stick – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Morning Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird Drama

By Mia McPherson|August 5th, 2024|Categories: Arkansas, Birds, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Sebastian County|Tags: adult, Archilochus colubris, blur, branch, feeder, garden, gorget, hummingbird, hummingbirds, low light, male, morning, perched, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, stick, summer, twig, urban, wings, yard|

Early yesterday morning, I had a handsome male Ruby-throated Hummingbird in my viewfinder. Suddenly, another hummingbird flew in, putting him on high alert.

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Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird In My Viewfinder

By Mia McPherson|August 1st, 2024|Categories: Arkansas, Birds, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Sebastian County|Tags: adult, Archilochus colubris, branch, feeder, garden, gorget, hummingbird, hummingbirds, low light, male, perched, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, stick, stuck out, summer, tongue, twig, urban, yard|

I finally have male Ruby-throated Hummingbird photos that I am happy with. It's about time, isn't it? He isn't a lifer; I've photographed this species before.

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American Beaver At Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge

By Mia McPherson|June 7th, 2024|Categories: American Beavers, Johnston County, Oklahoma, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: adult, American Beaver, beaver, beavers, branches, Castor canadensis, grass, grasses, haze, leaves, looking up, mammals, road, Sandy Creek, spring, stick, tree, trees, tunnel, walking, wildflowers|

Yesterday morning, I had a wonderful surprise when an American beaver surfaced close to the Sandy Creek Bridge at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge.

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Spring Male White-breasted Nuthatch Photos

By Mia McPherson|April 28th, 2024|Categories: Arkansas, Birds, Sebastian County, White-breasted Nuthatches|Tags: adult, background, branch, bright, early morning, eye, feeder, garden, glowing, hanging out, male, morning light, nuthatch, nuthatches, Sitta carolinensis, spring, staring, stick, turn, urban, vine, waiting, White-breasted Nuthatch, yard|

This morning, I wanted to share a small selection of White-breasted Nuthatch photos I have taken since I arrived at my friend Steve Creek's home in Arkansas.

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California Gull Playing With A Stick

By Mia McPherson|January 25th, 2023|Categories: Birds, California Gulls, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: behavior, California Gull, flight, flying, gull, gulls, Larus californicus, mid air, play, playing, pond, shoreline, snagging, stick, urban, water, winter, winter plumage|

This morning I'm sharing two photos of a California Gull playing with a stick at one of my local ponds that I took during the winter in January of 2021.

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Autumn Say’s Phoebe Photos

By Mia McPherson|September 26th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Say's Phoebes, Utah|Tags: autumn, fall, inquisitive, nest box, perched, phoebe, phoebes, Say's Phoebe, Sayornis saya, sky, stick, tyrant flycatchers|

Last week I was able to take Say's Phoebe photos at Farmington Bay WMA on two different perches. The first was a nest box, and the second, a tall stick.

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Gray Catbird Searching For Berries

By Mia McPherson|June 30th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Gray Catbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, berries, berry, Black twinberry honeysuckle, blooming, canyon, catbird, catbirds, Dumetella carolinensis, excited, flashing, flowering, fruit, fruits, Gray Catbird, honeysuckle, honeysuckles, Lonicera involucrata, mountains, native, perched, riparian habitat, stick, summer, tail, Wasatch Mountains, wildflower, willows, yellow wildflower|

Yesterday morning I spent part of my time in the Wasatch Mountains focused on a Gray Catbird searching for ripe honeysuckle berries.

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Begging Fledgling Gray Catbird High In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|July 11th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Frustrations in bird photography, Gray Catbirds, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, begging, begging behavior, begging posture, bill, canyon, catbird, catbirds, chick, Gray Catbird, immature, juvenile, metal post, mimids, mountains, open, perched, raised, rusty, stick, summer, wings, young|

When I saw a Gray Catbird fledgling inch its way up a stick two days ago and then exhibit begging behavior by raising its wings and opening its bill I locked on to it.

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Focusing On MacGillivray’s Warblers In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|August 20th, 2019|Categories: Birds, MacGillivray's Warblers, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: bird on a stick, female, gape, Geothlypis tolmiei, immature, MacGillivray's Warbler, peeking, stick, thicket, warbler, warblers, wood-warblers|

I'm seeing more MacGillivray's Warblers this season than I have in previous years but I am still challenged by how quickly these warblers move and by how they can seem to disappear so quickly.

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Great Blue Heron up close and not so close

By Mia McPherson|August 26th, 2013|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, bird photography, close up, coast, coastal, driftwood, Great Blue Heron, head shot, heron, herons, perched, portrait, sky, stick, stump|

One December morning in 2008 I was sitting in the sand at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in Florida when a Great Blue Heron came up and perched on a driftwood stump that had washed up onto the shore.

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Side lit American Kestrel

By Mia McPherson|March 12th, 2013|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, birds of prey, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, kestrel, kestrels, low light, male, marsh, perched, side lit, stick, wetlands, winter|

I came across this American Kestrel image yesterday while moving images to a new external hard drive and realized I hadn't edited any of the photos in the series yet, so I did.

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