Ring-billed Gull – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Adult and Juvenile Ring-billed Gulls

By Mia McPherson|August 23rd, 2016|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, flight, flying, gull, gulls, hatch year, immature, juvenile, Larus delawarensis, marsh, Ring-billed Gull, summer, wetlands, winter|

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.

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Ring-billed Gull in Flight at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By Mia McPherson|January 3rd, 2016|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, flight, flying, gulls, Larus delawarensis, marsh, mountains, Promontory Mountains, Ring-billed Gull, snow, snow covered, snowy, wetlands, winter|

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.

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Ring-billed Gulls in Flight in Varying Light

By Mia McPherson|December 23rd, 2015|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, clear sky, cloudy, flight, flying, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, marsh, on the wing, Ring-billed Gull, sky, water, wetlands, winter|

Over the past week I have been able to photograph several Ring-billed Gulls in flight in varying light and like the way they turned out.

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Clark’s Grebe and Ring-billed Gull Skirmish – The Clark’s Grebe Wins

By Mia McPherson|October 23rd, 2015|Categories: Birds, Clark's Grebes, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: Aechmophorus clarkii, birds, Clark's Grebe, grebe, grebes, gull, gulls, kleptoparasitizing, Larus delawarensis, Ring-billed Gull, skirmish|

I spent a few hours at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and was able to witness a very brief skirmish between a Clark's Grebe that had a fish in its bill and a Ring-billed Gull that tried to steal the fish.

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A Few Birds From Yesterday At Farmington Bay

By Mia McPherson|October 21st, 2015|Categories: American Coots, Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Great Blue Herons, Northern Harriers, Red-winged Blackbirds, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah, White-faced Ibises|Tags: Agelaius phoeniceus, American Coot, Ardea herodias, blackbird, blackbirds, Circus hudsonius, coot, coots, Fulica americana, Great Blue Heron, gull, gulls, harrier, harriers, heron, herons, ibis, ibises, Larus delawarensis, Northern Harrier, Plegadis chihi, Red-winged Blackbird, Ring-billed Gull, White-faced Ibis|

The light was beautiful yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA and I was able to photograph a few species if birds including this juvenile Northern Harrier flying over the marsh.

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The Ring-billed Gull Ballet

By Mia McPherson|October 14th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Ring-billed Gulls|Tags: adult, ballet, coast, coastal, Gulf of Mexico, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, Ring-billed Gull, rough seas, summer, water, waves|

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.

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What is in the background of an image can enhance or distract

By Mia McPherson|September 29th, 2015|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: backgrounds, flight, flying, Gulf of Mexico, gull, gulls, landing, Larus delawarensis, Ring-billed Gull|

In bird photography what is in the background can enhance or distract the eye from the main subject.

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Ring-billed Gull Age Progression

By Mia McPherson|November 14th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: adult, coast, coastal, first summer, first winter, Gulf of Mexico, gull, gulls, juvenile, Larus delawarensis, Ring-billed Gull, second fall|

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.

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Ring-billed Gull in flight over the Gulf

By Mia McPherson|September 2nd, 2014|Categories: Birds, Florida, Honeymoon Island State Park, Pinellas County, Ring-billed Gulls|Tags: adult, flight, flying, Gulf of Mexico, Larus delawarensis, Ring-billed Gull|

Ring-billed Gulls are fairly common but as with any common bird I believe that they can be uncommonly beautiful.

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Four Intimate Gull Portraits

By Mia McPherson|January 25th, 2014|Categories: American Herring Gulls, Birds, California Gulls, Florida, Laughing Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: American Herring Gull, California Gull, close up, gull, gulls, Larus californicus, Larus delawarensis, Larus smithsonianus, Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, Pinellas County, portrait, portraits, Ring-billed Gull|

I like gulls. I especially like being able to see them up close when the opportunities arise and will take advantage of my close proximity by taking portraits of these beautiful but often disliked birds.

