{"id":15752,"date":"2014-09-02T05:03:41","date_gmt":"2014-09-02T11:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=15752"},"modified":"2025-05-08T08:34:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T13:34:08","slug":"ring-billed-gull-in-flight-over-the-gulf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/09\/02\/ring-billed-gull-in-flight-over-the-gulf\/","title":{"rendered":"Ring-billed Gull in flight over the Gulf"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ring-billedRing-billed Gull in flight over the Gulf – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1500, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 240mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2009 I gave myself a belated birthday present by going to Honeymoon Island State Park<\/span><\/a> in northern Pinellas County, Florida to photograph birds and dolphins.<\/p>\n

Going to the park can be frustrating because at that time the gates didn’t open until 8 a.m. which was later than I’d like because I love to be on the beach as the sun comes up.<\/p>\n

But it was a\u00a0glorious morning, the sky was mostly clear and the Gulf of Mexico was about the calmest I had ever seen it.<\/p>\n

The dolphins didn’t come in close to the shore but it was peaceful to see them gliding through the water while I walked to the far north end of the island.<\/p>\n

I was only about 1\/4 of a mile from the parking lot when the people thinned out and I could savor the warmth of the winter sun, the sugar sand beneath my feet, the tang of salt in the air and the birds that flew gracefully by all by myself. I treasure moments like those.<\/p>\n

Ospreys dove into the water fishing for breakfast, tiny shorebirds scurried along looking for prey in the floating mats of seaweed that had been pushed up against the shore overnight and the gulls flew by slowly always look down into the water for prey.<\/p>\n

Ring-billed Gulls are fairly common but as with any common bird I believe that they can be uncommonly beautiful.<\/p>\n

This is such a simple image but when I view it I am transported back to that wonderful day.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Ring-billed Gulls are fairly common but as with any common bird I believe that they can be uncommonly beautiful. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,25,468,2000,410],"tags":[4004,14752,4052,4122,4077,3539,521,4264,4468,4018,3996,373],"class_list":["post-15752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-honeymoon-island-state-park","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-ring-billed-gulls","tag-adult","tag-coastal-island","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-larus-delawarensis","tag-ring-billed-gull","tag-sky","tag-water","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ring-billed-gull-gulf-mexico-mia-mcpherson-1442.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-464","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43356,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/12\/05\/comparing-adult-ring-billed-and-california-gulls\/","url_meta":{"origin":15752,"position":0},"title":"Comparing 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2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Just a simple image today that I have always liked because of the action even though I don't have great eye contact with my subject, a Ring-billed Gull.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ring-billed Gull in a dive, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-in-dive-3847.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-in-dive-3847.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-in-dive-3847.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 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Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-flight-mia-mcpherson-3945.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-flight-mia-mcpherson-3945.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-flight-mia-mcpherson-3945.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-flight-mia-mcpherson-3945.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13483,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/01\/16\/a-ring-billed-gull-light-on-dark\/","url_meta":{"origin":15752,"position":4},"title":"Ring-billed Gull – Light on Dark","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The day I photographed this Ring-billed Gull at Fort De Soto's north beach there were baitfish in the hundreds of thousands running just off shore and pelicans, egrets, terns and gulls were all in a feeding frenzy.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ring-billed Gull against dark background, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-flight-florida-mia-mcpherson-3910.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-flight-florida-mia-mcpherson-3910.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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