While out on Antelope Island State Park on Friday I spotted a male Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) on top of a bush, the light was just great for viewing and photographing the iridescent teals, blues, greens and purples that can show up on these “black” birds. I was even more tickled when the blackbird started […]
Author: Mia McPherson
Mia McPherson is a nature lover, wildlife watcher and an avian photographer. Mia first become serious about bird photography when she moved to Florida in 2004. Her recent move to the Salt Lake area of Utah was a great opportunity to continue observing their behavior and photographing them. With so many birds species there easily accessible it wasn’t long before she was hooked. By learning more about each species, she can anticipate their behaviour and create opportunities to obtain ever better images of those species.
Too many Eared Grebes to Count
During spring and fall migration there can be so many Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) on the Great Salt Lake that they are impossible to count. The diet of Eared Grebes include brine shrimp and alkali flies that are found in hyper saline environments such as Mono Lake in California and the Great Salt Lake in […]
California Gull with nesting material
A little over a week ago I was photographing a perched Loggerhead Shrike on Antelope Island when I noticed a California Gull (Larus californicus) flying towards me with a bill full of something that didn’t look like food. As the gull came closer to me I could see that it was some type of vegetation […]
Oh…Poop!
Yes, poop happens. If there are birds there is poop. That is the straight poop… I mean scoop! Some birds poop in mid-air which it is always wise to have your mouth closed when photographing birds directly over your head. A wide-brimmed hat is kind of handy too. I’m glad this Royal Tern banked when […]
Semipalmated Plover – How to get Sandy Pants
Getting “Down & Dirty” is a way of being at eye level with your subject which brings the viewer into the bird’s world and it can make the image feel more intimate too. Achieving those low angle perspectives can be quite messy and/or uncomfortable depending on the habitat. The day I took this Semipalmated Plover […]
Montana is beckoning to me…
Lately every where I go I see the word “Montana”, I see it on billboards, license plates, TV commercials, written on the side of semi-tractor trailers and on the back of camping trailers. Seeing the word “Montana” so often has gotten me anxious, antsy and itching to head north soon to see more of a […]
Female Dusky Grouse
I photographed this female Dusky Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) while up in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Dusky Grouse were once considered “Blue Grouse” and some folks still call them that. This hen was traveling in a small flock of four to five birds as I recall and they were feeding right at the edge of […]
Black-necked Stilts
Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus) have returned from their wintering grounds to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and other locations in Utah. Black-necked Stilts are black and white shorebirds with long pink to reddish legs, thin black bills and lovely red eyes. I photographed this male Stilt as he fed in front of me on April […]