December 22nd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, common, goose nest, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, human made, ice, man made, marsh, nest, resting, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter|

When I found this Great Blue Heron resting on a man made goose nest yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA I knew I wanted to photograph it.

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Still Life – Great Blue Heron And Its Reflection

By Mia McPherson|December 14th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, frost, frozen, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, ice, marsh, reflections, shore, still life, vegetation, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter|

Great Blue Herons are very patient hunters and there are times when they are hunting that they move so slowly that it is barely perceptible.

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Photographing An Immature Great Blue Heron At Farmington Bay

By Mia McPherson|November 19th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, bank, foraging, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, immature, looking, marsh, mud, overhead, photographing, rocks, shore, sky, wading birds, water, young|

Three days ago I spotted an immature Great Blue Heron resting at the edge of the water at Farmington Bay WMA and couldn't resist taking photos of it.

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Great Blue Herons Aren’t Really Blue – So What’s Up With Their Name?

By Mia McPherson|November 10th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, bird identification, bird names, flight, flying, frozen, Great Blue Heron, habitat, heron, herons, ice, marsh, marsh habitat, mountains, resting, sky, snow, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter|

The name "Great Blue Heron" has always seemed off to me because these large herons are much more gray than they are blue.

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