California Gull going into breeding plumage – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
While taking a short break yesterday morning I went down to my local pond for a few minutes and took a few California Gull photos while I was there. I noticed right away that some of the California Gulls are starting to go into breeding plumage. Their heads are getting whiter, their bills are getting brighter, and their gapes and orbital rings are more intensely colored than they were just last month. The adult California Gull on the right in this image is well on its way to being in breeding or as it is also known, Definitive Alternate Plumage.
California Gull resting on grasses – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
The California Gull in this photo isn’t showing as many signs of going into breeding plumage as the adult in the image above taken yesterday. This gull’s bill isn’t nearly as yellow and its head isn’t as white. The gull still caught my eyes because of the brightness of its gape and orbital ring.
Not long after I took this photo some unattended and very young children came along and scared all of the birds out onto the water and into the sky. I would have liked to have looked more closely at the rest of the gulls that had been resting on the grasses but that was not to be.
California Gull portrait in breeding plumage – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/4000, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light
This last image which was taken in April of 2012 on Antelope Island shows an adult California Gull in full breeding plumage up close. I think this gull is as strikingly beautiful as any other bird I have seen locally or around the globe. I am a gull lover though and not everyone appreciates them like I do.
Seeing the California Gulls starting to go into breeding plumage is one of the many small signs I notice that indicate that spring is around the corner. I am looking forward to welcoming warmer days and birds on the wing.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my California Gull photos plus facts and information about this species.
Love the portrait of gull in pic #3. Beautiful eye contact. Thanks Mia.
They truly are beautiful birds when in the glory of their full breeding plumage. It seems a little early, though. Still need to get through the February and March snow-prises.
i enjoy them and love their calling.
I love the gulls (and your appreciation of them). And would very much like to see signs that our autumn is just round the corner.