sky – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

It Is Time To Look And Listen For Tundra Swans In Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|October 23rd, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, clouds, Cygnus columbianus, eagle, eagles, feeding, flight, flying, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature, marsh, mountains, on the wing, Promontory Mountains, raptors, scenery, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter|

This morning I noticed in my Facebook memories that I saw and heard my first of season Tundra Swans at Bear River MBR on this date in 2015 and that made me happy.

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Autumn Loggerhead Shrike

By Mia McPherson|October 18th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Loggerhead Shrikes, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, autumn colors, desert, fall, fall colors, Fragrant Sumac, Lanius ludovicianus, Loggerhead Shrike, Nikon D500, Rhus aromatica, shrike, shrikes, sky, sumac|

This adult Loggerhead Shrike perched on a Fragrant Sumac was among the birds that I found yesterday morning way up in northern Utah.

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Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and Earth Shadow Memories

By Mia McPherson|October 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, atomospheric conditions, Belt of Venus, coast, coastal, dune, earth shadow, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, low light, pre-dawn, predawn light, preening, sand, sky, wading birds, walking, wind, windy|

Thirteen years ago this morning I photographed a Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and the Earth Shadow on the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park on the west coast of Florida.

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Snow Dusted Views Of Utah’s West Desert Mountains

By Mia McPherson|October 14th, 2021|Categories: Tooele County, Trees, Utah, West Desert|Tags: Abies concolor, autumn, canyon, cone, cones, Douglas fir, dusted, fall, fir, firs, ice, juniper, junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, landscape, mountains, peaks, Pseudotsuga menziesii, rabbitbrush, rock, rocks, sage, sagebrush, sky, snow, snowy, tree, trees, Utah Juniper, views, water droplet, White Fir|

I saw snow on Utah's West Desert mountains for the first time since late spring so I thought I'd share a few views of what I saw while out there yesterday morning.

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October West Desert Views Of Clouds, Mountains, And The Moon

By Mia McPherson|October 10th, 2021|Categories: Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: canyons, cirrus clouds, clouds, desert, foothills, junipers, landscape, moon, moon set, mountains, peaks, sage, sagebrush, scenic, sky, sky island mountains, slopes, snow, Stansbury Mountains, trees, west desert|

Today I wanted to share these photos of some West Desert views of clouds, mountains, and the moon because I'd like to be out there seeing and photographing them all.

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Fall Yellow-rumped Warbler – Urban Birds

By Mia McPherson|October 7th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Jordan River Parkway Trail, Salt Lake County, Utah, Yellow-rumped Warblers|Tags: autumn, branch, defensive behavior, defensive posture, diet, fall, home, migrate, migration, nonbreeding plumage, open bill, perched, Setophaga coronata, sky, urban, warbler, warblers, wood-warblers, Yellow-rumped Warbler|

This has been a weird fall so far and because of that I haven't been out to look for urban birds like this Yellow-rumped Warbler I photographed last year close to home.

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Phragmites Fix Or Fail At Bear River MBR?

By Mia McPherson|October 5th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Conservation, Utah|Tags: auto tour loop, auto tour route, cattle, conservation, control, controlled burn, fail, fall, fix, ice, introduced, invasive, marsh, mitigation, phragmites, Phragmites australis, phrags, Promontory Mountains, sky, snow, southwest corner, spraying, spring, summer, wetlands, winter|

Phragmites fix or fail? I think my photos through the years provide the answer.

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Ring-billed Gull Perched On A Wooden Pole

By Mia McPherson|September 20th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, clouds, curious, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, perched, Ring-billed Gull, sky, summer, wetlands, wooden pole|

When I saw this Ring-billed Gull perched on a wooden pole at Farmington Bay WMA last week I knew I wanted to have it in my viewfinder.

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Immature Light Morph Red-tailed Hawk Plus A Dark Morph Adult

By Mia McPherson|September 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, Big Sagebrush, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, cliff, cliff face, dark morph, desert, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, lichen, lichens, light morph, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, rock, rock face, rocks, sage, sagebrush, sky, summer, Utah, young|

When I spotted the light colored breast of this immature light morph Red-tailed Hawk from a distance it seemed to glow in the morning light.

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Franklin’s Gull Flying In A Smoky Sky

By Mia McPherson|September 18th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Franklin's Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, clouds, flight, flying, Franklin's Gull, gull, gulls, Leucophaeus pipixcan, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, perched, pink breast, pink cast, sky, smoky sky, summer, wetlands|

I have a soft spot for gulls so when I had the opportunity two days ago to photograph this Franklin's Gull flying in a smoky sky I was both excited and thrilled.

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Cooperative West Desert Red-tailed Hawk

By Mia McPherson|September 13th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, calm cooperative, confiding, desert, errant, feather, foothills, habitat, hawk, hawks, haze, head, inset, junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, look, mountains, over the shoulder, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, sky island mountains, smoky, summer, Utah Juniper|

Last week I photographed a very cooperative adult Red-tailed Hawk that was next to a road in the West Desert of Utah on a smoky morning.

