Both of these portraits of a first winter Ring-billed Gull are of the same bird taken one minute apart just as the light changed from okay to much brighter where the gull had changed its location but only slightly.
I removed the "Just A" from the title for this post and added "Focusing On A" instead. Why? Because I was focused on observing and photographing this Ring-billed Gull drinking from an icy pond and I'm happy to say that I was.
On January 2nd I noticed a Ring-billed Gull coming in for a landing on an iced over pond that was missing a leg and foot and I wondered how well it would handle the slippery ice while attempting to land on it.
While photographing a California Gull on ice two days ago I was reminded of how well these gulls survive the bitter cold we have here at times during the winter even when the ponds, lakes and rivers freeze over.
What caught my eyes was that one of the cormorants was smaller, sleeker and darker than the other two birds and before I even scoped it through my lens I knew that I had found an out of season Neotropic Cormorant.
I recently became aware that there were ads at the bottom of the email that was automatically sent out to you all when I published my blog post this morning.
I'm not sure how this Ring-bill Gull got the snow on its bill but when I looked through my viewfinder I liked all of fine details I had in the snow, the bill and the white plumage of the gull and I felt I had to take photos of it.
During the winter I have opportunities to photograph California Gulls in flight in snow storms in low light and while images like this one aren't appealing to everyone's tastes I like them a lot.
On New Year's Day this year I had a Ring-billed Gull in flight in my viewfinder as it flew quickly over my local pond, I knew that from one frame to another the background would change and that the exposure might too
I like gulls, I like the way they look, I like the way they fly, I like the way they try to steal food from each other and other birds, I like the challenges of photographing them and I really like how scrappy they are.
Brine flies that live in the Great Salt Lake are an important food source for California Gulls and watching the gulls feed on the flies is fascinating as they use several techniques to catch them.
We have the Ring-billed and California Gulls in northern Utah year round but the Herring Gulls are only winter visitors to this area.
This California Gull blur in a snow storm was one of those blurs that happened because of slow shutter speeds and low light but I found that I liked the resulting photo and will call it a happy accident.
As much as I like the first photo where the Ring-billed Gull has its wings spread and its feet still in the water I like the second photo even more because of the action and how the bird is suspended over the water.
Two days ago this California Gull flew in and was so close to me that I felt I had to take portraits of it because the gull looked so handsome against the blue of the water.
Three frames later I was glad this Ring-billed Gull's rotund belly caught my eye when through my viewfinder I could see the gull preening while in flight which is unusual behavior in my experience.
This portrait of a head on Ring-billed Gull in a snow storm was taken 364 days ago at a local pond near home and I liked it because the gull looks a touch grumpy.
I really wanted some nice bird photos to remember Christmas Day 2017 and I found them but just a few blocks away from home at the local pond.
The light wasn't great when I photographed these Ring-billed Gulls flying in a December snow storm but I had a great time with the gulls and the rest of the birds.
It isn't all that often I get to photograph a gull lift off from the water and fly head on directly towards me like this California Gull in winter plumage did a few days ago.
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.
Just a simple post today of a simple bird, a dorsal view of a Ring-billed Gull in flight over a water feature at Farmington Bay WMA.
I photographed this adult Ring-billed Gull last winter at my local pond and loved the snow in the frame, the muted colors of the gull's plumage and the pops of color in the eye and bill of the gull.
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.
I photographed this Ring-billed Gull last November as it hovered over the autumn colored marsh and I really like the resulting photo. The pose, the light, the setting, the contrast in colors all work well for my tastes.
I photographed this preening Ring-billed Gull in a snow storm in January of this year at a pond near where I live and it was pretty chilly that day.
I start seeing some Ring-billed Gulls in breeding/Definitive Alternate Plumage in February but I sure didn't expect to see this one on the third day of January, I was quite surprised by it.
The Ring-billed Gulls up close to me were bathing frequently so I focused on them for a bit to catch them splashing and dipping their heads and bodies into the water.
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.
It was fun photographing this Double-crested Cormorant with its catch yesterday afternoon close to home especially since I knew the weather was going to take a turn.