young – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Wasatch Mountain Mallard Babies

By Mia McPherson|June 4th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Mallards, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Anas platyrhynchos, babies, canyon, creek, dabbling ducks, ducklings, immature, juvenile, Mallard, mallards, mountains, spring, water, waterfowl, young|

I can't pass up photographing mountain Mallard babies when I find their little fluffy selves on mountain creeks, streams, lakes, or reservoirs.

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Roadside Baby Uinta Ground Squirrel

By Mia McPherson|June 2nd, 2023|Categories: Summit County, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: baby, canyon, damp, dirt, ground squirrel, ground squirrels, immature, mammals, mountains, roadside, spring, squirrel, squirrels, Uinta Ground Squirrel, Urocitellus armatus, young|

I am completely unable to resist taking baby Uinta Ground Squirrel photos. These babies are simply that appealing to me, no matter where I find them.

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Mix Of Urban Birds Close To Home

By Mia McPherson|April 10th, 2023|Categories: American Robins, Birds, Double-crested Cormorants, Red-winged Blackbirds, Redheads, Salt Lake County, Savannah Sparrows, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Utah|Tags: accipiter, Accipiter striatus, Accipiters, adult, Agelaius phoeniceus, American Robin, Aythya americana, basketball backstop, blackbird, blackbirds, branches, cattail, close up, cormorant, cormorants, curb, Double-crested Cormorant, drake, duck, ducks, edge, habitat, hawks, immature, landing, male, Nannopterum auritus, neighborhood, park, Passerculus sandwichensis, perched, pond, portrait, raptors, Red-winged Blackbird, Redhead, redheads, robin, robins, Savannah Sparrow, Sharp-shinned Hawk, sky, small in frame, snow, sparrow, sparrows, splash, splashy, spring, stinkeye, thrush, thrushes, tree, Turdus migratorius, urban, water, waterbirds, waterfowl, young|

This mix of urban birds were taken over a two day period close to home. Birds, no matter where they are, bring me joy, happiness, and even laughter.

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Muskrat Kit In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|March 30th, 2023|Categories: Morgan County, Muskrats, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: alpine creek, alpine stream, baby, canyon, creek, immature, kit, mountains, Muskrat, muskrats, Ondatra zibethicus, riparian habitat, rodent, stream, summer, water, young|

I came across these images of Muskrat kit that I photographed in July of 2020 high in the Wasatch Mountains and realized I hadn't shared the images of them yet.

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World Water Day 2023

By Mia McPherson|March 22nd, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Centennial Valley, Conservation, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, Glacier County, Glacier National Park, Juab County, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Sawgrass Lake Park, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, American Coots, aspens, Box Elder County, canyon, Centennial Mountains, Centennial Valley, clouds, conifers, coots, creek, Cygnus columbianus, Fish Springs Range, flight, flock, Florida, flying, footbridge, foothills, grass, grasses, hills, ice, immature, Juab County, maple swamp, marsh, mountains, Pinellas County, pond, Promontory Mountains, rapids, reflections, river, rocks, rushing, sage, sagebrush, Sawgrass Lake Park, shadows, shrubs, sky, snow, snow-topped, spring, summer, swamp, swan, swans, trail, trees, Tundra Swan, Utah, valley, water, waterfowl, west desert, wetlands, Wigeon Pond, willows, winter, young|

Today is World Water Day. The theme for World Water Day 2023 is: Accelerate Change. Every human being on this planet is roughly 60% water.

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Big & Beautiful: Tundra Swans of Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|March 3rd, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, alert, bath, bathing, bill, close, Cygnus columbianus, droplets, flight, flock, flying, goofy, ice shelf, immature, marsh, nips, Promontory Mountains, relaxing, resting, sky, snow, spot, swans, Tundra Swan, walking, water, waterfowl, wetlands, winter, young|

Yesterday morning I spent time with a flock of big, beautiful Tundra Swans at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I loved every moment that I had with the swans.

