{"id":50730,"date":"2018-01-20T05:52:29","date_gmt":"2018-01-20T12:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=50730"},"modified":"2025-08-05T17:35:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T22:35:49","slug":"head-on-ring-billed-gull-portrait-in-a-snow-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/01\/20\/head-on-ring-billed-gull-portrait-in-a-snow-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"Head On Ring-billed Gull Portrait In A Snow Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HeadHead on Ring-billed Gull in a snow storm – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 1000, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

So… yesterday morning I mentioned that it was 57\u00b0F when I woke up and that the temperature was unusually warm for this time of the year. This morning is far more typical at 32\u00b0F and believe it or not there is snow on the ground. Lots of snow.<\/p>\n

About 8 to 9 inches of snow and it is still falling.<\/p>\n

This is our first “real” snow fall of this winter and I hope the mountains are getting dumped on heavily too. Maybe we will get a little bit of winter after all in the Salt Lake Valley, it sure hadn’t felt that way until last evening when I saw the snow start falling.<\/p>\n

This portrait of a head on Ring-billed Gull in a snow storm was taken 364 days ago at a local pond near home and I liked it because the gull looks a touch grumpy. Of course the bird isn’t grumpy at all but it sure does look that way.<\/p>\n

I am hoping to be able to get out and take photos this morning even if it is just a quick trip down to the local pond because it feels so good to see snow on the ground plus I love having big, fluffy snowflakes in photos with the birds I photograph during winter.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

This portrait of a head on Ring-billed Gull in a snow storm was taken 364 days ago at a local pond near home and I liked it because the gull looks a touch grumpy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":151642,"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":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,410,709,26],"tags":[4142,3539,521,5023,4264,4046,4468,4050,4509,4900,8018,16369,373],"class_list":["post-50730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-ring-billed-gulls","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-close-up","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-head-on","tag-larus-delawarensis","tag-portrait","tag-ring-billed-gull","tag-snow","tag-snow-storm","tag-snowflakes","tag-urban","tag-willow-pond-park","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-6560.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-dce","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44677,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/01\/31\/portraits-of-ring-billed-gulls-in-a-snow-storm\/","url_meta":{"origin":50730,"position":0},"title":"Portraits of Ring-billed Gulls in a Snow Storm","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm glad I took these portraits of Ring-billed Gulls in a snow storm, they will remind me of a gray, cold, stormy January day when I was just crazy enough to sit and photograph birds as snowflakes fell from the sky.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snow falling on a Ring-billed Gull, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-6682.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-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-6682.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-6682.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-6682.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55245,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/12\/08\/portrait-of-a-winter-ring-billed-gull-with-snow-on-its-bill\/","url_meta":{"origin":50730,"position":1},"title":"Portrait Of A Winter Ring-billed Gull With Snow On Its Bill","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm not sure how this Ring-bill Gull got the snow on its bill but when I looked through my viewfinder I liked all of fine details I had in the snow, the bill and the white plumage of the gull and I felt I had to take photos of it.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ring-billed Gull with snow on its bill, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-snow-bill-mia-mcpherson-9192.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-snow-bill-mia-mcpherson-9192.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-snow-bill-mia-mcpherson-9192.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-snow-bill-mia-mcpherson-9192.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49939,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/12\/17\/ring-billed-gulls-flying-in-a-december-snow-storm\/","url_meta":{"origin":50730,"position":2},"title":"Ring-billed Gulls Flying in a December Snow Storm","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Ring-billed Gull flying in a snow storm, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-flight-snow-mia-mcpherson-5867.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-snow-mia-mcpherson-5867.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-flight-snow-mia-mcpherson-5867.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-snow-mia-mcpherson-5867.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47548,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/07\/03\/preening-ring-billed-gull-in-a-snow-storm\/","url_meta":{"origin":50730,"position":3},"title":"Preening Ring-billed Gull in a Snow Storm","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this preening Ring-billed Gull in a snow storm in January of this year at a pond near where I live and it was pretty chilly that day.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ring-billed Gull preening in a snow storm, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ring-billed-gull-preening-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-7136.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ring-billed-gull-preening-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-7136.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ring-billed-gull-preening-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-7136.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ring-billed-gull-preening-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-7136.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55769,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/01\/21\/two-first-winter-ring-billed-gulls-portraits-of-the-same-gull\/","url_meta":{"origin":50730,"position":4},"title":"Two First Winter Ring-billed Gull Portraits Of The Same Gull","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Both of these portraits of a first winter Ring-billed Gull are of the same bird taken one minute apart just as the light changed from okay to much brighter where the gull had changed its location but only slightly.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"First winter Ring-billed Gull close up, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ring-billed-gull-first-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-6436.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ring-billed-gull-first-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-6436.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ring-billed-gull-first-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-6436.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ring-billed-gull-first-winter-portrait-mia-mcpherson-6436.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":122561,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/04\/ring-billed-gull-and-a-heart-shaped-snowflake\/","url_meta":{"origin":50730,"position":5},"title":"Ring-billed Gull And A Heart Shaped Snowflake","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"It has been six years since I took this photo of a Ring-billed Gull and a heart shaped snowflake in the middle of a winter snowstorm at my local pond.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ring-billed Gull and a heart shaped snowflake, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ring-billed-gull-heart-snowflake-mia-mcpherson-5666.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ring-billed-gull-heart-snowflake-mia-mcpherson-5666.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ring-billed-gull-heart-snowflake-mia-mcpherson-5666.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ring-billed-gull-heart-snowflake-mia-mcpherson-5666.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}