lifting – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

West Desert Dark Morph Ferruginous Hawk

By Mia McPherson|November 21st, 2022|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, autumn, Buteo regalis, Buteos, clouds, conifers, dark morph, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, foot, foothills, hawk, hawks, lifting, mountain, mountains, peak, raptors, rocks, sky island mountains, snow, trees, wooden post|

Nearly three years have passed since I found, pointed out, and photographed this stunning dark morph Ferruginous Hawk in the West Desert of Utah.

Male Black-chinned Hummingbird In Low Light

By Mia McPherson|June 2nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Archilochus alexandri, Black-chinned Hummingbird, canyon, head, hummingbird, hummingbirds, jumping, lifting, male, mountains, perched, purple, resting, riparian habitat, spring, stretching, thicket, tilting, wing, wings|

Yesterday morning I had a blast photographing a male Black-chinned Hummingbird high in the Wasatch Mountains even though the light was horrible.

Bathing Beauty… er… California Gull

By Mia McPherson|June 5th, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, California Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, bath, bathing, breeding plumage, California Gull, desert island, drinking, flutter, goofy, gull, gulls, Larus californicus, lifting, puddle, shaking, water|

Okay, I admit it. I think gulls are beautiful and this California Gull sure looked that way bathing! Look at those bright white feathers, the dark sparkling eyes rimmed in red, the darker contrasting gray feathers, the color and shape of the bill. What's not to like about that?