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A Ring-billed Gull – Light on Dark

By Mia McPherson|January 16th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Ring-billed Gulls|Tags: adult, bird photography, birding, birds, flight, flying, Larus delawarensis, nature photography, Pinellas County, Ring-billed Gull, wildlife photography|

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.

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Missing Fort De Soto

By Mia McPherson|August 7th, 2013|Categories: American Oystercatchers, Birds, Brown Pelicans, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Greater Yellowlegs, Marbled Godwits, Pinellas County, Ring-billed Gulls, Roseate Spoonbills, Semipalmated Plovers, Short-billed Dowitchers|Tags: American Oystercatcher, Ardea alba, Ardea herodias, Black Skimmer, Brown Pelican, Charadrius semipalmatus, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Greater Yellowlegs, Haematopus palliatus, Larus delawarensis, Limnodromus griseus, Limosa fedoa, Marbled Godwit, Pelecanus occidentalis, Ring-billed Gull, Rynchops niger, Semipalmated Plover, Short-billed Dowitcher, Tringa melanolueca|

Some days I find myself missing Fort De Soto so much it hurts, the birds I found there and the entire experience of just being there. It is just such an amazing place, how could I not miss it?

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Ring-billed Gull in a dive

By Mia McPherson|December 15th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Ring-billed Gulls|Tags: adult, baitfish, dive, diving, flight, Florida, flying, Gulf of Mexico, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, prey, Ring-billed Gull|

Just a simple image today that I have always liked because of the action even though I don't have great eye contact with my subject, a Ring-billed Gull.

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Ring-billed Gull On the Wing

By Mia McPherson|October 11th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-billed Gulls, Utah|Tags: Davis County, dive, flight, Larus delawarensis, nature photography, Ring-billed Gull, wildlife photography|

Yesterday I had a bit of fun photographing this Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) at Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area, I love the snowy whites these gulls exhibit in their plumage year round

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4 Years ago today when Hurricane Ike stirred things up at Fort De Soto

By Mia McPherson|September 12th, 2012|Categories: Birds, Black Skimmers, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Laughing Gulls, Pinellas County, Reddish Egrets, Ring-billed Gulls, Willets|Tags: bird photography, Black Skimmer, Egmont Key, egret, egrets, Egretta rufescens, Gulf of Mexico, gull, gulls, Hurricane Ike, Larus delawarensis, Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, Reddish Egret, Ring-billed Gull, Rynchops niger, skimmer, Tringa semipalmata, wading birds, waves, Willet|

Four years ago today Hurricane Ike was out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and the waves that it generated made a strong splash at Fort De Soto County Park.

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People, Birds And A Sea Star In A Sea Fog

By Mia McPherson|February 28th, 2012|Categories: American Herring Gulls, Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Laughing Gulls, Pinellas County, Ring-billed Gulls, Sea Stars|Tags: American Herring Gull, beach, beach walkers, feeding, fog, fog bank, foggy, Gulf, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, Larus smithsonianus, Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, low light, people, preening, resting, Ring-billed Gull, sand-crawled, sea fog, Sea Star, Sea Stars, starfish, sun, sunrise|

I'm glad I didn't turn around to head home when I saw the thick sea fog that morning, if I had I may have missed photographing some of these beautiful things.

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Ring-billed Gulls

By Mia McPherson|December 18th, 2011|Categories: Florida, Ring-billed Gulls|Tags: bird photography, birding, birds, flight, Florida, gulls, Larus delawarensis, nature, Pinellas County, portrait, Ring-billed Gull, wildlife|

I am not sure why but it seems that many bird photographers avoid taking images of gulls, most of the time when I've asked them why they don't take more photos of gulls I hear "I just don't like gulls".

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Reddish Egret, Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls

By Mia McPherson|January 17th, 2011|Categories: Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Laughing Gulls, Pinellas County, Reddish Egrets, Ring-billed Gulls|Tags: adult, bait fish, baitfish, beach, coast, coastal, egret, egrets, Egretta rufescens, feeding frenzy, fish, Gulf of Mexico, gull, gulls, Hurricane Ike, Larus delawarensis, Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, Reddish Egret, Ring-billed Gull, water, waves|

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.

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