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Young Bald Eagle Looking Fierce

By Mia McPherson|February 28th, 2023|Categories: Bald Eagles, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: Bald Eagle, blue, desert, eagle, eagles, Eagles of Utah, fierce, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, looking, perched, pole, power pole, ranchlands, raptors, sky, subadult, winter, young|

Today I'm sharing a photo of a young Bald Eagle who was looking mighty fierce while perched on a power pole that I took last February on a very cold morning.

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Bear River MBR: Winter Haven For Tundra Swans

By Mia McPherson|February 7th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Tundra Swans, Utah|Tags: adult, azure, Cygnus columbianus, flight, flying, immature, marsh, sky, swan, swans, Tundra Swan, Tundra Swans, waterfowl, wetlands, winter, young|

I had hoped that this morning would be sunny so I could head to Bear River MBR to see, listen to, and photograph Tundra Swans on the marshes.

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Midwinter Daydreaming

By Mia McPherson|January 31st, 2023|Categories: Birds, Lazuli Buntings, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: barbed wire, bunting, canyon, daydreaming, fence, immature, Lazuli Bunting, male, mountains, Passerina amoena, perched, summer, young|

I have spent time daydreaming about the birds of spring and summer recently because I have a touch of the midwinter blues. It has been a very gray winter.

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Immature Black-crowned Night Heron – Where Are The Birds?

By Mia McPherson|January 18th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Black-crowned Night Herons, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: Black-crowned Night Heron, fishing, heron, herons, hunting, immature, marsh, night heron, night herons, Nycticorax nycticorax, wading birds, water, wetlands, winter, young|

While going through my archives I found this photo of a fishing immature Black-crowned Night Heron taken 10 years ago today at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Immature American Herring Gull Testing The Ice

By Mia McPherson|January 6th, 2023|Categories: American Herring Gulls, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah|Tags: American Herring Gull, gull, gulls, ice, immature, insurrection, January 6th, Larus smithsonianus, marsh, testing, water, wetlands, winter, young|

It was January 6, 2021, when I photographed this immature American Herring Gull testing the ice at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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My 2022 Year In Review

By Mia McPherson|December 31st, 2022|Categories: American Kestrels, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Black-billed Magpies, Box Elder County, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Golden Eagles, Great Horned Owls, Horned Grebes, Morgan County, Ring-billed Gulls, Rock Wrens, Ruffed Grouse, Tundra Swans, Utah, Warbling Vireos, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow Warblers|Tags: adult, Amelanchier utahensis, American Kestrel, Aquila chrysaetos, autumn, background, berries, Bewick's Swan, bill, birds of prey, Black-billed Magpie, blooming, blooms, blossoms, Bonasa umbellus, boulder, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Bubo virginianus, building, canyon, close up, corvids, Cygnus columbianus, Cygnus columbianus bewickii, Davis County, desert, dirt, eagle, eagles, Falco sparverius, falcon, falcons, fall, farmlands, female, fledgling, flight, flock, flowering, flowering shrub, flying, forest edge, fruiting shrub, fruits, fruting shrubs, Golden Eagle, gorget, Great Horned Owl, grebe, grebes, grouse, gull, gulls, Horned Grebe, hummingbird, hummingbirds, immature, juvenile, kestrel, kestrels, Larus delawarensis, lichen, lores, magpie, magpies, male, marsh, mountains, nest, nest box, nesting, nonbreeding plumage, owl, owls, perched, Pica hudsonia, Podiceps auritus, raptors, rare, reflection, Ring-billed Gull, riparian habitat, road, roadside, rock, Rock Wren, rocks, Ruffed Grouse, Salpinctes obsoletus, Selasphorus platycercus, serviceberries, serviceberry, Setophaga petechia, shrub, spring, stink-eye, summer, swan, swans, thicket, tree, Tundra Swans, Utah, Utah Serviceberry, vagrant, warbler, warblers, water, waterbirds, waterfowl, wetlands, willow, willow thicket, willows, winter, winter plumage, wood-warbler, wood-warblers, wren, wrens, Yellow Warbler, young|

On this last day of the year it is time for my annual 2022 Year in Review post. In some ways 2022 has been great for me and in others not so good.

