roadside – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Clouded Sulphur Butterfly And Rabbitbrush

By Mia McPherson|September 29th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Clouded Sulphur Butterflies, Shrubs, Utah, Wildflowers|Tags: adult, autumn, bloom, blooming, butterflies, butterfly, close up, Clouded Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur butterfly, Colias philodice, Ericameria nauseosa, fall, feeding, flowering, nectaring, rabbitbrush, ranchlands, roadside, Rubber Rabbitbrush, sulphur, sulphurs, wildflowers, yellow wildflowers|

I got lucky at one rabbitbrush when I found a Clouded Sulphur butterfly nectaring on what I believe is a Rubber Rabbitbrush.

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Blooming Common Sunflower With An Ant

By Mia McPherson|August 13th, 2021|Categories: Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: ant, bloom, blooming, canyon, close up, Common Sunflower, flowering, forest edge, Helianthus annuus, mountains, native, roadside, summer, sunflower, sunflowers, wild Sunflowers, yellow wildflowers|

I photographed some birds yesterday morning in the Wasatch Mountains but it was the blooming Common Sunflower with an ant that made me smile the most when I saw it on my screen.

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American Tree Sparrow In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|March 6th, 2021|Categories: American Tree Sparrows, Bird ID, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, American Tree Sparrow, bird ID, identifcation, key identification features, mountains, road, roadside, snow, sparrow, sparrows, Spizelloides arborea, Summit County, tree sparrow, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, winter|

Yesterday I was thrilled to spot and photograph an adult American Tree Sparrow high in the Wasatch Mountains.

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Sharing Sunrise With Short-eared Owl Chicks

By Mia McPherson|May 15th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Short-eared Owls, Utah|Tags: Asio flammeus, birds of prey, brush, chick, dawn, juvenile, morning light, owl, owlet, owls, Owls of Utah, roadside, Short-eared Owl, sunrise, young|

I spent a few minutes photographing some of the cutest Short-eared Owl chicks that were just the width of a ditch away from the road that May morning.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk Close Up

By Mia McPherson|November 10th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, close up, hawk, hawks, immature, marsh, portrait, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, roadside, sepia, young|

The thing about this immature Red-tailed Hawk photo is this: I don't like the background color because I see these colors, tones and hues so frequently where I live in northern Utah.

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Swainson’s Hawks Along the Road

By Mia McPherson|May 16th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, close up, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, morning light, perched, post, raptors, roadside, sub-adult, Swainson's Hawk|

There are so many Swainson's Hawks in northern Utah right now, I see them perched, on their nests, hovering over fields and soaring on the thermals after the sun warms up the air.

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Roadside Yellow-bellied Marmot in Northern Utah – Photos and Facts

By Mia McPherson|April 20th, 2017|Categories: Box Elder County, Utah, Wildlife, Yellow-bellied Marmots|Tags: adult, close up, eating, grass, marmot, Marmota flaviventris, marmots, nature, portrait, roadside, rocks, tongue, wildlife photography, yawn, yawning, yellow belly marmot, Yellow-bellied Marmot|

I had a great time photographing a roadside Yellow-bellied Marmot yesterday in northern Utah and the marmot was very cooperative. So cooperative that I took way, way too many images of it.

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Immature Rough-legged Hawk With Its Jackrabbit Prey

By Mia McPherson|February 13th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Buteo lagopus, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, Lepus californicus, light morph, ranchlands, raptors, road kill, roadside, Rough-legged Hawk, snow, winter, young|

My best bird of the day was a juvenile Rough-legged Hawk standing on a jackrabbit in the snow that I spotted next to the road.

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Trio of Young Raccoons at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By Mia McPherson|September 29th, 2016|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Raccoons, Utah|Tags: autumn, cub, cubs, fall, immature, kits, marsh, non-native, Procyon lotor, Raccoon, roadside, wetlands, wildlife, young|

Yesterday I found a trio of young Raccoons at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and was able to take a series of images of them from inside my Jeep as they cautiously checked me out.

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Roadside Swainson’s Hawk in Rural Montana

By Mia McPherson|July 22nd, 2016|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Swainson's Hawks|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, Buteos, fence, grasses, hawk, hawks, male, raptors, roadside, Swainson's Hawk, walking|

I thought the invisible fence made this roadside Swainson's Hawk in rural Montana an interesting subject to share.

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Northern Utah Short-eared Owl Chicks

By Mia McPherson|May 24th, 2016|Categories: Box Elder County, Short-eared Owls, Utah|Tags: Asio flammeus, birds of prey, chicks, close up, desert, fledglings, immature, juvenile, owl, owlets, owls, parallaxing, portrait, ranchlands, road, roadside, sagebrush, Short-eared Owl, spring, winking, young|

It felt amazing to be alone with these northern Utah Short-eared Owl chicks for a few brief moments yesterday.

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Breeding Season for Killdeer at Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|April 24th, 2016|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Killdeer, Nesting Birds, Utah, Wildlife Ethics|Tags: adult, breeding season, Charadrius vociferus, close up, covert, feathers, Killdeer, marsh, nesting, nesting birds, nesting ethics, nesting season, plover, plovers, plumage detail, refuge, roadside, shorebirds, sound clip, spring, vociferous, wetlands|

It is breeding season for Killdeer at Bear River MBR and for all of Utah.

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