Ring-billed Gull skirmish in a snow storm – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 2500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I never saw the sun shine yesterday, it was gray, gloomy, and snow was falling hard at times but that didn’t keep me home. I did go out to photograph some birds at a pond nearby. I wanted to capture birds with the snow falling and that is what I did. There were geese, ducks, grebes, coots and plenty of gulls at the pond.
The California and Ring-billed Gulls were watching the Common Goldeneyes and Pied-billed Grebes closely and as soon as they saw that they had caught a crayfish the gulls dove at them and attempted to steal the crayfish, at times they were successful. In this photo the Ring-billed Gull on the left had stolen a crayfish from a goldeneye and was being chased by another gull, the chase went of for quite a while and I don’t know if the gull was able to eat the crayfish at the end or if it was forced to drop it into the pond.
Ring-billed Gull in flight in a snow storm – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 2500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I enjoy being able to go down to the pond in the winter and photograph the birds I find there because I know that when I get too cold I can be home, warm and have a hot drink in my hands in just a few minutes.
Because the light was so low I pushed my ISO up high yesterday to get enough shutter speed to photograph the Ring-billed Gulls flying over the pond, diving towards the water and as they splashed down next to the diving ducks and grebes that they were trying to steal food from.
Adult Ring-billed Gull flying in a snow storm – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 1250, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I liked this image because of the color in the background, the pose of the Ring-billed Gull and of course all the falling snow.
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 was much better than staying home.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Ring-billed Gull photos plus facts and information about this species.
I think the light was perfect for the snow and gull pictures! And you used it to your advantage so well. Love the way the gulls wings seem to be translucent. Wonderful pictures
So much fun to see gulls and snow! Something I don’t think I’ll ever see where I am. 😉
I agree with April about the last shot….
Much,much better than staying home.
Here in Oz we are deep in the sweaty season and I am so grateful for the cooling balm of these images.
Nice!
These are such beautiful birds and the snow is a perfect background. Love the lower gull in the first shot….
The final photo is gorgeous, the colors, snow and angle of the gull. A delightful photo!
Going out is almost ALWAYS better than staying home! Sometimes not, but it’s usually better In this case, DEFINITELY better! I’m just a skosh jealous of your snow storm–not something that’s likely to happen here any time soon and I’d settle for some rain..
And what a glorious series of images! As I mentioned yesterday, I love gulls. I do. But that thievery thing gets on my last nerve, too. Yes, I understand that thievery is easier overall than hunting for yourself, but being a raptorphile and all, I appreciate the effort required to support yourself with your own hunting. LOL! 😉
That said, life is all about that survival-of-the-fittest thing and it doesn’t quibble about the HOW part–just that you DO it. And gulls are gorgeous.