thermoregulation – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Fall Great Blue Heron Flasher

By Mia McPherson|September 29th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, behavior, cattails, evaporative cooling, fall, flasher, flasher pose, Great Blue Heron, gular fluttering, heron, herons, man made nest, marsh, nest, solar energy, spread wing posture, sunning pose, thermoregulation, wading birds, wetlands|

Earlier this week, I found this adult Great Blue Heron in a Flasher pose while resting on a human-made nest in a pond at Farmington Bay WMA in northern Utah.

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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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Adult Turkey Vultures Thermoregulating

By Mia McPherson|May 26th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: adult, behavior, birds of prey, Cathartes aura, close up, desert, fence, fence post, portrait, ranch gate, raptors, sage, sagebrush, thermoregulating, thermoregulation, thermoregulation posture, Turkey Vulture, vulture, vultures, wooden post|

In April there was a bright, sunny morning when I had several opportunities to photograph adult Turkey Vultures warming up after a chilly night by thermoregulating.

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Turkey Vultures – Feathered Gatekeepers

By Mia McPherson|May 17th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: bill, body temperatures, Cathartes aura, close up, feather, gatekeepers, gates, green gate, perched, poop, portrait, preening, red gate, resting, sun, thermoregulating, thermoregulation, Turkey Vulture, vulture, vultures, walking, warming up, weathered|

Normally I prefer natural perches for my subjects but I rather enjoyed photographing these Turkey Vultures and thinking of them as feathered gatekeepers.

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Golden Eagle, Turkey Vultures Plus a Covey of Gray Partridges

By Mia McPherson|August 26th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Golden Eagles, Gray Partridges, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: Aquila chrysaetos, birds of prey, Cathartes aura, covey, eagle, eagles, Golden Eagle, Gray Partridge, lichen, partridge, partridges, Perdix perdix, raptors, thermoregulating, thermoregulation, Turkey Vulture, upland terrestrial birds, vulture, vultures|

I spent time in northern Utah yesterday and I was able to photograph a juvenile Golden Eagle, Turkey Vultures plus a covey of Gray Partridges.

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More Owls, Turkey Vultures plus a Third Year Bald Eagle

By Mia McPherson|April 5th, 2016|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Box Elder County, Short-eared Owls, Turkey Vultures, Utah|Tags: age progression, Asio flammeus, Athene cunicularia, Bald Eagle, Burrowing Owl, Cathartes aura, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, pair, preened, roused, Short-eared Owl, spread wing posture, sunning, thermoregulation, third year, Turkey Vulture|

I mentioned in my post about Short-eared Owls yesterday that I saw Burrowing Owls, Turkey Vultures and a third year Bald Eagle juvenile in northern Utah so I thought I would share a few more images form the northern Utah excursion.

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