{"id":56363,"date":"2019-03-01T05:58:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-01T12:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=56363"},"modified":"2025-06-24T07:01:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T12:01:29","slug":"winter-california-gull-splashing-on-landing-goodbye-february","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/03\/01\/winter-california-gull-splashing-on-landing-goodbye-february\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter California Gull Splashing On Landing – Goodbye February"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CaliforniaCalifornia Gull splashing on landing – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/4000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It is finally the first day of March! February is the shortest month of the year but for me this year it seemed like the longest because there were so many gray days where the clouds were too thick to even go out looking for birds, it just wasn’t worth the frustration.<\/p>\n

I only went out into the field 10 times in February and that is counting the four days I just went to the local pond plus a day I went up into some snowy canyons in the Oquirrh Mountains where I just had fun 4 wheeling in the deep snow and never took a photo.<\/p>\n

February of 2019 might go down in my books as the month I spent the least amount of time in the field since I became a bird photographer. Goodbye February!<\/p>\n

Still, February wasn’t a loss because I did enjoy some nice days, took some lovely photos of birds and I often found the peace & quiet I need to be able to deal with the craziness of life at times. Even spending 15 minutes with birds is a welcome respite that recharges me.<\/p>\n

I added photos of Bald Eagles, Great Blue Herons, various ducks, Barn Owls, American Robins, Rough-legged Hawks and plenty of Ring-billed and California Gulls to my portfolio so last month wasn’t a complete loss.<\/p>\n

On one of the brighter afternoons I spent just 15 minutes at the local pond and came away with lots of photos of winter California Gulls bathing, flying and landing and among those I liked this image the most.<\/p>\n

I like the sheet of water the rose up from the surface of the pond that mimicked the wing of the gull plus the great eye contact the gull gave me and the silvery color of the water. I could say that I wish that the out of focus gulls weren’t visible in the background but I like how they add depth to the image so I’m not going to fret about them at all.<\/p>\n

This morning I am saying hello to March, hello spring migration, hello birds I haven’t seen since last fall!<\/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":"

On one of the brighter afternoons I spent just 15 minutes at the local pond and came away with lots of photos of winter California Gulls bathing, flying and landing and among those I liked this image the most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149285,"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":[27,520,709,26],"tags":[4004,4333,3539,521,4123,4230,4246,1984,6978,6979,8018,3996,373],"class_list":["post-56363","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-gull","tag-gulls","tag-landing","tag-larus-californicus","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-pond","tag-splash","tag-splashing-water","tag-urban","tag-water","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-landing-splash-mia-mcpherson-1693.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-eF5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44240,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/01\/05\/ring-billed-gulls-bathing-on-new-years-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":56363,"position":0},"title":"Ring-billed Gulls Bathing on New Year’s Day","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Ring-billed Gulls up close to me were bathing frequently so I focused on them for a bit to catch them splashing and dipping their heads and bodies into the water.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ring-billed Gull bathing in winter, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/ring-billed-gull-bathing-mia-mcpherson-0417.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/ring-billed-gull-bathing-mia-mcpherson-0417.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/ring-billed-gull-bathing-mia-mcpherson-0417.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/ring-billed-gull-bathing-mia-mcpherson-0417.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":56363,"position":1},"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":119650,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/13\/california-gull-a-misnamed-gull-species\/","url_meta":{"origin":56363,"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, 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":100954,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/21\/urban-california-gull-in-soft-morning-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":56363,"position":3},"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/california-gull-adult-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-2145.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/california-gull-adult-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-2145.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":98088,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/12\/11\/california-gull-after-a-bath\/","url_meta":{"origin":56363,"position":4},"title":"California Gull After A Bath","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this California Gull after it bathed almost a year ago at a small pond close to where I live in Salt Lake county on a cold afternoon.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"California Gull leaping into the air after a bath, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/california-gull-after-bath-mia-mcpherson-1479.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/california-gull-after-bath-mia-mcpherson-1479.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/california-gull-after-bath-mia-mcpherson-1479.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/california-gull-after-bath-mia-mcpherson-1479.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109827,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/25\/california-gull-playing-with-a-stick\/","url_meta":{"origin":56363,"position":5},"title":"California Gull Playing With A Stick","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I'm sharing two photos of a California Gull playing with a stick at one of my local ponds that I took during the winter in January of 2021.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"California Gull snagging a stick in mid air, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/california-gull-winter-stick-mia-mcpherson-0003.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/california-gull-winter-stick-mia-mcpherson-0003.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/california-gull-winter-stick-mia-mcpherson-0003.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/california-gull-winter-stick-mia-mcpherson-0003.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\/56363","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=56363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}