light morph – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

I Am Missing This Cooperative Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|January 9th, 2024|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, dawn, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, missing, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, wetlands, winter|

Once upon a time, and not so long ago, I could count on seeing this light-morph Rough-legged Hawk at a specific area of the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge tour route.

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Rough-legged Hawk Staredown

By Mia McPherson|January 11th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, cold, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, mountains, perched, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, sky, snow, staredown, wetlands, winter|

One year ago this morning I was on the road to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge where my best subject of the day was a male light morph Rough-legged Hawk.

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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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Immature Rough-legged Hawk, Staring Prey And Feaking

By Mia McPherson|December 15th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, Davis County, fall, feaking, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, landing, light morph, looking, marsh, nest box, prey, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, staring, vole, wetlands, young|

This morning I am sharing photos of an immature Rough-legged Hawk, its staring prey, of the bird feaking and a bonus image that shows the tongue of the hawk.

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Rough-legged Hawk Season Has Begun

By Mia McPherson|October 25th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, back view, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, frost, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, perched, portrait, raptors, refuge information sign, Rough-legged Hawk, wetlands, winter|

Rough-legged Hawk season has begun in northern Utah. I spotted my first of season Rough-legged Hawks on the wing last Friday.

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Immature Rough-legged Hawk Perched On A Tumbleweed

By Mia McPherson|February 20th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, marsh, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sub-adult, subadult, tumbleweed, wetlands, winter, young|

I was delighted to spot, point out, and photograph this immature light morph Rough-legged Hawk that was perched on a tumbleweed at Bear River MBR yesterday morning.

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I Am Going To Miss This Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|February 13th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, information sign, light morph, male, marsh, morning, one way sign, parking sign, perched, raptors, refuge, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, Utah, wetlands, winter|

Last week I photographed this male Rough-legged Hawk on Monday and Thursday while at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Yawning Immature Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|February 10th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, immature, light morph, marker, marsh, perched, plastic post, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sub-adult, subadult, Utah, wetlands, winter, yawn, yawning, young|

This is the same immature light morph Rough-legged Hawk that I shared portraits of two days ago that were taken at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Immature Light Morph Rough-legged Hawk Portraits

By Mia McPherson|February 8th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, frost, frosty, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, marsh, perched, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, subadult, wetlands, winter, young|

I had five minutes of bird bliss yesterday morning at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I was able to take immature light morph Rough-legged Hawk portraits.

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Light Morph Male Rough-legged Hawk Winter Site Fidelity

By Mia McPherson|February 5th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, one way sign, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, site fidelity, territorial site fidelity, Utah, wetlands, winter|

I have been photographing a light morph male Rough-legged Hawk on or near a One Way sign at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge frequently this winter.

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Adult Male Rough-legged Hawk In Early Morning Light

By Mia McPherson|January 30th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, desert, early morning light, field, flats, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, low light, male, perched, pre-dawn light, predawn, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, winter|

Of all the photos I took yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge the one I liked the most is of this Rough-legged Hawk in early morning light.

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Light Morph Adult Male Rough-legged Hawk In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|January 18th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks|Tags: adult, birds of prey, blue sky, branches, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, leaf buds, light morph, male, mountains, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, snow, snowy, tree, Wasatch Mountains, winter|

Yesterday I photographed a light morph adult male Rough-legged Hawk perched in a tree in the Wasatch Mountains.

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Adult Male Rough-legged Hawk Portraits

By Mia McPherson|January 12th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, dawn, funny, goofy, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, head on, left, light morph, male, marsh, portrait, raptors, right, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, wetlands, winter|

For eleven minutes yesterday morning this Rough-legged Hawk was my main point of focus as I took hundreds of photos of him at Bear River MBR.

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One Very Cooperative Male Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|January 3rd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, blue sky, Box Elder County, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, frost, frosted, frosty, hawk, hawks, light morph, male, marsh, perched, plastic marker, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, stretching, Tamarisk, tree, Utah, wetlands, wings, winter|

For the second year in a row the first bird I photographed in the New Year was a Rough-legged Hawk and both were photographed at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Late Clark’s Grebe Plus A Rough-legged Hawk On A One Way Sign

By Mia McPherson|December 9th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Clark's Grebes, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Aechmophorus clarkii, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, Clark's Grebe, fall, grebe, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, late, late migrant, light morph, male, marsh, one way sign, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, water, wetlands|

Yesterday I found and pointed out a few birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge including a very late Clark's Grebe I spotted from the auto tour route.

