wading birds – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Well Crap – Another Cloudy Day

By Mia McPherson|October 27th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, autumn, cloudy, crap, crapping, defecating, fall, field, flats, Great Blue Heron, hatch year, heron, herons, immature, juvenile, marsh, pooping, refuge, wading birds, weather, wetlands, young|

I selected this hatch year Great Blue Heron photo to share today because it showed the young bird taking a crap on the flats of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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White-faced Ibis Close Up

By Mia McPherson|October 21st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, White-faced Ibises|Tags: adult, autumn, close up, fall, ibis, ibises, marsh, migratory, mobile blind, nonbreeding plumage, Plegadis chihi, portrait, red eyes, wading birds, water, wetlands, White-faced Ibis|

I'd almost forgotten about this White-faced Ibis close up photo that I took at the end of last month in the wetlands of Farmington Bay WMA.

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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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Snowy Egret With The Strangest Shadows I Have Ever Seen – How Does This Even Happen?

By Mia McPherson|October 1st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, bank, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, enclosed, fall, inside, legs, light, marsh, morning light, odd, projected, reflection, reflections, secondary shadow, shadow, shadows, Snowy Egret, strange, strangest, wading birds, water, weird, wetlands|

Yesterday morning I took a series of photos of a Snowy Egret at Farmington Bay WMA with the strangest shadows I have ever seen.

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Snowy Egret Blues

By Mia McPherson|September 24th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, blue, blue water, calling, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, light, marsh, morning, preening, shoreline, Snowy Egret, summer, wading birds, water, wetlands|

I liked these Snowy Egret photos because of the contrast of the bird's stark white plumage against the deep blue of the sky reflected on the water.

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Snowy Egret Photos – Farmington Bay Opening Day

By Mia McPherson|September 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, behavior, chasing, Covid, dashing, defensive, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, fight, fighting, flight, flying, hair style, head on, landing, lift off, lifting off, marsh, Snowy Egret, summer, take off, taking off, tip toe, tiptoe, wading birds, water, wetlands, wing tip, wingtip, wooden pole|

Yesterday was kind of an opening day at Farmington Bay and the Snowy Egret show was the highlight of the day.

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Snowy Egret In Flight

By Mia McPherson|August 20th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, flight, flying, marsh, mountains, Promontory Mountains, Snowy Egret, summer, wading birds, wetlands|

The reports of snow in the mountains made me think of this Snowy Egret photo I took in August of 2017 with the Promontory Mountains in the background.

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Great Blue Heron In The High Country

By Mia McPherson|August 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Great Blue Herons, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, air quality, Ardea herodias, canyon, creek, fire, grasses, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, mountains, rain, smoke, stream, summer, wading birds, water, wind|

It has been a week now since I photographed this Great Blue Heron and have been able to get out into the field because of smoke, wind, fire, and rain.

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Great Blue Heron and Mountain Goldenbanner

By Mia McPherson|June 2nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Great Blue Herons, Morgan County, Small in the frame, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, blooming, blooms, canyon, Filamentous algae, flowering, grasses, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, Mountain Goldenbanner, mountain meadow, Mountain Thermopsis, mountains, pond, spring, Thermopsis montana, wading birds, water, wildflowers, willows, yellow wildflowers|

Yesterday I wrote about a Golden Eagle in the Wasatch Mountains. Today I am writing about "golden" again. Blooming Mountain Goldenbanner and a Great Blue Heron.

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Spring Black-crowned Night Heron Butt Shot

By Mia McPherson|May 5th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, Black-crowned Night Heron, butt shot, close up, flight, flying, heron, herons, marsh, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, phragmites, phrags, portrait, reflections, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter|

Some photos just make me laugh and this spring Black-crowned Night Heron butt shot image does just that.

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Great Blue Heron In Flight Photos

By Mia McPherson|May 1st, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, banked, clouds, diffused light, dorsal aspect, flight, flying, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, high, marsh, morning, on the wing, Promontory Mountains, spread, spring, sunlight, thin, wading birds, wetlands, wings|

Today I am sharing seven Great Blue Heron in flight photos from the marsh at Bear River MBR that I took three days ago.

