Salt Lake County – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

First Winter Common Goldeneye Drake Images

By Mia McPherson|January 24th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: 1st winter, bill, breakfast, Bucephala clangula, catch light, Common Goldeneye, crawdad, crayfish, diving ducks, drake, duck, eating, first winter, goldeneye, goldeneyes, immature, male, paddling, pond, prey, Salt Lake County, swallowing, swimming, urban, Utah, water, winter, young|

Two days ago I spent a lot of time focused on a first winter Common Goldeneye drake as he swam, foraged, and ate at an urban pond close to home.

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Flying Canada Goose With Snow Covered Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|October 6th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, flight, flying, geese, goose, mountains, Salt Lake County, snow, snow covered, Wasatch Mountains, winter|

Last evening when I walked outside to move my Jeep into the driveway I glanced towards the east to view the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains.

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Winter Common Mergansers

By Mia McPherson|January 16th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Common Mergansers, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, close up, Common Merganser, Definitive Basic Plumage, diving ducks, drake, drinking, duck, ducks, female, first winter, hen, immature, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, pond, Salt Lake County, swimming, Utah, water, white patches, winter, young|

Yesterday and the day before I was able to observe and photograph winter Common Mergansers at my local pond on both sunny afternoons.

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Drake Common Goldeneye With Pigment Issues On His Bill

By Mia McPherson|December 13th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, bill, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Common Goldeneye, Definitive Alternate Plumage, Definitive Basic Plumage, diving ducks, drake, fighting, flapping, goldeneye, goldeneyes, lack of pigment, male, nonbreeding plumage, odd colored bill, pigment isses, pond, preening, Salt Lake County, settling, swimming, Utah, water, waterfowl, white on bill, wind, windy, wings, winter|

When I got back home and uploaded the images I took of the drake Common Goldeneye I could see that his bill had pigment issues and that it wasn't a white feather stuck on his bill.

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Canada Goose With White Plumage On Its Head

By Mia McPherson|January 10th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Canada Geese, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, geese, goose, head, leucism, leucistic, plumage variation, pond, Salt Lake County, spots, urban, Utah, water, waterfowl, white plumage, winter|

The Canada Goose was unusual because it had spotted, white plumage on its head and I was able to take photos of both left and right profile views of its head.

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Would Someone Please Kick Winter To The Curb?

By Mia McPherson|April 10th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Ring-billed Gulls, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: gull, gulls, landing, Larus delawarensis, Ring-billed Gull, Salt Lake County, snow, snow storm, spring, Utah, winter|

I thought that I would share screenshots of this morning and tomorrow morning's weather forecasts, it ain't pretty. In fact, it is absolutely rotten considering it is Spring and yet Ole Man Winter just won't let go.

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Adult American Coot With A Dirty Bill

By Mia McPherson|January 28th, 2019|Categories: American Coots, Birds, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: American Coot, bill, close up, coot, coots, dirty, Fulica americana, portrait, Salt Lake County, snow, urban, Utah, winter|

An American Coot with a dirty bill wasn't shy at all when it climbed out of the pond close enough for me to take portraits of it.

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Ring-necked Duck Drake

By Mia McPherson|November 23rd, 2012|Categories: Birds, Ring-necked Ducks, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Aythya collaris, breeding plumage, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, male, pond, Ring-necked Duck, Salt Lake County, urban, Utah, water, water birds, water fowl, wildlife photography, winter|

I photographed this drake Ring-necked Duck in breeding plumage a few years ago on a pond not far from where I live.

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Signs of Spring ~ American Avocets and Double-crested Cormorants

By Mia McPherson|February 26th, 2012|Categories: American Avocets, Double-crested Cormorants, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: American Avocet, avocet, avocets, cormorant, cormorants, Double-crested Cormorant, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, flight, Nannopterum auritus, Recurvirostra americana, Salt Lake County, shorebirds, spring, swimming, urban, Utah, waterbirds|

I was right on the ID and saw not just one but two of American Avocets in flying along the causeway. Wow, more "spring birds"!

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Things are getting Ducky in Utah!

By Mia McPherson|October 1st, 2011|Categories: Birds, Buffleheads, Cinnamon Teals, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Gadwalls, Greater Scaups, Mallards, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Red-breasted Mergansers, Ring-necked Ducks, Salt Lake Valley|Tags: Anas acuta, Anas platyrhynchos, autumn, Aythya collaris, Aythya marila, Bucephala albeola, Bucephala clangula, Bufflehead, Cinnamon Teal, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Davis County, Gadwall, Greater Scaup, Mallard, Mareca strepera, Mergus merganser, Mergus serrator, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Red-breasted Merganser, Ring-necked Duck, Salt Lake County, Spatula clypeata, Spatula cyanoptera|

Another wonderful change that I have been seeing is that a variety of duck species have been arriving at the Great Salt Lake

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Bye bye Blackbirds? The USDA is killing birds with DRC-1339

By Mia McPherson|January 30th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Davis County, European Starlings, Florida, Great-tailed Grackles, Pinellas County, Red-winged Blackbirds, Salt Lake County, Utah, Wildlife Ethics & Etiquette, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: Agelaius phoeniceus, Antelope Island State Park, avicide, blackbird, blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Bye bye Blackbird, DRC-1339, Euphagus cyanocephalus, European Starling, Great-tailed Grackle, mass bird deaths, mass bird die off, Molothrus ater, poisoned, poisons, Red-winged Blackbird, Salt Lake County, Sturnus vulgaris, USDA, Wildlife Services, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus|

Recently the USDA accepted responsibility for a smaller die off in South Dakota which brought to light a little known program called "Bye bye Blackbird" which uses DRC-1339, a poison that is also called an avicide.

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