loons – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Looking Back: Common Loon Photos from Spring 2023

By Mia McPherson|April 7th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Common Loons, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, Common Loon, Gavia immer, loon, loons, migration, over, park, pond, spring, stopping, urban, water, waterbirds|

It has been a year since I was surprised and delighted to be able to take tons of Common Loon photos at a pond close to where I live in Salt Lake County.

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Common Loon Checking Me Out

By Mia McPherson|December 22nd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Common Loons, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, checking, Common Loon, Gavia immer, loon, loons, me, out, park, pond, spring, urban, water, waterbirds|

This morning, I am not feeling up to par, so I am sharing a single Common Loon photo that I took in April at my local pond. They are gorgeous birds.

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World Migratory Bird Day 2023 – Focus On Water

By Mia McPherson|May 13th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Common Loons, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, Common Loon, Gavia immer, loon, loons, migration, migratory, park, pond, spring, urban, water, waterbirds, World Migratory Bird Day 2023|

World Migratory Bird Day is observed on the second Saturday of May every year to promote the significance of preserving migratory birds and their habitats.

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Common Loon – Seeing Red

By Mia McPherson|April 25th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Common Loons, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, Common Loon, eyes, Gavia immer, loon, loons, park, pond, red, reflections, spring, urban, waterbirds|

This morning I'm sharing a Common Loon photo that I took two days ago. I enjoy how the red eyes of the loon were echoed in the reflections on the water.

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Migrating Common Loon Photos

By Mia McPherson|April 22nd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Common Loons, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, Common Loon, cute, drinking, droplets, eye, flapping, foot, Gavia immer, head tilt, loon, loons, park, pond, raised, red, Salt Lake County, sneaking, splashing, spring, stretching, swimming, urban, Utah, water, waterbirds, wing lift, wings|

I went through more of the Common Loon photos that I have taken since the beginning of this month. I wanted to share more images of these beautiful birds.

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Dark And Moody Common Loon Photos

By Mia McPherson|April 18th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Common Loons, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, Common Loon, Gavia immer, loon, loons, low light, magic, migration, mystery, natural, park, pond, shadowed, shadows, spotlight, spring, water, waterbirds|

The dark and moody nature of the Common Loon has made this bird species a popular subject of mythology and folklore.

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Crazy About Common Loons

By Mia McPherson|April 15th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Common Loons, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, calling, chased, close up, Common Loon, defensive posture, dripping, fighting, fishing lure, Gavia immer, loon, loons, passing, pond, portrait, rushing, Salt Lake County, spring, spring migration, urban, Utah, Vulture Posture, water, waterbirds|

Yesterday morning I didn't go out looking for Common Loons. But I found two and they were fighting, calling, preening and getting up close and personal with me.

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More Urban Common Loon Photos

By Mia McPherson|April 12th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Common Loons, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, alert, belly, bill, breeding plumage, Common Loon, flapping, foot, Gavia immer, head, loon, loons, neck, open, park, pond, preening, Salt Lake County, sleepy, stretching, tipped, urban, Utah, water, waterbirds, wings|

I had two mornings to photograph a Common Loon at a local pond. These photos are from the second morning and they show more action from the striking loon.

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Common Loon In Salt Lake County

By Mia McPherson|April 8th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Common Loons, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, Common Loon, Gavia immer, loon, loons, park, pond, Salt Lake County, spring, urban, Utah, water, waterbirds|

Two days ago I was absolutely, fantastically delighted to spend time photographing a strikingly handsome Common Loon that is almost in breeding plumage.

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Autumn Common Loon Memory

By Mia McPherson|October 26th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Loons, Utah|Tags: autumn, Bear River, Common Loon, fall, Gavia immer, loon, loons, migrating, migration, nonbreeding adult/immature, water, water bird, wetlands|

Almost one year ago I spotted a Common Loon floating on the Bear River after a somewhat disappointing morning for birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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2020 Photographic Year In Review

By Mia McPherson|December 31st, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Bushtits, Common Loons, Cooper’s Hawks, Desert Tarantulas, Eastern Kingbirds, Elk, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ferruginous Hawks, Golden Eagles, Gray Catbirds, Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Green-tailed Towhees, Merlins, Mountain Bluebirds, Nashville Warblers, Northern Harriers, Pine Siskins, Red Foxes, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red-tailed Hawks, Ring-billed Gulls, Rusty Blackbirds, Short-eared Owls, Townsend's Solitaires, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, West Desert, Wild Turkeys, Wildflowers, Yellow Warblers|Tags: 5.7 earthquake, blackbirds, bluebirds, catbirds, coronavirus, eagles, Elk, fox, ground squirrels, gulls, harriers, hawks, herons, hummingbirds, kingbirds, loons, Merlin, owls, rare birds, red tailed hawks, siskins, tarantula, towhees, turkeys, uncommon, wablers, year in review|

This is my 2020 photographic year in review. I'm selecting some of my favorite photos from 2020 and a few that just make me happy to see them.

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Common Loon In An Uncommon Location

By Mia McPherson|October 31st, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Loons, Utah|Tags: Bear River, Common Loon, diving, floating, foraging, Gavia immer, loon, loons, nonbreeding adult/immature, nonbreeding plumage, river, surfacing, uncommon at location, water|

Bird photography was a little slow at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning until I spotted a Common Loon floating on the Bear River.

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Common Loons and Loony Weather

By Mia McPherson|April 16th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Common Loons, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, coast, coastal, Common Loon, divers, Gavia immer, Gulf of Mexico, loon, loons, mountains, nonbreeding plumage, reservoir, water|

When I thought about our loony weather it reminded me of loons, specifically Common Loons because there have been many reports of them here this past week.

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