Jordan River – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Show Your Love – Don’t Let Balloons Go

By Mia McPherson|February 14th, 2024|Categories: Conservation, Environment, Miscellaneous, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: balloon, balloons, bird dangers, danger, dangerous, entanglement, hazard, hazardous, ingest, Jordan River, mylar balloons, shrubs, strings, tangled, urban, wildlife dangers, winter|

Last Sunday I went to some local spots to look for birds. As I was driving, I saw four mylar balloons stuck in some shrubs near the Jordan River. My heart sank.

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Water Wolf In Utah

By Mia McPherson|November 18th, 2022|Categories: Miscellaneous, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: autumn, fall, imagination, Jordan River, Jordan River Parkway Trail, Jordan River Trail, pareidolia, rapids, Utah Legislature, video, water, wolf, wolves|

On the 10th of November while I was walking the Jordan River I went close to the river to take a few photos of the rapids and caught a water wolf in one frame.

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Golden Cottonwood Leaf On Fresh Snow

By Mia McPherson|November 11th, 2022|Categories: Eastern Cottonwood, Salt Lake County, Trees, Utah|Tags: autumn, Cottonwood, cottonwoods, Eastern Cottonwood, fall, fresh, golden, ground, Jordan River, Jordan River Parkway Trail, Jordan River Trail, leaf, leaves, native, Populus deltoides, skiff, snow, tree, tress, urban|

Yesterday morning I had planned on walking along the Jordan River after the sun came up and when I saw that there was fresh snow on the ground I was even more excited.

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Jordan River Mallard Drake

By Mia McPherson|October 20th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Mallards, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Anas platyrhynchos, autumn, drake, duck, ducks, fall, Jordan River, Jordan River Parkway Trail, Jordan River Trail, low light, male, Mallard, river, urban, water, waterfowl|

I took this low light Mallard drake photo yesterday while I walked along the Jordan River in the chill of the early morning.

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Juvenile Green-tailed and Spotted Towhee Side By Side

By Mia McPherson|July 10th, 2022|Categories: Bird ID, Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Morgan County, Salt Lake County, Spotted Towhees, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, canyon, chick, comparison, fence post, fledgling, Green-tailed Towhee, immature, Jordan River, juvenile, lichens, low light, male, mountains, perched, Pipilo chlorurus, Pipilo maculatus, riparian habitat, river, snow, sparrow, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, spring, summer, towhee, towhees, urban, willows, winter, wooden post, young|

Until two days ago I had never gotten photos of a juvenile Green-tailed and young Spotted Towhee in the same frame so I was thrilled when I saw them fly in.

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Focusing On Yellow-rumped Warblers During Fall Migration

By Mia McPherson|September 25th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah, Yellow-rumped Warblers|Tags: autumn, fall, Jordan River, migrating, migration, Setophaga coronata, snag, tree, warbler, warblers, wood-warblers, Yellow-rumped Warbler|

Yesterday afternoon I spent thirty-one minutes photographing migrating Yellow-rumped Warblers close to home and those warblers kept me on my toes.

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Christmas Morning Snowfall

By Mia McPherson|December 25th, 2019|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Jordan River Parkway Trail, Peregrine Falcons, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: branches, Falco peregrinus, holiday wishes, Jordan River, Merry Christmas, Peregrine Falcon, river, rock, snow, snowy, tree, water, white christmas|

It is still dark here in northern Utah but I can tell there is some fresh snow on the ground so I guess that makes this a white Christmas even if the white stuff melts before the sun comes up over the mountains.

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Canada Geese On A Snowy Day Much Like This Morning

By Mia McPherson|February 6th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Geese, Canada Goose, geese, goose, Jordan River, low light, mates, pair, snow, snow storm, snowy, urban, winter|

This pair of Canada Geese were photographed last winter near the Jordan River close to where I live at the tail end of a storm similar to the storm occurring right now.

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Drake Common Goldeneye Flapping His Wings On The Jordan River

By Mia McPherson|February 2nd, 2019|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Jordan River Parkway Trail, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Common Goldeneye, diving duck, drake, duck, ducks, goldeneye, goldeneyes, Jordan River, male, rapids, river, rocks, urban, waterfowl, wing flapping, winter|

During the winter I'm able to see some of the ducks that I don't see during the breeding season here in northern Utah on the Jordan River including Common Goldeneyes.

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Male Belted Kingfisher near the Jordan River

By Mia McPherson|June 9th, 2017|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: Belted Kingfisher, branch, Jordan River, kingfisher, kingfishers, male, Megaceryle alcyon, perched|

I photographed this male Belted Kingfisher last month as it perched on a thin branch at a small pond close to the Jordan River in Salt Lake County, Utah.

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Male Common Goldeneye in Breeding Plumage on the Jordan River

By Mia McPherson|December 16th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Jordan River Parkway Trail, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Common Goldeneye, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, goldeneye, goldeneyes, Jordan River, low light, male, rapids, river, take off, urban, winter|

I photographed this male Common Goldeneye in breeding plumage on the Jordan River in Salt Lake County, Utah in low light on a cold morning.

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Female Belted Kingfisher and Her Rattling Call

By Mia McPherson|February 24th, 2016|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Belted Kingfisher, branches, call, female, fishing, Jordan River, kingfisher, kingfishers, Megaceryle alcyon, perched, pond, sky, territory, trees|

Yesterday I had my first opportunity to photograph a nearby female Belted Kingfisher in Salt Lake County, Utah and I had fun getting to know her.

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