subspecies – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Roadside Mississippi Mud Turtle At Sequoyah NWR

By Mia McPherson|November 10th, 2024|Categories: Mississippi Mud Turtles, Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: bottomland hardwood forest, bottomlands, Eastern Mud Turtle, Kinosternon subrubrum, Kinosternon subrubrum hippocrepis, Mississippi Mud Turtle, reptiles, roadside, spring, subspecies, turtle, turtles|

Better late than never? I photographed this Mississippi Mud Turtle in spring at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, and I’m sharing it today.

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Female Merlin On International Women’s Day

By Mia McPherson|March 8th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Merlins, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Bradford Pear, branches, Callery Pear, clouds, Falco columbarius, Falco columbarius columbarius, falcon, falcons, female, International Women's Day, Merlin, merlins, perched, Pyrus calleryana, raptors, sky, subspecies, Taiga, tree, urban, winter|

I found and photographed this female Merlin at my local pond last month, and she seemed to be the perfect bird for me to share on International Women's Day.

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Surprise Merlin Photos – Two Merlins In A Pear Tree

By Mia McPherson|February 15th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Merlins, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Bradford Pear, branches, Callery Pear, clouds, Falco columbarius, Falco columbarius columbarius, falcon, falcons, female, Merlin, merlins, perched, Pyrus calleryana, raptors, sky, subspecies, Taiga, tree, urban, winter|

I was at one of my local ponds yesterday morning when a gorgeous adult female Merlin flew in and landed on a tree not far from where I stood behind my tripod.

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Interior West White-crowned Sparrow Adult

By Mia McPherson|September 27th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: adult, autumn, branches, comparing, comparison, fall, Greasewood, Interior West subspecies, Interior West White-crowned Sparrow, leaves, marsh, Mountain White-crowned Sparrow, perched, Sarcobatus vermiculatus, shrub, sparrow, sparrows, subspecies, wetlands, White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys, Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha|

When I was at Farmington Bay WMA on Monday, I found and photographed a gorgeous Interior West White-crowned Sparrow adult perched on a Greasewood shrub.

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Merlin And American Kestrels – Two Falcon Species In A Day

By Mia McPherson|November 13th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Merlins, Utah|Tags: adult, adult/immature, American Kestrel, autumn, blue sky, Davis County, Falco columbarius, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Farmington Bay WMA, female, kestrel, kestrels, male, marsh, Merlin, merlins, perched, prairie, sky, subspecies, Utah|

Any time I can see and photograph two falcon species in a single day is a great day and yesterday I photographed a Prairie Merlin and several American Kestrels.

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Dark-eyed Junco, Mullein & Blooming Rabbitbrush

By Mia McPherson|October 16th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Dark-eyed Juncos, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Dark-eyed Junco, desert, fall, junco, Junco hyemalis, juncos, mullein, Oregon, perched, rabbitbrush, ranchlands, snow birds, sparrow, sparrows, subspecies|

Yesterday while looking for birds to photograph a single Dark-eyed Junco popped up into my view and perched on a dried mullein stalk in front of blooming rabbitbrush.

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No Willet Split Plus Other Nerdy Bird News

By Mia McPherson|July 2nd, 2017|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Northern Harriers, Northern Shrikes, Pinellas County, Utah, Willets|Tags: American Ornithological Society, AOS, birds of prey, Circus hudsonius, DNA, Eastern Willet, hawks, Hen Harrier, Lanius borealis, Northern Harrier, Northern Shrike, raptors, shorebirds, splits, subspecies, Tringa semipalmata, Tringa semipalmata inornata, Tringa semipalmata semipalmata, Western Willet, Willet, willets|

Just because Willets weren't split this year doesn't mean they won't be split in the future, who knows what changes will be made a year from now.

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Song Sparrow In Box Elder County, Utah – Bird Sounds of Spring

By Mia McPherson|April 2nd, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Song Sparrows, Utah|Tags: abundant, back view, barb wire, barbed wire, calls, Melospiza melodia, perched, side view, Song Sparrow, songs, sounds, sparrow, sparrows, spring, subspecies, variable|

I was trying to photograph some Red-tailed Hawks when I heard a song close to me and realized it was a Song Sparrow before I even located the bird and put my lens on it.

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American Pipits at Farmington Bay

By Mia McPherson|September 12th, 2016|Categories: American Pipits, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: American Pipit, Anthus rubescens, Buff-bellied Pipits, calls, flight calls, golden light, mud, pipit, pipits, songbirds, subspecies, sunrise|

American Pipits will soon be migrating through the Salt Lake Valley and I will hear their flight calls along the causeway to Antelope Island and the fields at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Eastern and Western Willets in breeding plumage

By Mia McPherson|October 7th, 2012|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Utah, Willets|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, comparison, differences, Eastern Willet, mangroves, rabbitbrush, sandpipers, shorebirds, subspecies, Tringa semipalmata, Tringa semipalmata inornata, Tringa semipalmata semipalmata, Western Willet, White Mangrove, Willet|

I've had the good fortune to photograph both the eastern and western Willets in breeding plumage, the eastern in Florida and the western in Utah and Montana.

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