nesting materials – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Fishing Line Is A Dangerous Nesting Material

By Mia McPherson|April 19th, 2023|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Fishing Line Dangers, Nesting Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Robin, dangerous, fishing line, fishing weight, grass, grasses, nesting materials, nesting season, park, pond, robin, robins, spring, Turdus migratorius, urban|

All across the country it is nesting season for many North American birds. For some nesting birds it is also a very dangerous time because of fishing line.

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Female Yellow Warbler Working On Her Nest

By Mia McPherson|June 1st, 2022|Categories: Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, Canada Thistle, canyon, Cirsium arvense, down, female, Lettuce from hell thistle, mountains, nest, nesting, nesting materials, riparian habitat, Setophaga petechia, spring, thistle, warbler, warblers, willow, willow thicket, willows, wood-warbler, wood-warblers, Yellow Warbler|

Last week I spent a few moments photographing a female Yellow Warbler working on building her nest high in the Wasatch Mountains.

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Photographing Two Yellow Warbler Nests

By Mia McPherson|May 23rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, building, canyon, Crataegus rivularis, female, hawthorn, hawthorns, mountains, nest, nesting, nesting materials, River Hawthorn, Setophaga petechia, spring, warbler, warblers, Wasatch Mountains, willow, willow thicket, willows, wood-warbler, wood-warblers, Yellow Warbler|

Yesterday morning I found not one but two Yellow Warbler nests high in the Wasatch Mountains because I paid attention to the movements of two female warblers.

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Spring Song Sparrow Gathering Nesting Materials

By Mia McPherson|May 5th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Song Sparrows|Tags: adult, canyon, ground, Melospiza melodia, mountains, nesting materials, riparian habitat, Song Sparrow, sparrow, sparrows, spring|

Towards the end of April I spent a few minutes photographing an adult Song Sparrow looking for and gathering nesting materials high in the Wasatch Mountains.

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Springtime Rock Wren Photos

By Mia McPherson|April 11th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Rock Wrens, Utah|Tags: adult, blue, Box Elder County, clear, cliff, desert, desert habitat, lichen, lichen covered, lichens, nesting materials, perched, rock, Rock Wren, rocks, Salpinctes obsoletus, sky, spring, staring, Utah, wren, wrens|

Any time I have a Rock Wren in my viewfinder is a good day for me. Yesterday was an especially good day because I had two nesting adult Rock Wrens to focus on.

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Cliff Swallows Gathering Nesting Materials

By Mia McPherson|June 23rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Cliff Swallows, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, aggressive behavior, behavior, canyon, Cliff Swallow, fighting, fluttering, mountains, nest building, nesting material, nesting materials, nesting season, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, summer, Summit County, swallow, swallows, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, wings|

Yesterday morning I photographed Cliff Swallows gathering nesting materials and fighting in bright morning light high in the Wasatch Mountains.

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Nesting Lark Sparrow Photos

By Mia McPherson|May 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Lark Sparrows, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, barbed wire, Big Sagebrush, bill, Chondestes grammacus, desert, fence, foothills, gathering, grass, grasses, Lark Sparrow, mountains, nesting material, nesting materials, sage, sagebrush, sparrow, sparrows|

One of the first birds I heard singing three days ago in the West Desert of Tooele County was a Lark Sparrow perched on top of a sagebrush.

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Nesting Mountain Bluebirds And Other Woodland Birds

By Mia McPherson|April 30th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Chipping Sparrows, House Wrens, Mountain Bluebirds, Yellow-rumped Warblers|Tags: adult, aspen, bird finding tip, bluebird, bluebirds, branch, breeding plumage, breeding season, canyon, Chipping Sparrow, clod, close up, dirt, forest, forest edge, gathering, House Wren, instincts, looking up, male, mate, Mountain Bluebird, mountains, nesting cavity, nesting materials, perched, photographic rut, portrait, regal, road, Setophaga coronata, shadow, Sialia currucoides, singing, sparrow, sparrows, Spizella passerina, spring, thrushes, trees, Troglodytes aedon, warbler, warblers, wren, wrens, Yellow-rumped Warbler|

Yesterday I had a blast photographing a pair of Mountain Bluebirds at a natural nesting cavity at the edge of a forest along with some other woodland birds.

