The typical eye color for California Gulls is a very dark brown that appears almost black in most cases but there can be variations in their eye color.
Close up showing eye color variation in a California Gull – Nikon D500, f10, 1/1000, ISO 200, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Yesterday I was inside a vehicle photographing other birds when I saw this California Gull walk up close and when I focused on it to take a few portraits of the gull I noticed its unusual eyes. They remind me of polished Onyx or Snowflake Obsidian with flecks of light grays and sparkles of white in the stone.
California Gull close up in nonbreeding plumage – Nikon D500, f8, 1/1600, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
This is a California Gull with typical dark eyes taken at the same pond the day before I photographed the one with the unusual eyes. There are no flecks of lighter colors in its eyes.
Eye color variation in a California Gull – Nikon D500, f10, 1/800, ISO 200, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
This image shows the left eye of the California Gull I photographed yesterday that shows both eyes have the variation in eye color but the pattern of the flecks and sparkles is a bit different than it is in the right eye.
I have seen this eye color variation a few times before but these close up portraits show the variation much better than other images I have taken of California Gulls with different eye colors.
California Gull close up in December
California Gull close up in December – Nikon D500, f11, 1/800, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
This is another close up taken two days ago showing a California Gull with normal colored eyes. Eye color in California Gulls does not change during breeding season and remains the same throughout their lives so the bird I photographed yesterday will have those sparkling eyes for the rest of its life.
I guess sometimes it pays to keep an eye out for subtle variations in the birds I photograph. Sorry for the pun! (Not really)
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my California Gull photos plus facts and information about this species.
A gorgeous thing to see. Thank you.
What beautiful eyes! They do look like snowflake obsidian, a beautiful,intetesting stone…
I wonder if the eye color variation effects their vision?
How interesting. I like the sparkly eyes. Great portrait photos too!