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Colorful Twilight Sky

By Mia McPherson|September 12th, 2021|Categories: Beaverhead County, Centennial Valley, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: beauty, clouds, colorful, evening, fence, grasses, lake, light, marsh, mountains, pastels, peaceful, relaxed, sky, summer, sunset, twilight, valley, vivid, wetlands|

I don't have much to say today and all I really wanted to do was share this photo of a colorful twilight I took at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge about 6 years ago.

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Summer Dragonflies And Butterflies At Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|August 26th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Blue-eyed Darner Dragonflies, Box Elder County, Clouded Sulphur Butterflies, Purplish Copper Butterflies, Utah|Tags: adult, bloom, blooming, Blue-eyed Darner, butterflies, butterfly, Clouded Sulphur, Colias philodice, Common Sunflower, copper, coppers, copulating, dragonflies, dragonfly, female, Helianthus annuus, Lycaena helloides, male, marsh, mating, nectaring, pair, Purplish Copper, Rhionaeschna multicolor, sky, sulphur, sulphurs, summer, sunflower, sunflowers, wetlands, wildflowers, yellow wildflowers|

Today I am sharing some of the dragonflies and butterflies I've found at Bear River MBR in the summer.

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Remembering Smokeless Days

By Mia McPherson|August 9th, 2021|Categories: Tooele County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: canyon, clouds, conifers, desert, grasses, juniper, junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, mountains, sage, sagebrush, shadows, sky, sky island mountains, spring, Stansbury Mountains, Utah Juniper|

The photo I shared today isn't of anything special. It is a West Desert mountain range view. That smokeless blue sky though? I'd give so much to see that again here today.

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Poppies, Birds, Trees, Butterflies And A Smoky Haze

By Mia McPherson|August 5th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Flatbud Prickly Poppy, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Trees, Utah, Weidemeyer's Admiral Butterflies, West Desert, Wildflowers|Tags: Abies concolor, admiral, admirals, adult, Argemone munita, birds of prey, bloom, blooming, branch, Buteo jamaicensis, butterflies, butterfly, cone, cones, creek, dawn, desert, Douglas fir, fir, firs, flowering, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, juvenile, Limenitis weidemeyerii, mountains, native, poppies, poppy, Prickly Poppy, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca, puddling, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, Rocky Mountain Douglas Fir, sky, sky island mountains, smoky, smoky haze, summer, tree, trees, Weidemeyer's Admiral, White Fir, white wildflowers, wildflowers, young|

The first time I raised my lens yesterday morning it was for blooming Prickly Poppies that were along the shoulder of the bumpy gravel road.

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Vesper Sparrow Lifting Off

By Mia McPherson|July 31st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Vesper Sparrows|Tags: adult, desert, Fragrant Sumac, freshwater seep, lift off, lifting off, Poocetes gramineus, Rhus aromatica, seep, sky, smoky, sparrow, sparrows, sumac, summer, take off, taking off, Vesper Sparrow|

While looking through my archives yesterday I came across this image of a Vesper Sparrow I photographed last September near a freshwater seep in Box Elder County.

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Nashville And MacGillivray’s Warblers – A Visual Comparison

By Mia McPherson|July 24th, 2021|Categories: Birds, MacGillivray's Warblers, Nashville Warblers, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, aphids, canyon, comparison, foraging, Geothlypis tolmiei, ID, identification, Leiothlypis ruficapilla, MacGillivray's Warbler, male, mountains, Nashville Warbler, perched, resting, riparian habitat, sky, summer, versus, warbler, warblers, willow, willow thicket, willows, wood-warblers|

In late summer I see Nashville and MacGillivray’s Warblers in the same locations and habitats foraging for the same food, aphids.

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Utah Is Hot – Cooling Winter Wetland Views

By Mia McPherson|June 16th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: clouds, gulls, ice, marsh, mountains, record breaking temps, reflections, sky, snow, trees, Wasatch Mountain Range, Wasatch Mountains, water, wetlands, winter|

Utah is hot. It is scorching. Our hottest temps are yet to come and there is no relief in sight for our drought.

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Lark Sparrow In Golden Morning Light

By Mia McPherson|June 4th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Lark Sparrows, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, Chondestes grammacus, clouds, fence, fence post, fence posts, foothills, golden light, grasses, juniper, junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, Lark Sparrow, mountains, perched, sky, sky island mountains, sparrow, sparrows, spring, Utah Juniper|

Two days ago I photographed this adult Lark Sparrow that I found perched on an old fence post in golden light in the West Desert of Tooele County.

