{"id":2237,"date":"2011-04-26T08:49:31","date_gmt":"2011-04-26T15:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=2237"},"modified":"2024-10-08T03:44:03","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T08:44:03","slug":"california-gulls-the-1848-heroes-of-utahs-pioneers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/04\/26\/california-gulls-the-1848-heroes-of-utahs-pioneers\/","title":{"rendered":"California Gulls – The 1848 Heroes of Utah’s Pioneers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Or so the story goes…<\/h2>\n

\"Antelope<\/p>\n

California Gull (Larus californicus) portrait –\u00a0<\/strong> Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light <\/span><\/p>\n

The story goes like this, in 1848 when the early Mormon Pioneers settled in the Salt Lake Valley and had begun to grow crops to sustain the pioneer community there was a plague of grasshoppers that threatened to destroy the crops and that could have meant starvation for the new settlers.<\/p>\n

Huge flocks of California Gulls allegedly descended onto the grasshoppers in the valley and made tasty meals of the insects thus preventing the total loss of the crops as the story is told.<\/p>\n

There is a statue in Salt Lake City that commemorates how the California Gulls rescued the crops of the early Mormon Pioneers and thus eventually the California Gull was named the state bird of Utah. And the story keeps getting told even though it is mostly fabricated.<\/p>\n

Just a bit of Utah trivia which as a bird photographer I find interesting.<\/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":"

Huge flocks of California Gulls allegedly descended onto the grasshoppers in the valley and made tasty meals of the insects thus preventing the total loss of the crops as the story is told.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":135390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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":""},"categories":[27,520,26],"tags":[525,4004,4053,4333,4142,12633,12634,524,3539,521,4230,523,4046,4081,165,12635,526],"class_list":["post-2237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-california-gulls","category-utah","tag-525","tag-adult","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-california-gull","tag-close-up","tag-fabricated","tag-fiction","tag-grasshopper-plague","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-larus-californicus","tag-mormon-pioneers","tag-portrait","tag-salt-lake-valley","tag-spring","tag-trivia","tag-utah-state-bird"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/california-gull-utah-mia-mcpherson-7284.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-A5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31354,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/10\/30\/california-gull-portrait-in-falling-rain\/","url_meta":{"origin":2237,"position":0},"title":"California Gull portrait in falling rain","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this California Gull back in May on Antelope Island State Park in falling rain and like the streaks of rain in the frame.","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":"California Gull portrait in falling rain, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-rain-mia-mcpherson-4729.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-rain-mia-mcpherson-4729.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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portrait on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-adult-mia-mcpherson-9359.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-adult-mia-mcpherson-9359.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-adult-mia-mcpherson-9359.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-adult-mia-mcpherson-9359.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43143,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/11\/18\/california-gull-hovering-over-the-bear-river-in-winter\/","url_meta":{"origin":2237,"position":2},"title":"California Gull Hovering Over The Bear River in Winter","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this California Gull hovering over the Bear River with the snow covered Promontory Mountains in the back ground while it looked for prey in the open water below.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Winter California Gull hovering over the Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/california-gull-flight-mia-mcpherson-8731.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/california-gull-flight-mia-mcpherson-8731.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Photographing this California Gull on the wing was a highlight of my morning the day I took this photo. 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