{"id":98709,"date":"2022-01-05T06:14:09","date_gmt":"2022-01-05T13:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=98709"},"modified":"2022-01-05T06:14:09","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T13:14:09","slug":"winter-ring-billed-gull-images-from-bear-river-mbr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/01\/05\/winter-ring-billed-gull-images-from-bear-river-mbr\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Ring-billed Gull Images From Bear River MBR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One year ago tomorrow I was at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fws.gov\/refuge\/bear_river_migratory_bird_refuge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Bear River MBR<\/span><\/a> where I took these winter Ring-billed Gull images from the west side of the auto tour loop at the refuge. It was quiet, restful, and a crystal clear morning out on the frozen marsh.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-98703 size-full\" title=\"Ring-billed Gull resting on a shelf of ice\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4222.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4222.jpg\" alt=\"Ring-billed Gull resting on a shelf of ice, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27600%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20600%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27600%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4222-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4222-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4222-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4222-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4222-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4222-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4222-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-4222.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Ring-billed Gull resting on a shelf of ice \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/4000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If I had packed a lunch I could have sat with the Herring, California, and Ring-billed Gulls all day along with the other birds I found at this spot. This section of open water attracted many birds that morning. Ice-free water often attracts large numbers of gulls, ducks, eagles, and wading birds during the winter in northern Utah.<\/p>\n<p>I love gulls and I&#8217;ll photograph them whenever I have the opportunity. I believe that gulls are every bit as beautiful and fascinating as any other bird species I find in my viewfinder. I don&#8217;t drive or walk past them without taking at least a few images of gulls.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-98704 size-full\" title=\"Ring-billed Gull flying over a frozen wetland\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-flight-mia-mcpherson-4425.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-flight-mia-mcpherson-4425.jpg\" alt=\"Ring-billed Gull flying over a frozen wetland, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27600%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20600%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27600%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-flight-mia-mcpherson-4425-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-flight-mia-mcpherson-4425-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-flight-mia-mcpherson-4425-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-flight-mia-mcpherson-4425-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-flight-mia-mcpherson-4425-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-flight-mia-mcpherson-4425-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-flight-mia-mcpherson-4425-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-flight-mia-mcpherson-4425.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Ring-billed Gull flying over a frozen wetland \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I sat in one spot at the refuge and enjoyed not feeling rushed as I took photos of the Ring-billed, California, and Herring Gulls that were flying, fighting, feeding, preening, walking, and resting in front of me. I focused quite often on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/01\/23\/third-winter-herring-gull-photos\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Herring Gulls<\/span><\/a> because they are only here in northern Utah for a few months during the winter and because of that I don&#8217;t like passing up any opportunities I have with them.<\/p>\n<p>When I was looking through the photos I took in January of last year I came across these two Ring-billed Gull images and decided that I wanted to share them today. The gulls in the photos above are stunning in my eyes. When this weather clears I hope to drive up and spend more time focusing on photographing winter gulls at the refuge.<\/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<p>I had <em>no<\/em> idea as I sat photographing all of the birds I found at the refuge the morning of January 6th what was going on in Washington D.C. because I pretty much ignore my phone while I am out in the field. When I returned home I felt terror as I watched the live videos of the January 6th insurrection at our nation&#8217;s capitol. After such a relaxed and peaceful morning alone at the refuge it was a tremendous shock to see the violence on my TV screen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One year ago tomorrow I was at Bear River MBR where I took these winter Ring-billed Gull images from the west side of the auto tour loop at the refuge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98704,"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":[124,27,1148,410,26],"tags":[4004,4052,4122,6926,3539,521,4064,4264,4094,5527,4156,4468,4050,3996,4095,373],"class_list":["post-98709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-ring-billed-gulls","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-frozen","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-ice","tag-larus-delawarensis","tag-marsh","tag-open-water","tag-resting","tag-ring-billed-gull","tag-snow","tag-water","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-flight-mia-mcpherson-4425.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-pG5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":99018,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/01\/17\/four-winter-ring-billed-gull-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":98709,"position":0},"title":"Four Winter Ring-billed Gull Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I was just as excited to take Ring-billed Gull images as I was to take photos of a delightful Horned Grebe on the marsh at Bear River MBR.","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 looking down at icy water, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-ice-reflection-mia-mcpherson-8978.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-ice-reflection-mia-mcpherson-8978.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-ice-reflection-mia-mcpherson-8978.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ring-billed-gull-winter-ice-reflection-mia-mcpherson-8978.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":118440,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/22\/resting-ring-billed-gull\/","url_meta":{"origin":98709,"position":1},"title":"Resting Ring-billed Gull","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I'm sharing a simple photo of a resting Ring-billed Gull adult that I took the last time I made a trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.","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":"Resting Ring-billed Gull at Bear River MBR, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/ring-billed-gull-wetlands-mia-mcpherson-7360.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/ring-billed-gull-wetlands-mia-mcpherson-7360.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/ring-billed-gull-wetlands-mia-mcpherson-7360.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/ring-billed-gull-wetlands-mia-mcpherson-7360.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34695,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/01\/03\/ring-billed-gull-in-flight-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":98709,"position":2},"title":"Ring-billed Gull in Flight at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this Ring-billed Gull in flight at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on New Year's Day on the west side of the auto tour loop.","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":"Flying Ring-billed Gull and snow covered mountains in the background. Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-promontory-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2610.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-promontory-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2610.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-promontory-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2610.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-promontory-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2610.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42921,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/10\/31\/ring-billed-gulls-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":98709,"position":3},"title":"Ring-billed Gulls at Bear River MBR &#038; How the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Saved Them","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"There were at least 50 Ring-billed Gulls at Bear River MBR diving into the open water looking for fish that winter morning which gave me plenty of chances to photograph them.","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":"Hovering Ring-billed Gull in winter, Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ring-billed-gull-flight-mia-mcpherson-8696.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-flight-mia-mcpherson-8696.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ring-billed-gull-flight-mia-mcpherson-8696.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/ring-billed-gull-flight-mia-mcpherson-8696.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108084,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/11\/16\/ring-billed-gull-feeding-frenzy-excitement\/","url_meta":{"origin":98709,"position":4},"title":"Ring-billed Gull Feeding Frenzy Excitement","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"When I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago I witnessed several Ring-billed Gull feeding frenzies out on the marshes of the refuge.","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 feeding frenzy on the marsh, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ring-billed-gull-feeding-frenzy-mia-mcpherson-4227.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ring-billed-gull-feeding-frenzy-mia-mcpherson-4227.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ring-billed-gull-feeding-frenzy-mia-mcpherson-4227.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ring-billed-gull-feeding-frenzy-mia-mcpherson-4227.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41251,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/08\/23\/adult-and-juvenile-ring-billed-gulls\/","url_meta":{"origin":98709,"position":5},"title":"Adult and Juvenile Ring-billed Gulls","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It will take several molts before this immature Ring-billed Gull looks like an adult but by now, a year after it was photographed, this juvenile should look more like the adult.","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":"Adult Ring-billed Gull in flight on a January morning, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-flight-winter-mia-mcpherson-6821.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-winter-mia-mcpherson-6821.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ring-billed-gull-flight-winter-mia-mcpherson-6821.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-winter-mia-mcpherson-6821.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\/98709","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=98709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}