lifting off – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Blizzards Of Snow Geese Now At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge

By Mia McPherson|November 29th, 2024|Categories: Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Snow Geese|Tags: Anser caerulescens, autumn, blasting off, blizzard, Blue Geese, blue morph, bottomlands, dark morph, early morning, fall, field, flight, flock, flying, front, gaggle, geese, goose, hatch year, immature, lifting off, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Sequoyah NWR, sky, Snow Geese, Snow Goose, taking off, trees, waterfowl, white morph, young|

Blizzards of Snow Geese have arrived at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge! I’m so excited about all of the Snow Geese that I can barely contain myself. Wow!

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Fall Red-breasted Nuthatch Images From Arkansas

By Mia McPherson|October 22nd, 2024|Categories: Arkansas, Birds, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Sebastian County|Tags: adult, Arkansas, autumn, bird bath, birdbath, fall, garden, landing, lifting off, nuthatch, nuthatches, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sebastian County, Sitta canadensis, suburban, taking off, water, water droplets, yard|

A little over a week ago I said I was hopeful about taking Red-breasted Nuthatch photos in Arkansas. I have and these photos are from yesterday at the birdbath!

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Fun Drake Mallard At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|January 4th, 2024|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Mallards, Utah|Tags: adult, Anas platyrhynchos, Bear River MBR, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, breeding plumage, dabbling duck, drake, ducks, flight, flying, ice, lifting off, male, Mallard, mallards, marsh, New Year's Day, taking off, Utah, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

On New Year's Day morning, I had fun photographing a drake Mallard from the auto tour loop of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge as he lifted off from the marsh.

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Murmuration Of European Starlings On The Wing

By Mia McPherson|December 16th, 2023|Categories: Birds, European Starlings, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: autumn, bank, blasting off, constellation, edge, European Starling, fall, flight, flock, flying, lifting off, Murmuration, murmurations, on the wing, park, pond, shore, sky, starling, starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, taking off, trees, urban, water|

I wasn't the only person who noticed the huge murmuration of European Starlings at my local pond yesterday morning; other people stopped and admired them too.

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California Gull In Winter Plumage

By Mia McPherson|December 8th, 2023|Categories: Birds, California Gulls, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, California Gull, Definitive Basic Plumage, fall, flight, gull, gulls, Larus californicus, lifting off, nonbreeding plumage, park, pond, taking, taking off, urban, water, winter plumage|

While I was at my local pond three days ago, I was happy to photograph this California Gull in winter plumage that had just landed on the water.

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Dark Morph Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|November 24th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, dark morph, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, foothills, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lifting off, mountains, perched, raptors, sky island mountains, taking off|

Four years ago today, I found this gorgeous dark morph Ferruginous Hawk perched on a juniper fence post in the West Desert. I spotted it from about a mile away.

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Osprey Lifting Off After Missing Prey

By Mia McPherson|April 29th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Ospreys, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, dive, flight, flying, lift off, lifting off, Osprey, ospreys, Pandion haliaetus, park, pond, raptors, spring, take off, taking off, unsuccessful, urban, water|

I had great fun photographing this Osprey lifting off from an unsuccessful dive for prey two days ago. It was definitely a challenge and I will explain why.

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Immature Ferruginous Hawk In December

By Mia McPherson|December 23rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, clouds, desert, eyes, fall, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, foothills, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, lifting off, light morph, raptors, sky, taking off, young|

I was overjoyed to see an immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk in my viewfinder four years ago in December while I was out in Utah's West Desert.

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My First Of Season Common Goldeneye

By Mia McPherson|November 12th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: autumn, Bear River, Bucephala clangula, Common Goldeneye, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, fall, first of season, lifting off, male, pond, preening, river, taking off, urban, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

I found my first of season Common Goldeneye near a stand of rushes while walking around a local pond after a light skiff of snow had fallen overnight.

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Desert Red-tailed Hawk Photos

By Mia McPherson|October 28th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, autumn, Big Sagebrush, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Celtis reticulata, cliff, cliff face, dark morph, desert, dwelling, fall, hackberries, hackberry, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, leaves, lichen, lift off, lifting off, metal post, Netleaf Hackberry, perched, preparing, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, rocks, sage, sagebrush, sky, stony eyed, take off, taking off, Utah, young|

While I was up in far northern Utah looking for birds last week, I took quite a few Red-tailed Hawk photos. I shared one image a few days ago and here are a few more.