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Some Mammals I Loved In 2022

By Mia McPherson|December 28th, 2022|Categories: American Badgers, Davis County, Elk, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Least Chipmunks, Long-tailed Weasels, Morgan County, Mule Deer, Summit County, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Yellow-bellied Marmots|Tags: adult, American Badger, autumn, baby, badger, badger burrow, badgers, canyon, Cervus canadensis, chipmunk, chipmunks, close up, cow, curious, cute, Elk, elks, fall, female, fence post, grazing, ground squirrel, ground squirrels, high Uintas, hillside, kissing, Least Chipmunk, Long-tailed Weasel, mammals, marmot, Marmota flaviventris, marmots, marsh, mountains, Mustela frenata, mustelids, Neotamias minimus, portrait, profile, roadside, rock, rock pile, rocks, rocky slope, shadow, spring, squirrel, squirrels, summer, summer coat, Taxidea taxus, Uinta Ground Squirrel, Urocitellus armatus, weasel, weasels, wetlands, wooden post, Yellow-bellied Marmot, young|

This morning I am sharing some photos of the mammals I loved finding, seeing, photographing and having in my viewfinder in 2022.

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Immature Ferruginous Hawk In December

By Mia McPherson|December 23rd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo regalis, Buteos, clouds, desert, eyes, fall, Ferruginous Hawk, flight, flying, foothills, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, lifting off, light morph, raptors, sky, taking off, young|

I was overjoyed to see an immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk in my viewfinder four years ago in December while I was out in Utah's West Desert.

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Immature Male Common Goldeneye And Catfish

By Mia McPherson|December 16th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Common Goldeneyes, San Juan County, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Bucephala clangula, catfish, Common Goldeneye, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, fall, first winter, fish, food, immature, look, male, over the shoulder, pond, prey, urban, water, waterfowl, young|

On this day two years ago, I photographed this immature male Common Goldeneye with a catfish at the pond in my neighborhood. It was a chilly, wintry afternoon.

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Immature Rough-legged Hawk, Staring Prey And Feaking

By Mia McPherson|December 15th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, Davis County, fall, feaking, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, landing, light morph, looking, marsh, nest box, prey, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, staring, vole, wetlands, young|

This morning I am sharing photos of an immature Rough-legged Hawk, its staring prey, of the bird feaking and a bonus image that shows the tongue of the hawk.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk In A Safety Zone

By Mia McPherson|December 4th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Circus hudsonius, defensive mode, dive, dive bombing, fall, flight, flying, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, Nothern Harrier, perched, post, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, resting, safety zone, sign, wetlands, wooden post, young|

About two years ago, I photographed this immature Red-tailed Hawk resting above a safety zone sign at Farmington Bay WMA on a cold morning.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk Head On Stare

By Mia McPherson|November 28th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, branches, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, fall, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, head on, immature, marsh, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, stare, tree, young|

If I were a vole, I'd tremble in fear under the head on stare of this immature Red-tailed Hawk that I photographed last week at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Immature Northern Shrike Jackpot!

By Mia McPherson|November 26th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Shrikes, Utah|Tags: autumn, Common Mullein, fall, immature, Lanius borealis, marsh, mullein, mulleins, Northern Shrike, perched, shrike, shrikes, Verbascum thapsus, wetlands, young|

I felt like I had hit a jackpot yesterday when I found an immature Northern Shrike perched on a Common Mullein at Farmington Bay WMA.

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Old Bullock’s Oriole Nest In Autumn

By Mia McPherson|November 14th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Bullock's Orioles, Jordan River Parkway Trail, Morgan County, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: Amelanchier utahensis, autumn, berry, branches, Bullock's Oriole, canyon, Cottonwood, cottonwoods, fall, flowering shrub, fruiting shrub, Icterus bullockii, immature, leaves, mountains, nest, Old Bullock's, oriole, orioles, perched, Populus, serviceberries, serviceberry, sky, summer., tree, Utah Serviceberry, young|

Now that many of the leaves have fallen off the trees along the Jordan River I have been finding quite a few Bullock's Oriole nests on my walks along the trail.

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Immature Clark’s Grebe And A Mystery

By Mia McPherson|November 2nd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Clark's Grebes, Utah|Tags: Aechmophorus clarkii, autumn, begging, Clark's Grebe, fall, feathers, grebe, grebes, immature, juvenal plumage, juvenile, loop, marsh, molt, twisted, water, waterbirds, wetlands, young|

I came across an immature Clark's Grebe on Monday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I took photos of the grebe because I could see something on its fluffy neck.

