rails – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Adult Virginia Rail Portraits

By Mia McPherson|September 13th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Virginia Rails|Tags: adult, close up, marsh, portrait, rail, rails, Rallus limicola, summer, Virginia Rail, wetlands|

Yesterday morning while I was at Farmington Bay I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to be able to take these Virginia Rail portraits.

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Christmas Day Birds 2021

By Mia McPherson|December 26th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Birds, California Gulls, Common Goldeneyes, Great Blue Herons, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Rough-legged Hawks|Tags: adult, American Coot, Anas platyrhynchos, Ardea herodias, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Buteo lagopus, California Gull, calling, Christmas, Christmas Day, close up, Common Goldeneye, coot, coots, crawdad, crayfish, dabbling ducks, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, eating, female, first winter, flight, flying, foraging, Fulica americana, goldeneye, goldeneyes, grackle, grackles, grass, gray sky, Great Blue Heron, Great-tailed Grackle, gull, gulls, hawk, hawks, heron, herons, hovering, Icterids, immature, Larus californicus, low light, male, Mallard, mallards, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, open bill, pond, portrait, Quiscalus mexicanus, rails, Rough-legged Hawk, splashing, urban, wading birds, water, water droplets, wetlands, winter, young|

I did get out to find and photograph birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA and then later in the morning I found more closer to home.

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How I Found This Secretive Virginia Rail At Farmington Bay

By Mia McPherson|October 16th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Virginia Rails|Tags: adult, autumn, bill, cattail, cattails, cold, cover, Davis County, fall, Farmington Bay WMA, flapping wings, heading, marsh, morning, open, preened, rail, rails, Rallus limicola, reflection, stretching, sunlight, tiptoes, Utah, Virginia Rail, water, wetlands|

Today I wanted to write about how I found this secretive Virginia Rail in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.

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Virginia Rails – Marsh Birds

By Mia McPherson|April 4th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Virginia Rails|Tags: adult, calls, foraging, grasses, marsh, marshbirds, marshy, open area, rail, rails, Rallus limicola, secretive, songs, vegetation, Virginia Rail, water, wetland, wetlands|

Today I wanted to focus on Virginia Rails because I don't find them out in the open very often, they are such secretive marsh birds.

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American Crow Fledglings Riding The Rails

By Mia McPherson|July 16th, 2017|Categories: American Crows, Birds, Clark County, Idaho|Tags: American Crow, corvids, Corvus brachyrhynchos, crow, crows, fledgling, fledglings, immature, intelligent, mountain, railroad tracks, rails, summer, valley, young|

There were several fledglings on the rails but I liked how these two young American Crows were relatively close together and both looking the same direction, up the rails and to the north

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American Coot Chick and Adult at Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|May 27th, 2017|Categories: American Coots, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Coot, chick, coot, coots, Fulica americana, immature, juvenile, marsh, nesting, rails, resting, spring, standing, wetlands, young|

People usually think of American Coot chicks as either cute or ugly, I'm in the cute camp when it comes to these chicks.

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Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge – Celebrating National Wildlife Refuge Week

By Mia McPherson|October 9th, 2016|Categories: American Avocets, American Barn Owls, American White Pelicans, Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Black-necked Stilts, Box Elder County, Redheads, Rough-legged Hawks, Sandhill Cranes, Tree Swallows, Tundra Swans, Utah, Virginia Rails, Western Grebes, White-faced Ibises|Tags: adult, American Avocets, American Barn Owl, American White Pelican, autumn, avocets, Bald Eagle, Birds of Bear River, birds of prey, Black-crowned Night Heron, Black-necked Stilt, breeding, cranes, ducks, eagles, grebes, harriers, hawks, hen, heron, ice, Marsh Wren, marshes, migration, National Wildlife Refuge, National Wildlife Refuge Week, nesting, night heron, night herons, Northern Harrier, owls, pelicans, Promontory Mountains, rails, Redhead, resting, Rough-legged Hawk, Sandhill Crane, shorebirds, stilts, swallows, swans, Tree Swallows, Tundra Swans, Virginia Rail, wading birds, Western Grebes, White-faced Ibis, winter, wrens|

This is National Wildlife Refuge Week and in celebration I wanted to do a pictorial essay that includes some of my images of the Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Nonbreeding Sora in the Centennial Valley of Montana

By Mia McPherson|March 13th, 2016|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Soras|Tags: adult, farm pond, foraging, gruiformes, nonbreeding plumage, Porzana carolina, rails, Sora|

Last year I had the pleasure of photographing this nonbreeding Sora in the Centennial Valley of Montana.

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Adult Virginia Rail And Its Reflection

By Mia McPherson|August 31st, 2015|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Virginia Rails|Tags: adult, birds, foraging, marsh, marsh bird, rail, rails, Rallus limicola, reflection, secretive, shy, Virginia Rail, water, wetland|

I am always thrilled when a Virginia Rail comes out into the open because typically they are shy, secretive marsh birds.

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Virginia Rails at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By Mia McPherson|August 20th, 2015|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah, Virginia Rails|Tags: foraging, grasses, gruiformes, habitat, marsh, marsh bird, migratory, mudflats, rail, rails, Rallus limicola, secretive, shallow water, vegetation, Virginia Rail, wetland|

Virginia Rails are secretive marsh birds that can be found at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge during the breeding season and the can be very difficult to see let alone photograph.

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