{"id":6797,"date":"2012-12-15T06:49:27","date_gmt":"2012-12-15T13:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=6797"},"modified":"2025-08-05T10:21:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T15:21:06","slug":"ring-billed-gull-in-a-dive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/12\/15\/ring-billed-gull-in-a-dive\/","title":{"rendered":"Ring-billed Gull In A Dive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-151502 size-full\" title=\"Ring-billed Gull in a dive, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-in-dive-3847.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-in-dive-3847.jpg\" alt=\"Ring-billed Gull in a dive, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida\" width=\"594\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"11077\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27594%27%20height%3D%27800%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20594%20800%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27594%27%20height%3D%27800%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-in-dive-3847-200x269.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-in-dive-3847-400x539.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-in-dive-3847.jpg 594w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Ring-billed Gull in a dive &#8211; Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 185mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Just a simple image today that I have always liked because of the action\u00a0even though I don&#8217;t have great eye contact with my subject, a Ring-billed Gull. The day I took this image there were huge schools of baitfish running just off the shore of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.friendsofftdesoto.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Fort De Soto&#8217;s north beach<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It almost looked like the Gulf of Mexico&#8217;s waters were boiling and there were large flocks of gulls, terns, pelicans and skimmers all in feeding frenzies. I&#8217;ve posted about the Brown Pelicans that I photographed that day <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/02\/19\/brown-pelicans\/\">here<\/a><\/span>, the images are the 3rd through the 6th from the top.<\/p>\n<p>Schools of baitfish running just off the coast can be a great opportunity to photograph flocks of birds, great behavior and fantastic action.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/ring-billed-gull-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">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":"<p>Just a simple image today that I have always liked because of the action even though I don&#8217;t have great eye contact with my subject, a Ring-billed Gull.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":151502,"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":[27,25,704,2000,410],"tags":[4004,4265,4478,4159,4052,37,4122,4077,3539,521,4264,4106,4468],"class_list":["post-6797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-ring-billed-gulls","tag-adult","tag-baitfish","tag-dive","tag-diving","tag-flight","tag-florida-2","tag-flying","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-larus-delawarensis","tag-prey","tag-ring-billed-gull"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-in-dive-3847.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1LD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13483,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/01\/16\/a-ring-billed-gull-light-on-dark\/","url_meta":{"origin":6797,"position":0},"title":"Ring-billed Gull &#8211; 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 &quot;Birds&quot;","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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-flight-florida-mia-mcpherson-3910.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-florida-mia-mcpherson-3910.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1780,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/01\/17\/reddish-egret-laughing-and-ring-billed-gulls\/","url_meta":{"origin":6797,"position":1},"title":"Reddish Egret, Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"There were quite a few Laughing Gulls on and near the shoreline, a few Ring-billed Gulls and two Reddish Egrets hunting on the beach that day.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Florida&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Florida","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/florida\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Reddish Egret and Laughing Gulls, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/reddish-egret-laughing-gulls-mia-mcpherson-0341.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/reddish-egret-laughing-gulls-mia-mcpherson-0341.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/reddish-egret-laughing-gulls-mia-mcpherson-0341.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/reddish-egret-laughing-gulls-mia-mcpherson-0341.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28754,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/09\/29\/what-is-in-the-background-of-an-image-can-enhance-or-distract\/","url_meta":{"origin":6797,"position":2},"title":"What Is In The Background Of An Image Can Enhance Or Distract","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In bird photography what is in the background can enhance or distract the eye from the main subject.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","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":"Ring-billed Gull and friends, 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-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":29864,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/10\/14\/the-ring-billed-gull-ballet\/","url_meta":{"origin":6797,"position":3},"title":"The Ring-billed Gull Ballet","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Among the bait fish skirmishes one solitary Ring-billed Gull stood out to me and as it flew after the Reddish Egret and Laughing Gulls I kept my lens trained on it.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ring-billed Gull Ballet, 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-landing-mia-mcpherson-0421.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-landing-mia-mcpherson-0421.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-landing-mia-mcpherson-0421.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-landing-mia-mcpherson-0421.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15752,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/09\/02\/ring-billed-gull-in-flight-over-the-gulf\/","url_meta":{"origin":6797,"position":4},"title":"Ring-billed Gull in flight over the Gulf","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Ring-billed Gulls are fairly common but as with any common bird I believe that they can be uncommonly beautiful.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ring-billed Gull in flight over the calm Gulf, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ring-billed-gull-gulf-mexico-mia-mcpherson-1442.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-gulf-mexico-mia-mcpherson-1442.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ring-billed-gull-gulf-mexico-mia-mcpherson-1442.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ring-billed-gull-gulf-mexico-mia-mcpherson-1442.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16979,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/14\/ring-billed-gull-age-progression\/","url_meta":{"origin":6797,"position":5},"title":"Ring-billed Gull Age Progression","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In February of 2011 I wrote about the age progression of Bald Eagles along with images to illustrate the ages, today I am doing the same but with Ring-billed Gulls.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fluffy Ring-billed Gull after bathing, 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-adult-mia-mcpherson-7685.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-adult-mia-mcpherson-7685.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-adult-mia-mcpherson-7685.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6797","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=6797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}