{"id":137703,"date":"2024-12-07T02:39:30","date_gmt":"2024-12-07T08:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=137703"},"modified":"2025-07-07T10:54:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T15:54:59","slug":"its-weird-not-seeing-california-gulls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/12\/07\/its-weird-not-seeing-california-gulls\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Weird Not Seeing California Gulls!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have to admit that, after living in Utah for nearly fifteen years, it feels weird not seeing California Gulls now that I’ve moved away. Really weird.<\/p>\n

\"CaliforniaCalifornia Gull drinking from an urban pond \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of that is because, in Utah, I saw California Gulls every month of every year I lived there. These gulls were as much a feature of Utah to me as the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains, the West Desert, Red Rock Country, and the Great Salt Lake.<\/p>\n

I admit, I always thought the name “California Gulls” was a mistake. You can read why here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, while going through some photos from last December, I came across these California Gull photos taken almost one year ago. It dawned on me that I won’t be seeing this gull species like I used to.<\/p>\n

\"CaliforniaCalifornia Gull giving me the eye \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

But I took photos of them at every opportunity, and I am not sorry about that. I have no regrets for the photos I have taken, only for the ones I couldn’t take, should have taken, or missed due to circumstances beyond my control.<\/p>\n

I truly like and enjoy photographing gulls, and although I don’t see them as often here as I did in Utah, that has only made me appreciate them more. Before long, I should be seeing some of the gulls that show up here during the winter, and then new ones again in the spring.<\/p>\n

Yeah, 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":"

I have to admit that, after living in Utah for nearly fifteen years, it feels weird not seeing California Gulls now that I’ve moved away. Really weird.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":137696,"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":[520,709,26],"tags":[4004,970,4333,4464,5767,4620,3539,521,4230,4246,10698,1984,8018,3996,5480],"class_list":["post-137703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california-gulls","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-california-gull","tag-drinking","tag-eye","tag-fall","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-larus-californicus","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-park","tag-pond","tag-urban","tag-water","tag-winter-plumage"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-gull-willow-pond-utah-mia-mcpherson-8945.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-zP1","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":137703,"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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Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/california-gull-winter-plumage-mia-mpherson-8918.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/california-gull-winter-plumage-mia-mpherson-8918.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/california-gull-winter-plumage-mia-mpherson-8918.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/california-gull-winter-plumage-mia-mpherson-8918.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119650,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/13\/california-gull-a-misnamed-gull-species\/","url_meta":{"origin":137703,"position":2},"title":"California Gull – A Misnamed Gull Species","author":"Mia 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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Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"California Gull going into breeding plumage, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/california-gull-going-into-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-0797.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/california-gull-going-into-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-0797.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/california-gull-going-into-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-0797.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/california-gull-going-into-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-0797.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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McPherson","date":"January 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Winter California Gull portrait, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-close-up-mia-mcpherson-7252.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-close-up-mia-mcpherson-7252.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-close-up-mia-mcpherson-7252.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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