ice shelf – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Tundra Swans And Precious Memories

By Mia McPherson|February 7th, 2024|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Anas platyrhynchos, Cygnus columbianus, dabbling ducks, duck, ducks, flight, flying, ice, ice shelf, immature, mallards, marsh, phragmites, phrags, swan, swans, Tundra Swans, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter, young|

Tundra Swans and memories are on my mind this morning. Six years ago, I sat in my Jeep watching hundreds of Tundra Swans at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Great Blue Heron Photos In Winter

By Mia McPherson|November 8th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, close up, ducks, flight, fluffed up, flying, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, hunting, ice, ice shelf, land, landing, marsh, photos, wading birds, walking, watching, wetlands, winter, winter wonderland|

If you want to take Great Blue Heron photos in winter, on snow and ice, then head to Bear River MBR in Utah after the marsh freezes and the snow starts to fall.

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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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Hen Common Merganser At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|March 1st, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Mergansers, Utah|Tags: adult, bath, bathing, Common Merganser, diving ducks, duck, ducks, female, flapping, hen, ice, ice shelf, icy, marsh, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, snow, water, wetlands, wings, winter|

Last month I photographed this hen Common Merganser in a small spot of open water next to an ice shelf at Bear River MBR. It was a very cold morning.

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Fifteen Tundra Swan Photos For Swan Day 2022

By Mia McPherson|March 11th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Cygnus columbianus, ice, ice shelf, marsh, running, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, Utah, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

This past Monday while I was enjoying the peace and solitude of the auto tour route at Bear River MBR I took hundreds of Tundra Swan photos from inside my Jeep.

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Adult Bald Eagle Resting On An Icy Wetland

By Mia McPherson|February 26th, 2022|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, eagle, eagles, frost, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, ice, ice shelf, marsh, raptors, resting, snow, water, wetlands|

Earlier this month I watched as this adult Bald Eagle flew in and landed on an ice shelf to take a rest on the wetlands of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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American Coot Entering The Icy Bear River

By Mia McPherson|February 6th, 2022|Categories: American Coots, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Coot, Bear River, coot, coots, ebter, Fulica americana, ice, ice shelf, marsh, river, splashing, water, wetlands, winter|

When I was up at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge late last week I photographed an American Coot entering the icy Bear River from the auto tour loop.

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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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Four Winter Ring-billed Gull Images

By Mia McPherson|January 17th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, calm, down, gull, gulls, ice, ice shelf, icy, Larus delawarensis, looking, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, paddling, Ring-billed Gull, standing, water, wetland, winter, year round|

Last week I was just as excited to take Ring-billed Gull images as I was to take photos of a delightful Horned Grebe on the marsh at Bear River MBR.

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More Horned Grebe Photos From Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|January 14th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Horned Grebes, Utah|Tags: adult, calm, dive, diving, edge, grebe, grebes, Horned Grebe, ice, ice shelf, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, open, Podiceps auritus, splashing, surfacing, swimming, water, waterbirds, wetland, winter|

While I was at Bear River MBR on Tuesday I found and photographed the Horned Grebe that I have been seeing at the refuge since the second day of the New Year.

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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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Photographing A Herring Gull In Thick Fog At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|January 29th, 2020|Categories: American Herring Gulls, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Herring Gull, Bear River, fog, foggy, gull, gulls, heavy fog, ice, ice shelf, Larus smithsonianus, low light, nonbreeding plumage, photographing, riverbank, shoreline, snow, thick fog, water, winter|

After reviewing the images I took of the gull at home on a larger screen I was happy to see that it was a Herring Gull, gulls we only see in the winter here.

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