rictal bristles – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Willow Flycatcher Up Close – What Are Rictal Bristles?

By Mia McPherson|August 3rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Willow Flycatchers|Tags: adult, canyon, close up, Empidonax traillii, Empids, flycatcher, flycatchers, mountains, portrait, rictal bristle function, rictal bristles, riparian habitat, summer, up close, Willow Flycatcher, willow thicket, willows|

On Sunday I had a wonderful opportunity to photograph an adult Willow Flycatcher up close when it landed very near my vehicle high in the Wasatch Mountains.

An Abundance Of Foraging American Robins

By Mia McPherson|February 13th, 2019|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: American Robin, close up, crabapples, eating, foraging, fruit, rictal bristles, robin, robins, snow, swallowing, thrush, thrushes, trees, Turdus migratorius, urban, winter|

Two afternoons ago when I left the local pond to head home I saw at least 75-100 foraging American Robins in some crabapple trees and on the ground in the snow.

Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay Portrait in the Stansbury Mountains

By Mia McPherson|September 13th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays|Tags: adult, Aphelocoma woodhouseii, close up, jay, jays, junipers, portrait, rictal bristles, scrub-jay, scrub-jays, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay|

It isn't often that I am able to get close enough to a Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay that my only option is to take closeup portraits of them yet that is precisely what happened to me two days ago.