I thought that I would share screenshots of this morning and tomorrow morning's weather forecasts, it ain't pretty. In fact, it is absolutely rotten considering it is Spring and yet Ole Man Winter just won't let go.
While I had the Sandhill Crane and the Ring-billed Gulls in my view finder I heard a call and it only took a second for my brain to figure out that I was hearing a Franklin's Gull which surprised me because it was at the refuge much earlier than I have ever seen one there before.
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.
It isn't all that often that I am able to photograph a calling Ring-billed Gull close enough that I can get a great view of the inside of its bill so when the opportunity presented itself earlier this week I took advantage of the situation.
So, even though I didn't get great photos yesterday I was glad to get out and photograph a Barn Owl, Bald Eagle and these California and Ring-billed Gulls.
Both of these portraits of a first winter Ring-billed Gull are of the same bird taken one minute apart just as the light changed from okay to much brighter where the gull had changed its location but only slightly.
I removed the "Just A" from the title for this post and added "Focusing On A" instead. Why? Because I was focused on observing and photographing this Ring-billed Gull drinking from an icy pond and I'm happy to say that I was.
On January 2nd I noticed a Ring-billed Gull coming in for a landing on an iced over pond that was missing a leg and foot and I wondered how well it would handle the slippery ice while attempting to land on it.
While photographing a California Gull on ice two days ago I was reminded of how well these gulls survive the bitter cold we have here at times during the winter even when the ponds, lakes and rivers freeze over.
What caught my eyes was that one of the cormorants was smaller, sleeker and darker than the other two birds and before I even scoped it through my lens I knew that I had found an out of season Neotropic Cormorant.
All in all, as 2018 comes to a close I realize how fortunate I am to see all the birds that I do throughout the year as a bird photographer, to be able to do what I love and to love my feathered subjects too.
I recently became aware that there were ads at the bottom of the email that was automatically sent out to you all when I published my blog post this morning.
I'm not sure how this Ring-bill Gull got the snow on its bill but when I looked through my viewfinder I liked all of fine details I had in the snow, the bill and the white plumage of the gull and I felt I had to take photos of it.
During the winter I have opportunities to photograph California Gulls in flight in snow storms in low light and while images like this one aren't appealing to everyone's tastes I like them a lot.
I spent some time at one of the local ponds yesterday afternoon and came home with photos that made me smile and for a little while I forgot about the long hours I spent getting skunked on the road earlier in the day.
On New Year's Day this year I had a Ring-billed Gull in flight in my viewfinder as it flew quickly over my local pond, I knew that from one frame to another the background would change and that the exposure might too
I like gulls, I like the way they look, I like the way they fly, I like the way they try to steal food from each other and other birds, I like the challenges of photographing them and I really like how scrappy they are.
Brine flies that live in the Great Salt Lake are an important food source for California Gulls and watching the gulls feed on the flies is fascinating as they use several techniques to catch them.
Okay, that is enough for now, there are more birds that people love to hate but I can only deal with so much of it before I feel the need to get out and photograph all the birds I see, even those that other people despise.
We have the Ring-billed and California Gulls in northern Utah year round but the Herring Gulls are only winter visitors to this area.
This California Gull blur in a snow storm was one of those blurs that happened because of slow shutter speeds and low light but I found that I liked the resulting photo and will call it a happy accident.
As much as I like the first photo where the Ring-billed Gull has its wings spread and its feet still in the water I like the second photo even more because of the action and how the bird is suspended over the water.
Two days ago this California Gull flew in and was so close to me that I felt I had to take portraits of it because the gull looked so handsome against the blue of the water.
Three frames later I was glad this Ring-billed Gull's rotund belly caught my eye when through my viewfinder I could see the gull preening while in flight which is unusual behavior in my experience.
This portrait of a head on Ring-billed Gull in a snow storm was taken 364 days ago at a local pond near home and I liked it because the gull looks a touch grumpy.
I really wanted some nice bird photos to remember Christmas Day 2017 and I found them but just a few blocks away from home at the local pond.
The light wasn't great when I photographed these Ring-billed Gulls flying in a December snow storm but I had a great time with the gulls and the rest of the birds.
It isn't all that often I get to photograph a gull lift off from the water and fly head on directly towards me like this California Gull in winter plumage did a few days ago.
One of the things that make my feathers ruffle though is when I see people post a bird photo and call it a "seagull" because there is no such thing as a seagull.
Franklin's Gulls are only here in northern Utah during the breeding season, during the winter they spend their time along the west coast of South America.