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Cinnamon Teal Hen Lift Off Images

By Mia McPherson|April 7th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Cinnamon Teals, Utah|Tags: adult, Cinnamon Teal, dabbling ducks, duck, female, hen, lift off, lifting off, marsh, Spatula cyanoptera, spring, take off, taking off, teal, teals, water, wetlands|

I felt delighted to be able to take a series of this Cinnamon Teal hen lifting off from the marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning.

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Drake Northern Pintail Lift Off Images

By Mia McPherson|March 8th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Northern Pintails, Utah, Video|Tags: adult, Anas acuta, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, dabbling ducks, drake, ducks, female, flight, flock, flying, hen, lift off, lifting off, male, marsh, mountains, Northern Pintail, pintail, pintails, sky, snow, take off, taking off, Utah, video, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

I drove up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning and came home with some drake Northern Pintail lift off images that I am pleased with.

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Trumpeter Swan Photos From Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|February 21st, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Bird ID, Birds, Box Elder County, Trumpeter Swans, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, back view, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, calling, Cygnus buccinator, Cygnus columbianus, ice, lift off, lifting off, marsh, phragmites, phrags, swan, swans, take off, taking off, Trumpeter Swan, Tundra Swan, Utah, vegetation, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

When I was at Bear River MBR two days ago I was excited to be able to take a nice series of Trumpeter Swan photos on the west side of the auto tour loop.

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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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Female Hooded Merganser Lifting Off From The Bear River

By Mia McPherson|December 10th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Hooded Mergansers, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Bear River, close, diving ducks, duck, ducks, fall, female, Glover Pond, hen, Hooded Merganser, ice, lift off, lifting off, Lophodytes cucullatus, merganser, mergansers, pond, river, running, take off, taking off, water, waterfowl, wetlands|

I spotted a single female Hooded Merganser on the Bear River two days ago and photographed her as she ran on top of the water to lift off.

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Adult Female Northern Harrier Lifting Off From A Tumbleweed

By Mia McPherson|November 23rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, Davis County, fall, Farmington Bay WMA, female, flats, flight, flying, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, hen, lift off, lifting off, marsh, Northern Harrier, raptors, resting, take off, taking off, tumbleweed, Utah, wetlands|

When I spotted this adult female Northern Harrier resting on a tumbleweed yesterday morning it took a few moments for me to point her out.

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Dark Morph Red-tailed Hawk Lifting Off With Prey

By Mia McPherson|November 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, dark morph, desert, fall, flight, flying, grass, grasses, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lift off, lifting off, mammal, prey, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, rocks, sky, take off, taking off|

Yesterday morning I spotted this dark morph Red-tailed Hawk high on a cliff and I was able to photograph him as he lifted off with prey in his talons.

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Three Canada Geese On An Autumn Morning

By Mia McPherson|November 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, fall, flight, flying, geese, Glover Pond, goose, grass, grasses, lift off, lifting off, pond, take off, taking off, teasels, water, waterfowl, wetlands|

Last week I photographed three Canada Geese lifting off from Glover Pond at Farmington Bay and it brought memories from November of 2008.

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Immature Light Morph Ferruginous Hawk

By Mia McPherson|September 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks|Tags: Buteo regalis, Buteos, desert, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, ground, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, lift off, lifting off, light morph, looking, prey, raptors, summer, sunflowers, take off, taking off, Tooele County, Utah, west desert, wooden post, young|

Yesterday on the last full day of summer I found a couple of hawks in the West Desert including this immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk.

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Snowy Egret Photos – Farmington Bay Opening Day

By Mia McPherson|September 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, behavior, chasing, Covid, dashing, defensive, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, fight, fighting, flight, flying, hair style, head on, landing, lift off, lifting off, marsh, Snowy Egret, summer, take off, taking off, tip toe, tiptoe, wading birds, water, wetlands, wing tip, wingtip, wooden pole|

Yesterday was kind of an opening day at Farmington Bay and the Snowy Egret show was the highlight of the day.