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Desert Red-tailed Hawk Photos

By Mia McPherson|October 28th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Artemisia tridentata, autumn, Big Sagebrush, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, Celtis reticulata, cliff, cliff face, dark morph, desert, dwelling, fall, hackberries, hackberry, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, leaves, lichen, lift off, lifting off, metal post, Netleaf Hackberry, perched, preparing, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, rocks, sage, sagebrush, sky, stony eyed, take off, taking off, Utah, young|

While I was up in far northern Utah looking for birds last week, I took quite a few Red-tailed Hawk photos. I shared one image a few days ago and here are a few more.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk With ‘Tude

By Mia McPherson|October 24th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: 'tude, attitude, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, cliff, desert, fall, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, laughing, laughter, lichen, looking, perception, raptors, red tail, Red-tailed Hawk, rocks, sky, surly, young|

While I was up in far northern Utah last week, the first bird I photographed was this immature Red-tailed Hawk that seemed to have a surly attitude about it.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk With Mountains In The Background

By Mia McPherson|October 15th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-tailed Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, early morning light, fall, hatch year, hawk, hawks, immature, marsh, mountains, nest box, nestbox, perched, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, slopes, stern, young|

My best bird photos from yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA were of an immature Red-tailed Hawk with the shadowed Wasatch Mountain slopes in the background.

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Young Eastern Kingbird

By Mia McPherson|September 12th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Eastern Kingbirds, Utah|Tags: close up, Eastern Kingbird, immature, kingbird, kingbirds, marsh, perched, portrait, sky, summer, Tyrannus tyrannus, tyrant flycatchers, wetlands, young|

While I was driving around the auto tour loop of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge last month, I had a nice opportunity to photograph a young Eastern Kingbird.

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Immature Red-tailed Hawk In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|September 11th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, feather, fence post, foothills, hawk, hawks, immature, juniper, junipers, Juniperus osteosperma, looking, morning, perched, preening, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, sky, sky island mountains, soaking up, summer, Tooele County, Utah, Utah Juniper, warmth, west desert, wooden post, young|

Last month while I wandered in the West Desert I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk perched on a wooden fence post in the foothills of some sky island mountains.

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Young Green-tailed Towhee In A Serviceberry

By Mia McPherson|September 10th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: Amelanchier alnifolia, berries, berry, canyon, flowering shrub, fruiting shrub, Green-tailed Towhee, immature, juvenile, mountains, Pipilo chlorurus, Saskatoon, serviceberries, serviceberry, sparrow, sparrows, summer, towhee, towhees, Western Serviceberry, young|

I found this young Green-tailed Towhee perched in a serviceberry high in a mountain canyon on a sunny morning on the last day of July this year.

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Puzzling Mule Deer Doe Behavior

By Mia McPherson|September 5th, 2022|Categories: Mule Deer, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, behavior, canyon, creek, creek bank., crossing, deer, doe, drinking, fawn, female, grassy, immature, kicking, mammals, mountains, Mule Deer, Odocoileus hemionus, stream, stream bank, summer, tangled, water, young|

Last week while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains is saw some interesting Mule Deer doe behavior after I started to take images of two does and two fawns.

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Young Western Tanager in the Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|September 2nd, 2022|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Western Tanagers|Tags: forest edge, Gambel Oak, immature, oaks, perched, Piranga ludoviciana, Poecile gambeli, summer, tanager, tanagers, tree, Western Tanager, young|

Yesterday morning I found this young Western Tanager in the Wasatch Mountains after it came out of a Gambel Oak tree to perch out into the open.

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White-faced Ibis at Bear River MBR

By Mia McPherson|September 1st, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, White-faced Ibises|Tags: adult, flock, ibis, ibises, immature, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, Plegadis chihi, summer, wading birds, wetlands, White-faced Ibis, young|

Sunday morning at Bear River MBR I could have been found photographing a flock of White-faced Ibis from the north side of the auto tour route.

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