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Fun Photographing Reddish Egrets In Florida

By Mia McPherson|January 25th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Reddish Egrets|Tags: adult, beach, breeding plumage, calling, canopy feeding, close up, dark morph, dunes, egret, egrets, Egretta rufescens, feeding behavior, fish, flight, flying, foraging, Gulf of Mexico, lagoon, mangroves, nesting materials, nonbreeding plumage, photographing, portrait, prey, Reddish Egret, sand, sand dunes, shadow, umbrella pose, wading birds, walking, white morph, Wing-Flicking|

I had so much fun photographing Reddish Egrets when I lived in Florida and could see them nearly every time I went to Fort De Soto County Park's north beach.

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Nesting Red-tailed Hawks – Plus Guidelines On Photographing Nesting Birds

By Mia McPherson|March 17th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, cliff, cliff face, female, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lichen covered, light morph, male, mated pair, mates, nest building, nesting materials, photograph, photographing, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, restful, rufous morph|

I'm happy to see that the rufous female Red-tailed Hawk does have a mate and that they are building a nest to raise their young in, I hope they are successful.

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Turkey Vultures at a Corral, Hillside Canada Goose and a Red-tailed Hawk Fly Over

By Mia McPherson|April 11th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Canada Geese, Red-tailed Hawks, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Branta canadensis, Buteo jamaicensis, Canada Goose, Cathartes aura, corral, flight, grasses, hawks, Hawks of Utah, hillside, membrane, nesting materials, nictitating membrane, raptors, red tail hawk, red tailed hawks, Red-tailed Hawk, rocks, roosting, third eyelid, Turkey Vulture, vultures, wildflowers|

Yesterday morning was bright and sunny and I had fun photographing Turkey Vultures at a corral, a hillside Canada Goose and a Red-tailed Hawk flying over with nesting materials in northern Utah.

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Foggy Morning Red-tailed Hawks & Turkey Vulture

By Mia McPherson|March 27th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: balancing, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, catch light, Cathartes aura, close up, fence post, flight, fog, foggy, foggy condition, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lichen, lift off, low light, nesting materials, perched, portrait, post, raptors, red-tailed, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, vulture, vultures, weather|

It wasn't "partly sunny" as predicted but I enjoyed myself while photographing the Turkey Vulture and Red-tailed Hawks on a foggy morning even though it tested my skills and techniques.

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Nesting Sage Thrashers – In a Rush to Reproduce

By Mia McPherson|April 7th, 2015|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Sage Thrashers, Utah|Tags: breeding season, close up, desert island, mimids, nest building, nesting, nesting materials, Oreoscoptes montanus, reproduce, reproduction, Sage Thrasher, song birds, spring, thrasher, thrashers|

Yesterday I had my first opportunity to photograph a Sage Thrasher with nesting materials in its bill on Antelope Island State Park.

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Brewer’s Blackbirds Displaying and Nesting

By Mia McPherson|May 13th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, blackbird, blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbird, displaying, Euphagus cyanocephalus, female, male, nesting, nesting materials|

While out on Antelope Island State Park on Friday I spotted a male Brewer's Blackbird on top of a bush, the light was just great for viewing and photographing the iridescent teals, blues, greens and purples that can show up on these "black" birds.

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Black-billed Magpies ~ It is Nesting Time!

By Mia McPherson|March 4th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Davis County, Utah|Tags: Black-billed Magpies, breeding season, dome, early morning light, flight, flying, Greasewood, landing, lift off, magpie, magpies, nest, nest construction, nesting, nesting material, nesting materials, nesting season, Pica hudsonia, pre-focus, prefocus, snow, sticks, twigs, winter|

This is the third consecutive year that I have photographed Black-billed Magpies working on their nest in this same location on Antelope Island.

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Fish Crows

By Mia McPherson|February 18th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Fish Crows, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, beach, birding, birds, calling, close up, coast, coastal, Corvus ossifragus, crow, crows, diet, Fish Crow, nesting materials, omnivorous, pair, Pinellas County, sand, spring|

Fish Crows are fairly commonplace along the coast of Pinellas County and they are often ignored by photographers because they are a "plain" common bird.

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