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Recent Birds I’ve Found In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|May 31st, 2021|Categories: Birds, House Wrens, Lazuli Buntings, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, Warbling Vireos, West Desert, Western Kingbirds|Tags: adult, barbed wire, basking, branch, bunting, buntings, Buteos, canyon, fence, fence post, foothills, foraging, forest, hawk, hawks, House Wren, juniper, junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, kingbird, kingbirds, Lazuli Bunting, male, mixed deciduous conifer forest, morning, mountains, Passerina amoena, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, sky island mountains, spring, sun, Troglodytes aedon, Tyrannus verticalis, tyrant flycatchers, Utah Juniper, vireo, Vireo gilvus, vireos, Warbling Vireo, warmth, Western Kingbird, wild rose, wooden post, wren, wrens|

Last week I made two trips out to the West Desert and today I am sharing a medley of recent birds that I found while I was out there.

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Violet-green Swallow Photos

By Mia McPherson|May 27th, 2021|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: adult, alpine forest, branch, branches, canyon, female, flight, flying, forest, guarding, male, mountains, nesting cavity, scuffling, sky, sky island mountains, spring, swallow, swallows, Tachycineta thalassina, Tooele County, tree, trees, tussling, Utah, Violet-green Swallow, west desert|

Yesterday I was able to take the Violet-green Swallow photos that I have been dreaming of since I first moved to Utah in 2009.

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Subadult Peregrine Falcon

By Mia McPherson|May 24th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Peregrine Falcons, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult plumage, birds of prey, calling, desert, Falco peregrinus, falcon, falcons, fence post, First Spring, flight, flying, foothills, immature, juvenal plumage, lift off, lifting off, molt, molting, Peregrine Falcon, raptors, second year bird, sky, spring, sub-adult, subadult, take off, taking off, wooden post, young|

Last week before I found the Rock Wren I wrote about I also found a subadult Peregrine Falcon perched on a wooden post in the West Desert.

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Resting Ruddy Turnstone

By Mia McPherson|May 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Ruddy Turnstones|Tags: adult, Arenaria interpres, beach, breeding plumage, close up, coast, Gulf Coast, Gulf of Mexico, male, resting, Ruddy Turnstone, sand, shorebirds, sky, turnstone, turnstones, water|

Twelve years ago today I was on the beach at Fort De Soto County Park focused on photographing a male Ruddy Turnstone resting on the warm sand with the Gulf behind him.

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Dreaming Of Mountain Bluebirds

By Mia McPherson|April 24th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Mountain Bluebirds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: bluebird, bluebirds, canyon, female, male, Mountain Bluebird, mountains, Sialia currucoides, sky, sky island mountains, thrush, thrushes, tree, Utah|

I woke up this morning dreaming of Mountain Bluebirds so I thought I would share two images of them from previous springs.

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Spring Swainson’s Hawk In Sage

By Mia McPherson|April 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Swainson's Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo swainsoni, Buteos, desert, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, hillside, intermediate morph, nestled, raptors, sage, sagebrush, sky, snuggled, Swainson's Hawk|

The Swainson's Hawk that I spent the most time photographing was snuggled into the top of a sage and he was very calm and confiding.

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Spring Yellow-bellied Marmot Resting

By Mia McPherson|March 29th, 2021|Categories: Box Elder County, Utah, Yellow-bellied Marmots|Tags: adult, cliff, desert, lichen, lichen covered, marmot, Marmota flaviventris, marmots, resting, rocks, rodent, sky, spring, Yellow-bellied Marmot|

Around the middle of March while photographing nesting hawks I spotted a bit of movement and saw this Yellow-bellied Marmot resting on a cliff.

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Spring Turkey Vulture And A View From The Road

By Mia McPherson|March 28th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: adult, Cathartes aura, clouds, desert, mountains, pole, rocks, rocky outcroppings, sage, sagebrush, sky, spring, thermoregulating, thermoregulation, Turkey Vulture, vulture, vultures, wooden pole|

Yesterday morning I was able to photograph a spring Turkey Vulture warming up in the morning light from a rural road in Box Elder County.

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Pronghorn Buck And West Desert Sky Island Mountains

By Mia McPherson|March 19th, 2021|Categories: Juab County, Pronghorn, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wildlife|Tags: adult, Antilocapra americana, buck, clouds, desert, flats, grasses, male, mountains, Pronghorn, pronghorns, sky, sky island mountains, small in frame, spring|

I found and photographed this Pronghorn buck in Utah's West Desert after photographing birds at Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge in April of 2019.

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West Desert Mountains

By Mia McPherson|March 16th, 2021|Categories: Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: clouds, dirt road, February, landscapes, morning, mountains, road, sky, slopes, snow, snow-topped, winter|

Some days start off the wrong way and when they do I look for things that soothe me. Views of mountains calm me down so today I am sharing a simple view of some West Desert mountains.

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Swan Day in Utah – March 13, 2021

By Mia McPherson|March 11th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flying, ice, icy, marsh, mountains, pair, Promontory Mountains, resting, sidelit, sky, swan, Swan Day, swans, Tundra Swan, waterfowl, winter|

This Saturday, March 13th, is Swan Day here in Utah. It is a day to celebrate these large, white, beautiful birds that spend time here during the winter.

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