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Adult Rough-legged Hawk Calling Plus Photos Of A Younger Roughie

By Mia McPherson|December 6th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, calling, fall, hawk, hawks, immature, light morph, male, marsh, mountains, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, shrub, Utah, wetlands, young|

Yesterday I heard a male Rough-legged Hawk calling which is highly unusual away from their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra and taiga of the far north.

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Ferruginous Hawk In Bright Morning Light

By Mia McPherson|December 1st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, foothills, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, morning light, raptors, wooden post, young|

I took this photo of a Ferruginous Hawk bathed in bright morning light back in October while I was out driving on dirt roads of the West Desert of Utah.

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Ferruginous Hawk In The Changing Light Of Dawn

By Mia McPherson|October 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, dawn, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, morning, perched, raptors, wooden post|

The first bird photos that I took yesterday morning in the desert were of a Ferruginous Hawk perched on a fence post in pre-dawn light.

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On The Lookout For My First Of Season Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|October 13th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, barb wire, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, fence, fence post, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, mountains, perched, raptors, road, rock, rock pile, rocks, Rough-legged Hawk, snow, winter|

I am now on the lookout for my first of season Rough-legged Hawk. I hope to spot one soon.

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Dark and light morph Red-tailed Hawk Photos

By Mia McPherson|October 9th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, cliff, cliff face, dark morph, desert, fall, female, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lichen, lichen covered, lift off, light morph, male, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, resting, take off|

I almost missed finding this adult dark morph Red-tailed Hawk last Sunday because when I first spotted the hawk he was behind a tree in dark shadows but I recognized the shape and form of the raptor.

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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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Immature Light Morph Red-tailed Hawk Plus A Dark Morph Adult

By Mia McPherson|September 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, Big Sagebrush, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, cliff, cliff face, dark morph, desert, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, lichen, lichens, light morph, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, rock, rock face, rocks, sage, sagebrush, sky, summer, Utah, young|

When I spotted the light colored breast of this immature light morph Red-tailed Hawk from a distance it seemed to glow in the morning light.

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Swainson’s Hawk On A Gnarly Fence Post

By Mia McPherson|March 31st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, Buteos, early morning light, fence post, gnarly, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, raptors, spring, Swainson's Hawk|

I haven't found my first of season Swainson's Hawk yet but I expect that to change any day now as spring migration is almost in full swing.

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Mated Red-tailed Hawk Pair

By Mia McPherson|March 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteo jamaicensis calurus, cliff, cliff face, female, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, mated pair, mates, morning light, nesting material, pair, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk|

Last week I spotted and photographed a mated Red-tailed Hawk pair on the branches of a tree in front of a cliff in early morning light.

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Male Rough-legged Hawk Photos

By Mia McPherson|February 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, background, birds of prey, blue sky, Buteo lagopus, Buteo regalis, Buteos, Ferruginous Hawk, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, mountains, raptors, rock, rocks, Rough-legged Hawk, shadows, sky, snow, snow covered, snowy|

Earlier this week I photographed a light morph, adult male Rough-legged Hawk in the West Desert of Utah with three different backgrounds.

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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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First Winter Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|December 16th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: Buteo regalis, Buteos, desert, Ferruginous Hawk, first winter, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, head on, immature, light morph, mountains, perched, raptors, rocks, snow, snowy, winter, young|

Two years and one day ago I only photographed two birds on a trip out into the West Desert and this light morph Ferruginous Hawk made the trip well worth the journey out into the cold.

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Photographing An Immature Ferruginous Hawk Hunting For Breakfast

By Mia McPherson|November 28th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, foothills, hatch year, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, hunting, immature, lifting off, light morph, mountains, prey, raptors, scanning, snow-topped, staring, taking off, wooden post, young|

Yesterday morning not long after sunrise I spent some time photographing a light morph, immature Ferruginous Hawk hunting for its breakfast.

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An Immature Light Morph Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|November 4th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, cedar post, desert, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, foothills, gravel road, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, low, prched, raptors, sky island mountains, turning, wooden post, young|

The highlight of my morning yesterday was when I spotted an immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk perched on a cedar post in the West Desert.

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West Desert Ferruginous Hawks – Light And Dark Morphs

By Mia McPherson|October 12th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, dark morph, desert, early morning, fall, fence post, Ferruginous Hawk, first fall, foothills, grasslands, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, raptors, resting, rousing, wooden post, young|

The past couple of weeks on some of my journeys to the West Desert of Utah I have been able to have a few long distance views of Ferruginous Hawks and that has me excited.

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