settling – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

First Of Season Common Goldeneye

By Mia McPherson|November 28th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Bucephala clangula, close up, Common Goldeneye, diving ducks, down, drake, duck, ducks, goldeneye, goldeneyes, male, park, pond, portrait, settling, urban, water, winter|

Three days ago, I found my first-of-season Common Goldeneye drake at my local pond. I didn't have my camera with me, so I wasn't able to photograph him.

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Nesting Western Grebe Plus Good News On The Parleys Canyon Fire

By Mia McPherson|August 18th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Western Grebes|Tags: adult, Aechmophorus occidentalis, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, breeding season, checking, eggs, grebe, grebes, incubate, incubating, marsh, nest, nesting, settling, summer, turn, turning, Utah, water, Western Grebe, wetlands|

One year ago today I found a nesting Western Grebe with two eggs at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and I realized yesterday that I had never shared photos of it.

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Immature And Adult Male Belted Kingfisher Images

By Mia McPherson|July 9th, 2021|Categories: Belted Kingfishers, Birds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, Belted Kingfisher, branch, calling, calm, canyon, defensive, excited, immature, kingfisher, kingfishers, male, Megaceryle alcyon, mountains, perched, riparian habitat, settling, summer, young|

Three days ago I was delighted to have both an immature and an adult male Belted Kingfisher in my viewfinder as I sat next to a creek in the mountains.

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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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White-faced Ibis at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By Mia McPherson|August 2nd, 2017|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, White-faced Ibises|Tags: adult, feathers, ibis, ibises, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, Plegadis chihi, preening, settling, summer, wading birds, water, wetlands, White-faced Ibis, wing lift|

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge was calling me yesterday morning and I answered that call and photographed several White-faced Ibis from the auto tour route.

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Flocks of Birds and American Bison

By Mia McPherson|November 17th, 2015|Categories: American Bison, Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, European Starlings, Utah|Tags: American Bison, Bison bison, buffalo, European Starling, flight, landing, settling, starlings, Sturnus vulgaris|

November and December seem to be good months to see flocks of birds and American Bison together on Antelope Island State Park.

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Nesting American Oystercatchers

By Mia McPherson|August 14th, 2010|Categories: American Oystercatchers, Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Nesting Birds, Pinellas County, Wildlife Ethics|Tags: adult, American Oystercatcher, bird ID, brooding, coastal habitat, eggs, ethics, Haematopus palliatus, nest, nesting, nesting behavior, nesting ethics, oystercatcher, oystercatchers, saltwater, sand dune, scrape, Sea Purslane, settling, shorebirds, wildlife ethics|

Nesting American Oystercatchers create simple scrapes on coastal beaches, dunes and salt marshes to lay their eggs in. They usually lay between 2-3 eggs around April to May.

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