{"id":50769,"date":"2018-01-25T06:29:15","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T13:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=50769"},"modified":"2025-06-22T17:21:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T22:21:31","slug":"salt-lake-county-winter-california-gull-portrait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/01\/25\/salt-lake-county-winter-california-gull-portrait\/","title":{"rendered":"Salt Lake County Winter California Gull Portrait"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WinterWinter California Gull portrait – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/4000, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

When a bird approaches me up close I am always happy to take close up portraits of them and it doesn’t matter to me one iota<\/em> what species the bird is. I am a bird photographer and I find beauty in them all.<\/p>\n

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. The gulls at my local pond are in their winter or nonbreeding plumage right now and I think their appearance is striking. Those dark eyes against the red orbital ring really pop against their snow white feathers.<\/p>\n

California Gulls are abundant in Utah, they nest on islands in the Great Salt Lake and I have enjoyed photographing them in their different plumage phases and I have even been fortunate enough to photograph them in flight with nesting materials in their bills while on Antelope Island State Park and I think they make great subjects to photograph.<\/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":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,520,709,26],"tags":[4004,4333,4142,3539,521,4230,4031,4246,1984,4046,8018,3996,373],"class_list":["post-50769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-california-gulls","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-california-gull","tag-close-up","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-larus-californicus","tag-nonbreeding","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-pond","tag-portrait","tag-urban","tag-water","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-close-up-mia-mcpherson-7252.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-dcR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":119650,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/13\/california-gull-a-misnamed-gull-species\/","url_meta":{"origin":50769,"position":0},"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/california-gull-calling-mia-mcpherson-2671.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/california-gull-calling-mia-mcpherson-2671.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44007,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/12\/19\/eye-color-variation-in-california-gulls\/","url_meta":{"origin":50769,"position":1},"title":"Eye Color Variation in California Gulls","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 19, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The typical eye color for California Gulls is a very dark brown that appears almost black in most cases but there can be variations in their eye color.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close up showing eye color variation in a California Gull, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/california-gull-odd-eyes-mia-mcpherson-5297.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/california-gull-odd-eyes-mia-mcpherson-5297.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/california-gull-odd-eyes-mia-mcpherson-5297.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/california-gull-odd-eyes-mia-mcpherson-5297.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":118823,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/08\/california-gull-in-winter-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":50769,"position":2},"title":"California Gull In Winter Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was at my local pond three days ago, I was happy to photograph this California Gull in winter plumage that had just landed on the water.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult California Gull in winter plumage, Salt 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":107838,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/11\/08\/winter-california-and-herring-gull-comparison-in-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":50769,"position":3},"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":49849,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/12\/14\/california-gull-in-my-face\/","url_meta":{"origin":50769,"position":4},"title":"California Gull In My Face","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It isn't all that often I get to photograph a gull lift off from the water and fly head on directly towards me like this California Gull in winter plumage did a few days ago.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"California Gull flying straight at me, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/california-gull-head-on-flight-mia-mcpherson-2626.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/california-gull-head-on-flight-mia-mcpherson-2626.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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