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Soothing Sounds of Birds From My Living Room Window

By Mia McPherson|September 6th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Black-capped Chickadees, Canada Geese, Capitol Reef National Park, Downy Woodpeckers, Morgan County, Utah, Wayne County|Tags: adult, autumn, ballet, Black-capped Chickadee, branch, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, canyon, chickadee, chickadees, Downy Woodpecker, Dryobates pubescens, fall, forest edge, geese, goose, lift off, lifting off, male, mountains, perched, Poecile atricapillus, pond, take off, taking off, urban, waterfowl, winter, woodpecker, woodpeckers|

I like having my windows open so I can hear the sounds of birds when I can't be in the field. It helps me to hear them especially when the world is so crazy.

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Vesper Sparrow Lifting Off

By Mia McPherson|July 31st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Vesper Sparrows|Tags: adult, desert, Fragrant Sumac, freshwater seep, lift off, lifting off, Poocetes gramineus, Rhus aromatica, seep, sky, smoky, sparrow, sparrows, sumac, summer, take off, taking off, Vesper Sparrow|

While looking through my archives yesterday I came across this image of a Vesper Sparrow I photographed last September near a freshwater seep in Box Elder County.

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Goofy Looking Canada Goose Lift Off

By Mia McPherson|July 21st, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Canada Geese, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, flight, flying, funny, geese, goofy, goose, lift off, lifting off, marsh, phragmites, phrags, spring, take off, taking off, water, wetlands|

Some of the bird photos I take make me laugh and this goofy looking Canada Goose lifting off from the marsh at Bear River MBR is one of them.

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Say’s Phoebe In Sage

By Mia McPherson|June 11th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Say's Phoebes, Utah|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, Big Sagebrush, desert, eponymous common names, flycatcher, flycatchers, honorific common names, lift off, lifting off, perched, phoebe, phoebes, precariously, sage, sagebrush, Say's Phoebe, Sayornis saya, spring, take off, taking off, tyrant flycatchers|

I think Rufous-bellied Phoebe would be a great name instead of Say's Phoebe, with or without the hyphen. It is certainly more descriptive.

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Subadult Peregrine Falcon

By Mia McPherson|May 24th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Peregrine Falcons, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult plumage, birds of prey, calling, desert, Falco peregrinus, falcon, falcons, fence post, First Spring, flight, flying, foothills, immature, juvenal plumage, lift off, lifting off, molt, molting, Peregrine Falcon, raptors, second year bird, sky, spring, sub-adult, subadult, take off, taking off, wooden post, young|

Last week before I found the Rock Wren I wrote about I also found a subadult Peregrine Falcon perched on a wooden post in the West Desert.

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West Desert Male Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|March 3rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, alert, birds of prey, boulder, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, fence post, flight, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lichen, lift off, lifting off, male, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, take off, wooden post|

Yesterday morning was clear, bright, chilly, and I spent ten minutes photographing an adult male Rough-legged Hawk that I found in the West Desert.

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Ferruginous And Rough-legged Hawk Lift Off Photos

By Mia McPherson|February 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteo regalis, Buteos, feathered legs, feathered tarsi, feet, Ferruginous Hawk, first winter, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, legs, lift off, lifting off, light morph, male, power pole, raptors, rock, rocks, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, take off, taking off, young|

Yesterday morning I was able to take Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawk lift off photos where both of the raptors still had their feet on their perches.

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Winter Female American Kestrel Photos

By Mia McPherson|February 3rd, 2021|Categories: American Kestrels, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, Antelope Island State Park, back view, Davis County, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, female, flight, flying, kestrel, kestrels, lift off, lifting off, perched, raptors, resting, rock, rocks, stalk, Utah, winter|

Yesterday morning I was able to take female American Kestrel photos from the causeway to Antelope Island State Park twice.

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First Winter Red-tailed Hawk Lift Off Photos

By Mia McPherson|January 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: bird of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, first, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, juvenile, lift off, lifting off, marsh, metal post, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, take off, taking off, Utah, winter, young|

Last month I spent twenty-eight lovely minutes photographing this first winter Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA.

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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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