{"id":109827,"date":"2023-01-25T05:50:19","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T12:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=109827"},"modified":"2023-10-23T03:15:14","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T09:15:14","slug":"california-gull-playing-with-a-stick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/25\/california-gull-playing-with-a-stick\/","title":{"rendered":"California Gull Playing With A Stick"},"content":{"rendered":"

This morning I’m sharing two photos of a California Gull playing with a stick at one of my local ponds that I took during the winter in January of 2021.<\/p>\n

\"CaliforniaCalifornia Gull playing with a stick \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The gull caught my eye because it kept tossing the stick into the air while it was flying over the pond. At first I thought the stick was a food item. Knowing gulls like I do though, I know that if the stick had been food the other gulls would have been chasing it to steal it.<\/p>\n

Do gulls play?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

According to birdsoftheworld.org<\/span><\/a> they do although it may not be truly play:<\/p>\n

Most common play activity appears to be practice of picking up a stick, dropping it, and swooping or bending to catch or pick it up again. This behavior most common in older chicks and fledglings; rarely, if ever, expressed in adults. Clearly, age distribution of this behavior suggests a functional practice element, and it may not be \u201ctrue\u201d play.<\/p>\n

\"CaliforniaCalifornia Gull snagging a stick in mid air \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

If you know California Gulls you might notice that the gull in my photos isn’t a chick or a fledgling. It appears to be a third winter bird. The California Gull I photographed isn’t quite an adult but its certainly not young either.<\/p>\n

I know for certain that some birds “play” just to play. My pet budgie, Babe, played often. Babe loved to play with his toys and with me. Other birds from the parrot family play too. Members of the corvid family play.<\/p>\n

Long ago I photographed a Black Skimmer on the West Coast of Florida that also appeared to be playing with a “stick”<\/span><\/a> that was actually a mangrove seed pod. The skimmer twirled that seed pod around its bill for quite a few minutes. I was fascinated by the odd behavior.<\/p>\n

If members of the parrot and corvids families can play I don’t see why members of the gull family wouldn’t.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my California Gull photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This morning I’m sharing two photos of a California Gull playing with a stick at one of my local ponds that I took during the winter in January of 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,520,709,26],"tags":[4226,4333,4052,4122,3539,521,4230,6305,5124,4806,1984,4188,13647,7566,8018,3996,373,5480],"class_list":["post-109827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-california-gulls","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-behavior","tag-california-gull","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-larus-californicus","tag-mid-air","tag-play","tag-playing","tag-pond","tag-shoreline","tag-snagging","tag-stick","tag-urban","tag-water","tag-winter","tag-winter-plumage"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/california-gull-winter-stick-mia-mcpherson-0003.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-szp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":100954,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/21\/urban-california-gull-in-soft-morning-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":109827,"position":0},"title":"Urban California Gull In Soft Morning Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I spent a few minutes focused on photographing an urban California Gull in soft morning light at a pond close to home.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult California Gull in soft morning light, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/california-gull-adult-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-2145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/california-gull-adult-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-2145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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McPherson","date":"January 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"As I photographed a winter California Gull at my local pond two days ago, I thought about how these gulls are a misnamed species for the umpteenth time.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Portrait of a California Gull calling in spring, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/california-gull-calling-mia-mcpherson-2671.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/california-gull-calling-mia-mcpherson-2671.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Really weird.","rel":"","context":"In "California Gulls"","block_context":{"text":"California Gulls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gulls\/california-gulls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"California Gull giving me the eye, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-gull-willow-pond-utah-mia-mcpherson-8945.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-gull-willow-pond-utah-mia-mcpherson-8945.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-gull-willow-pond-utah-mia-mcpherson-8945.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-gull-willow-pond-utah-mia-mcpherson-8945.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107838,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/11\/08\/winter-california-and-herring-gull-comparison-in-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":109827,"position":4},"title":"Winter California And American Herring Gull Comparison In Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Since I frequently get asked which is which I thought this would be a good time to do a winter California and American Herring Gull comparison and ID feature post.","rel":"","context":"In "American Herring Gulls"","block_context":{"text":"American Herring Gulls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gulls\/herring-gulls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Herring Gull - California Gull Comparison and ID Features, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/herring-california-gull-winter-adult-comparison-mia-mcpherson-0305.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/herring-california-gull-winter-adult-comparison-mia-mcpherson-0305.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/herring-california-gull-winter-adult-comparison-mia-mcpherson-0305.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/herring-california-gull-winter-adult-comparison-mia-mcpherson-0305.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":136849,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/11\/15\/my-arkansas-american-herring-gull-sighting\/","url_meta":{"origin":109827,"position":5},"title":"My Arkansas American Herring Gull Sighting","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This past week, I had my first ever Arkansas American Herring Gull sighting. 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