Exit Stage Left - I'm Outta Here!
Sep 15, 2020 04:26:47 #
stage directions are from the point of view of the performer
Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis
I don't know where he was going but he was in a hurry to get there. Maybe he heard the lid of the garbage dumpster at the fast food place on the next block? Those seem to be a favorite eating spot for gulls and many other birds.🙄🙄
These gulls are found coast to coast from Northern Canada to Southern Mexico. In Canada and the Northern US for breeding, SW Canada down the coast to Mexico Interior Mexico and the Southern US plus the coast up to the tip of Maine for winter and a couple of year round areas - SE Great Lakes in US and Canada and the border of Washington and Oregon a bit inland from the Pacific. The rest of their territory they migrate through twice a year. I live in a wintering area in So California. And this was taken 2-7-16 at a shallow park pond so this one was probably getting ready to head back north. At least he was hunting food like he needed a lot of calories.
They eat almost anything. But mostly fish, insects, earthworms, rodents, grain, and garbage. In the western US many find most of their food on farm fields, No fish at all. In addition they have been known to eat dates, cherries, blueberries, and strawberries. And of course French fries - both discarded, thrown to them or not guarded very well. I knew a guy who had his hamburger stolen off an outdoor table by a gull once. He didn't like gulls very much. I wonder why?
They are strong fliers and very graceful. They can work the winds and updrafts to hover, glide and soar without a wing beat. When in a hurry they can top 40 mph in still air and more with a tail wind. They play games tossing/dropping things and catching them in mid-air. They also snatch small birds, insect and fish off the surface of the water while in flight. They steal food from other birds, hunt small rodents on land and scavenge anywhere they can find anything edible. They can be found alone or more often in flocks which in a prime area may number in the thousands. On the ground they will space out and hunt in line almost like soldiers.
They will sometimes mate with other species of gull to produce hybrids. The oldest known Ring-billed Gull was 27 1/2 from banding to death in New York.
7DII, 100-400L mk1 @ 285, 1/1250 @ f/5.6, ISO-400
handheld at about 25 feet as he flew past low above the water at high speed
I went back to my original and re-did it in new apps.
Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis
I don't know where he was going but he was in a hurry to get there. Maybe he heard the lid of the garbage dumpster at the fast food place on the next block? Those seem to be a favorite eating spot for gulls and many other birds.🙄🙄
These gulls are found coast to coast from Northern Canada to Southern Mexico. In Canada and the Northern US for breeding, SW Canada down the coast to Mexico Interior Mexico and the Southern US plus the coast up to the tip of Maine for winter and a couple of year round areas - SE Great Lakes in US and Canada and the border of Washington and Oregon a bit inland from the Pacific. The rest of their territory they migrate through twice a year. I live in a wintering area in So California. And this was taken 2-7-16 at a shallow park pond so this one was probably getting ready to head back north. At least he was hunting food like he needed a lot of calories.
They eat almost anything. But mostly fish, insects, earthworms, rodents, grain, and garbage. In the western US many find most of their food on farm fields, No fish at all. In addition they have been known to eat dates, cherries, blueberries, and strawberries. And of course French fries - both discarded, thrown to them or not guarded very well. I knew a guy who had his hamburger stolen off an outdoor table by a gull once. He didn't like gulls very much. I wonder why?
They are strong fliers and very graceful. They can work the winds and updrafts to hover, glide and soar without a wing beat. When in a hurry they can top 40 mph in still air and more with a tail wind. They play games tossing/dropping things and catching them in mid-air. They also snatch small birds, insect and fish off the surface of the water while in flight. They steal food from other birds, hunt small rodents on land and scavenge anywhere they can find anything edible. They can be found alone or more often in flocks which in a prime area may number in the thousands. On the ground they will space out and hunt in line almost like soldiers.
They will sometimes mate with other species of gull to produce hybrids. The oldest known Ring-billed Gull was 27 1/2 from banding to death in New York.
7DII, 100-400L mk1 @ 285, 1/1250 @ f/5.6, ISO-400
handheld at about 25 feet as he flew past low above the water at high speed
I went back to my original and re-did it in new apps.
Sep 15, 2020 10:10:12 #
I grew up in a small fishing village which also fills with tourists. Not fond of gulls, since the tourists don't understand and feed them and they become a real pest. Great shot, however and informative narrative as usual. Stay well and hide your snacks!
Sep 15, 2020 14:17:35 #
Ourspolair wrote:
I grew up in a small fishing village which also fills with tourists. Not fond of gulls, since the tourists don't understand and feed them and they become a real pest. Great shot, however and informative narrative as usual. Stay well and hide your snacks!
Thanks
Long ago my younger brother (23+ years in the Army as a high end Medic) came back from Korea, with a new bride and stopped to visit Mom here in So Cal. My wife and I took them to dinner on one of the piers near Santa Monica. Gulls were everywhere. It was foggy and as he walked under a concession stand awning a large drop of water fell on his head. He started cussing a blue streak, he thought a gull had nailed him. He had been stationed at the Presideo of San Francisco while attending the Med School at Berkeley (the Army used a helicopter to commute about 6 of them to and from everyday) and was very familiar with gulls and their "ways". He was not real fond of them.
Sep 16, 2020 10:50:56 #
Love the light, color, detail and dynamic position. Very well done.
Sep 16, 2020 14:47:30 #
Sep 16, 2020 14:59:23 #
JeffDavidson wrote:
Love the light, color, detail and dynamic position. Very well done.
Thank you.
sequence to get image:
1. drive to park
2. position self and gear on observation platform in main pond
3. at one point, after taking a few pictures, including the same gull hunting in shallow water, see gull take off accelerating like he!!
4. swing camera/lens up get bird in frame and mash shutter
5. later look at image in Light Room and think "I got lucky!"
6. edit a couple of versions and just recently re-edit in new PP apps and find faults with self, image and edits
7. Pleasant surprise at how much other people like it
8. Start to wonder if I can remove the artificial molded concrete pond bank and replace with more water or a nicer looking background?
Sep 16, 2020 15:01:37 #
Curmudgeon wrote:
What a dynamic capture. That is really good work.
Thanks very much.
See rambling notes about getting the image in reply to Jeff.
Yes, in everything I do I tend to compare myself to the best in each field and of course I find faults with myself and come up short.
Sep 16, 2020 22:43:32 #
Sep 17, 2020 00:39:16 #
BamaTexan wrote:
During my US Navy time we called them "seagoing buzzards"
I will assume that was short for "F***ing seagoing buzzards". Or were you in the "Salvation Navy", lesser known sibling of the "Salvation Army".
Sep 17, 2020 08:07:58 #
robertjerl wrote:
I will assume that was short for "F***ing seagoing buzzards". Or were you in the "Salvation Navy", lesser known sibling of the "Salvation Army".
Spent my time on destroyers. You can figure it out 🤣
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