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Great Blue Heron Foraging In A Farm Pond

By Mia McPherson|April 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, farm pond, foraging, golden light, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, sun rise, sunrise, wading birds, water|

Two days ago the second bird I photographed was a Great Blue Heron foraging in a farm pond just after sunrise in Box Elder County.

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Spring Great Blue Heron Photos

By Mia McPherson|April 17th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, celebrate, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, marsh, marshes, river, spring, survival, wading, wading birds, wetlands, winter|

The first Great Blue Heron was quietly wading through the water in search of prey and the second heron was looking at something in the distance.

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Great Egret In The Marsh Of Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|April 12th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea alba, egret, egrets, golden light, Great Egret, marsh, phragmites, phrags, side lit, wading birds, wetlands|

One week ago today I found a Great Egret in the marshy wetlands of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge that was close enough to photograph.

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Winter Great Blue Heron In Flight

By Mia McPherson|January 31st, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, flight, flying, heron, herons, marsh, mountains, phragmites, phrags, sky, snow, wading birds, wetlands, winter|

I'm keeping it simple today and sharing a single photo of a winter Great Blue Heron in flight over the marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Photographing Winter Birds

By Mia McPherson|January 15th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Bald Eagles, Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Canvasbacks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Pied-billed Grebes, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Coot, Anas platyrhynchos, Aythya americana, Aythya valisineria, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, Black-crowned Night Heron, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Canvasback, chase, close up, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, coot, coots, dabbling ducks, dicks, displaying, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, eagle, eagles, female, fight, fighting, first winter, flight, flying, food, frisky, Fulica americana, goldeneye, goldeneyes, grackle, grackles, Great-tailed Grackle, grebe, grebes, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, heron, herons, immature, male, mallards, marsh, merganser, mergansers, Mergus merganser, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, pond, portrait, prey, Quiscalus mexicanus, raptors, Redhead, redheads, swimming, wading birds, water, waterfowl, weather loach, winter, young|

I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.

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Immature Great Blue Heron On Ice

By Mia McPherson|January 9th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, first winter, fluffy, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, ice, immature, landing, marsh, rest, resting, wading birds, walking, winter, young|

Three days ago I photographed an immature Great Blue Heron on ice from the auto tour route at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Second Winter Black-crowned Night Heron

By Mia McPherson|December 30th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: adult, Black-crowned Night Heron, first winter, heron, herons, immature, juvenile, marsh, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, Second Basic Plumage, Second Prebasic Molt, second winter, snow, snowy, sub-adult, wading birds, winter, young|

Yesterday morning at Farmington Bay I found and photographed a second winter Black-crowned Night Heron at the edge of the frozen marsh.

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Immature Great Blue Heron On Christmas Day

By Mia McPherson|December 28th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, Christmas Day, close up, field, first winter, foraging, grass, grasses, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, immature, portrait, rookery, wading birds, winter, young|

One of my Christmas Day gifts from Mother Nature was the chance to photograph an immature Great Blue Heron in a field.

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Five Bird Photos From Christmas Day 2020

By Mia McPherson|December 26th, 2020|Categories: American Kestrels, Bald Eagles, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, American Kestrel, Ardea herodias, Bald Eagle, birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Christmas Day, close up, eagle, eales, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, Falcons of Utah, field, first winter, Great Blue Heron, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, heron, herons, immature, lift off, lifting off, male, marsh, mountains, perched, pole, portrait, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, take off, taking off, tree, wading birds, wooden post, young|

Much to my delight I was able to photograph some birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.

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Christmas Day Bird Photos Thru The Years

By Mia McPherson|December 25th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Goldeneyes, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Golden Eagles, Long-eared Owls, Pied-billed Grebes, Pinellas County, Red-tailed Hawks, Roseate Spoonbills, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: adult, Bald Eagle, Christmas Day, close up, Common Merganser, crayfish, eagle, eagles, first year, foggy, Golden Eagle, grebes, haek, hawks, immature, landing Bear River, Long-eared Owl, oel, owls, Pied-billed Grebe, portrait, Red-tailed Hawk, Roseate Spoonbill, snow, snow storm, snowy, spoonbill, wading birds, winter, young|

Today I wanted to share some of the Christmas Day bird photos I have taken through the years out in the field and close to home.

