preening – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Killdeer – Wash, Fluff and Dry

By Mia McPherson|May 2nd, 2012|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Killdeer, Utah|Tags: adult, bath, bathing, behavior, Charadrius vociferus, fluffed up, Killdeer, marsh, plover, plovers, preening, puddle, shorebirds, splashing, spring, water, water droplets, wetlands|

Last week I photographed a Killdeer bathing at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area in Davis County, Utah.

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Great Egret – Preening

By Mia McPherson|April 30th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Florida, Great Egrets, Humor|Tags: adult, Ardea alba, beach, coastal, dunes, egret, egrets, Florida, funny, funny bone, Great Egret, humor, nature, preening, pretzel, sky, spartina, twisted|

Just a simple Great Egret (Ardea alba) image that always seems to tickle my funny bone when I view it because of the pose.

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People, Birds And A Sea Star In A Sea Fog

By Mia McPherson|February 28th, 2012|Categories: American Herring Gulls, Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Laughing Gulls, Pinellas County, Ring-billed Gulls, Sea Stars|Tags: American Herring Gull, beach, beach walkers, feeding, fog, fog bank, foggy, Gulf, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, Larus smithsonianus, Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, low light, people, preening, resting, Ring-billed Gull, sand-crawled, sea fog, Sea Star, Sea Stars, starfish, sun, sunrise|

I'm glad I didn't turn around to head home when I saw the thick sea fog that morning, if I had I may have missed photographing some of these beautiful things.

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Rough-legged Hawks – Is it time to say goodbye?

By Mia McPherson|February 26th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, flight, flying, hawks, lift off, light morph, nature, preening, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk|

I have had such amazing experiences with Rough-legged Hawks this winter. I've captured them in flight, preening, eating, hovering, kiting, resting and so much more.

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American Oystercatcher

By Mia McPherson|January 30th, 2012|Categories: American Oystercatchers, Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park|Tags: adult, American Oystercatcher, beach, Haematopus palliatus, orange bill, oystercatcher, oystercatchers, preening, sand, shorebirds, yellow eyes|

This American Oystercatcher image was taken nearly three years ago, it seems difficult to believe that is has been that long but I like it as much today as the morning I photographed it.

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Preening American Kestrel ~ Friday Photos

By Mia McPherson|January 6th, 2012|Categories: American Kestrels, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, cleaning, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, fanned, feet, Friday Photos, goofy, kestrel, kestrels, male, preening, rabbitbrush, tail|

American Kestrels hold a special interest for me, they are North America's smallest falcon but what they lack in size they make up for in attitude. These falcons can be fiesty.

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Rough-legged Hawk Preening

By Mia McPherson|November 30th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: Antelope Island State Park, birds of prey, buteo, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, comical, feet, funny, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, perched, post, preening, raptors, regal, Rough-legged Hawk, side view, wooden post|

Last week though I had the opportunity to photograph a very cooperative Rough-legged Hawk preening.

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Reddish Egrets

By Mia McPherson|November 10th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Reddish Egrets|Tags: dark morph, egret, egrets, Egretta rufescens, fish, Gulf of Mexico, Low angle, nature, perched, preening, prey, Reddish Egret, shot from below, snag, tree, water, waves|

While I lived in Florida I took thousands (and thousands) of images of Reddish Egrets and I am very glad that I did because they are rarities in Utah, where I now live.

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Prolonged male Horned Lark preening session

By Mia McPherson|October 10th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Horned Larks, Utah|Tags: adult, bird photography, boulder, Eremophila alpestris, grooming, Horned Lark, lark, larks, male, perching birds, preening, stretching|

Yesterday I came across this very cooperative male Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris). This male bird preened for a full seven minutes and I took 256 images of it.

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Friday Photos: A Friendly Swainson’s Hawk

By Mia McPherson|June 3rd, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Portraits, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Antelope Island State Park, bird ID, Buteo swainsoni, close up, Great Salt Lake, hawk, hawks, mobile blind, perched, portrait, preening, raptor, sign, speed limit sign, Swainson's Hawk, water|

Last Friday I came upon this Swainson's Hawk; not just once but twice, perched on signs very close to the road.

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Shorebirds of Fort De Soto – Marbled Godwits

By Mia McPherson|November 10th, 2010|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Marbled Godwits|Tags: adult, bills, blur, coast, coastal, crustaceans, feeding, flight, flying, foraging, funny pose, Godwit, godwits, graceful, grasshoppers, Great Plains, Gulf of Mexico, insects, lagoon, landing, Limosa fedoa, low tide, Marbled Godwit, mixed flocks, mollusks, mudflats, one leg, plant tubers, preening, probe, resting, shorebirds, tundra, water|

Marbled Godwits are graceful birds while on the ground, feeding and in flight.

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American White Pelican preening session

By Mia McPherson|September 5th, 2010|Categories: American White Pelicans, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, American White Pelican, bill, cleaning, head, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, pelican, pelicans, preening, preening session, rubbing, scratching, stretching, white pelicans|

Birds were scarce, the water level in the ponds was low so there were only a few shorebirds. On the way out of the refuge though we stopped to photograph some American White Pelicans and a few Double-crested Cormorants.

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Burrowing Owl juveniles

By Mia McPherson|August 16th, 2010|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Burrowing Owls, Davis County, Utah, Wildlife Ethics & Etiquette|Tags: adult, Athene cunicularia, Burrowing Owl, desert island, funny, grooming, immature, juvenile, juveniles, owl, owls, parallaxing, photography, preening, silly, summer, yawning|

If you have never had the opportunity to photograph Burrowing Owl juveniles I would suggest you find a burrow and be prepared to laugh yourself silly.

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