Franklin's Gull – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Franklin’s Gull Images – Better Late Than Never

By Mia McPherson|2023-09-03T04:38:44-05:00September 3rd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Franklin's Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, Azolla, duckweed, Franklin's Gull, gull, gulls, Leucophaeus pipixcan, marsh, migrate, migration, nonbreeding plumage, pond, shallow, summer, water, wetlands|

I took these Franklin's Gull images at Farmington Bay WMA nearly a year ago. I suppose it's better late than never to share the photos with you all today.

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Franklin’s Gull Flying In A Smoky Sky

By Mia McPherson|2021-09-18T04:43:24-05:00September 18th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Franklin's Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, clouds, flight, flying, Franklin's Gull, gull, gulls, Leucophaeus pipixcan, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, perched, pink breast, pink cast, sky, smoky sky, summer, wetlands|

I have a soft spot for gulls so when I had the opportunity two days ago to photograph this Franklin's Gull flying in a smoky sky I was both excited and thrilled.

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Franklin’s Gull Feasting On Brine Flies Plus News About The Great Salt Lake

By Mia McPherson|2021-08-22T06:05:28-05:00July 25th, 2021|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Franklin's Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, brine flies, chasing, conservation, drying, dying, eating, Ephydra cinerea, Ephydra hians, feasting, flies, foraging, Franklin's Gull, Great Salt Lake, gull, gulls, hatch year, hypersaline, hypersaline lake, immature, juvenile, lake, Leucophaeus pipixcan, rocks, scooping, shore, shoreline, summer, walking, water, water levels, young|

While Franklin's Gulls are in northern Utah for their breeding season brine flies are an important food source for the adults and their young and are a part of their breeding success here in the Great Basin.

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Early Franklin’s Gull at Bear River MBR on March 6, 2018

By Mia McPherson|2021-06-19T04:31:46-05:00March 6th, 2019|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Beaverhead County, Birds, Box Elder County, Centennial Valley, Davis County, Franklin's Gulls, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Utah|Tags: Antigone canadensis, breeding plumage, early migrant, Franklin's Gull, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, Leucophaeus pipixcan, marsh, molting, Ring-billed Gulls, Sandhill Crane|

While I had the Sandhill Crane and the Ring-billed Gulls in my view finder I heard a call and it only took a second for my brain to figure out that I was hearing a Franklin's Gull which surprised me because it was at the refuge much earlier than I have ever seen one there before.

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A Glimpse Into What Could Happen to Bear River MBR With Less Water Flowing Into It

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-20T09:18:47-05:00August 23rd, 2018|Categories: American White Pelicans, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Long-billed Dowitchers, Tundra Swans, Utah, Video, Wilson's Phalaropes|Tags: American White Pelicans, auto tour route, climate change, Cygnus columbianus, Franklin's Gull, Leucophaeus pipixcan, Limnodromus scolopaceus, Long-billed Dowitcher, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, Phalaropus tricolor, proposed dams, Tundra Swan, video, water, Wilson's Phalarope|

Water levels have been dropped in some units at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge for dike maintenance and this made me think of what might happen in the future due to climate change and if more dams are built on the Bear River and how the reduction of water reaching the refuge might be a huge issue

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Franklin’s Gulls at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-25T05:37:55-05:00October 14th, 2017|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Franklin's Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, fish, flight, flying, Franklin's Gull, gull, gulls, hatch year, hatch year bird, immature, juvenile, Leucophaeus pipixcan, marsh, migration, prey, summer, water, wetlands, young|

Franklin's Gulls are only here in northern Utah during the breeding season, during the winter they spend their time along the west coast of South America.

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Franklin’s and Ring-billed Gulls Flying in Smoky Skies

By Mia McPherson|2023-09-03T03:09:26-05:00September 6th, 2017|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Franklin's Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, flight, flying, Franklin's Gull, gull, gulls, haze, Larus delawarensis, Leucophaeus pipixcan, marsh, Promontory Mountains, Ring-billed Gull, smoke, smoky sky, summer, wetlands, wildfires|

I did take some nice Franklin's and Ring-billed Gull photos in flight over the water of the marshes at the refuge despite the smoky sky.

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Franklin’s Gull and Laughing Gull Comparison

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-30T06:14:18-05:00May 2nd, 2016|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Brine Flies, Davis County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Franklin's Gulls, Laughing Gulls, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: bird identification, brine flies, brine fly, chests, coastal, comparison, dark hoods, eye-arcs, Franklin's Gull, grasslands, gull, gulls, inland, Interior West, Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, Leucophaeus pipixcan, mirrors, pink tint, prairie, primaries, reddish legs, similar, similarities|

I know this isn't a complete Franklin's Gull and Laughing Gull comparison but I'm not a scientist, just a bird photographer and bird lover.

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The Brine Fly Buffet begins on the Great Salt Lake

By Mia McPherson|2022-11-11T11:16:56-06:00March 11th, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Brine Flies, California Gulls, Davis County, Franklin's Gulls, Great Salt Lake, Utah|Tags: brine fly, California Gull, Ephydra cinerea, Ephydra hians, Franklin's Gull, Great Salt Lake, Larus californicus, Leucophaeus pipixcan|

Yesterday while near the marina on Antelope Island State Park I spotted my first of the year Brine Flies warming up on some of the rocks in the water.

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Immature Franklin’s Gulls

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-25T11:02:14-05:00July 27th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Centennial Valley, Franklin's Gulls, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: Beaverhead County, bird photography, Franklin's Gull, gull, gulls, immature, juvenile, lake, Leucophaeus pipixcan, summer, valley, water, wetlands, young|

I like gulls, I know that gulls are not always a popular subject for many bird photographers and that they will often pass them by but to me they are as delightful, beautiful and fascinating as any other bird.

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Franklin’s Gulls ~ Feeding Frenzy

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-25T11:11:23-05:00March 5th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Franklin's Gulls, Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, feeding, feeding frenzy, flight, flying, foraging, Franklin's Gull, gull, gulls, hovering, Leucophaeus pipixcan, spring, valley, wet meadow|

Last year while I was camping and photographing at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge I saw a feeding frenzy that involved Franklin's and California Gulls in the flooded grasses and Sagebrush flats near the Lower Lake.

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