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Great Blue Heron Resting On A Goose Nest

By Mia McPherson|December 22nd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, common, goose nest, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, human made, ice, man made, marsh, nest, resting, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter|

When I found this Great Blue Heron resting on a man made goose nest yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA I knew I wanted to photograph it.

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Still Life – Great Blue Heron And Its Reflection

By Mia McPherson|December 14th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: adult, Ardea herodias, frost, frozen, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, ice, marsh, reflections, shore, still life, vegetation, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter|

Great Blue Herons are very patient hunters and there are times when they are hunting that they move so slowly that it is barely perceptible.

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Photographing An Immature Great Blue Heron At Farmington Bay

By Mia McPherson|November 19th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, bank, foraging, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, immature, looking, marsh, mud, overhead, photographing, rocks, shore, sky, wading birds, water, young|

Three days ago I spotted an immature Great Blue Heron resting at the edge of the water at Farmington Bay WMA and couldn't resist taking photos of it.

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Great Blue Herons Aren’t Really Blue – So What’s Up With Their Name?

By Mia McPherson|November 10th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: Ardea herodias, bird identification, bird names, flight, flying, frozen, Great Blue Heron, habitat, heron, herons, ice, marsh, marsh habitat, mountains, resting, sky, snow, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter|

The name "Great Blue Heron" has always seemed off to me because these large herons are much more gray than they are blue.

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Immature Great Blue Heron – With And Without The Hand Of Man

By Mia McPherson|October 22nd, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Great Blue Herons, Utah|Tags: autumn, fall, flight, flying, Great Blue Heron, hand of man, heron, herons, immature, lift off, marsh, midges, mountains, observation deck, sky, take off, wading birds, wetlands, young|

Is one of these immature Great Blue Heron images more visually appealing than the other? That depends on the personal tastes of the person viewing them.

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Glowing Snowy Egret In A Ray Of Morning Light

By Mia McPherson|October 17th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, beam, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, fall, glowing, light, marsh, ray of light, Snowy Egret, spotlight, sunbeam, wading birds, water, wetlands|

The stark contrast of the white plumage of the Snowy Egret against the darkness of shadows on the vegetation and water made the egret appear to glow.

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One Funny Snowy Egret Photo

By Mia McPherson|September 26th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Snowy Egrets, Utah|Tags: close up, down, duckweed, egret, egrets, Egretta thula, fall, fish, foraging, freshwater marsh, funny, gulping, head, hunting, marsh, mode, model, morning light, portrait, pre-migration, prey, Snowy Egret, sparkling, specular highlights, upside down, wading birds, water, wetland|

September is a marvelous time for photographing Snowy Egrets in the freshwater marshes that surround the Great Salt Lake.

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Photographing My First Green Heron In Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|September 24th, 2020|Categories: American White Pelicans, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Green Herons, Long-tailed Weasels, Utah|Tags: adult, American White Pelican, Butorides virescens, duckweed, Green Heron, half blind, hatch year bird, heron, herons, immature, Long-tailed Weasel, marsh, missing eye, Mustela frenata, one-eared, one-eyed, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, pelican, pelicans, rare, standing, sub-adult, subadult, uncommon, wading birds, water, weasel, weasels|

It was a terrific "season opener" for me yesterday thanks to my keen observation skills at Farmington Bay WMA with a Green Heron, one-eared Long-tailed Weasel and a one-eyed American White Pelican.

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Resting Great Blue Herons In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|July 27th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Great Blue Herons, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, alpine, Ardea herodias, creek, East Canyon Creek, Great Blue Heron, heron, herons, mountains, riparian habitat, wading birds, water|

I'm actually more than a touch fascinated by the Great Blue Herons I see, observe and photograph in the higher altitudes of the Wasatch Mountains.

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