Motif: Stumpy the Laughing Gull

Posted by AlexC on Sun Nov 02, 2003 9:03 pm

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Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla)

Overcast and a very windy this day, lots of laughing gulls were congregated near the pier , Stumpy was there,and I was amazed with what dexterity she was able to use her stump on her leg to scratch, not being able to reach due to the limitation on her stump size, she bent her head lower, and she did scratch with gusto, I don't think any one would challenge her for her perch-AMPP200WBD (Alan Murphy Pier Post-2000-with bird droppings), She might be limited missing a leg, but that does not mean she is a walkover either!!
D1x, Raw, Lens=70-200mm afs-VR+2X, FL=260mm, incident metering, 1/200sex SS-f/8, EV-0.3, ISO=400, Flash D-TTL EV-1.7
Any comments and or reposts are always welcome!!

[b]Alex Calzadilla[/b]
[b]Miami, Florida[/b]
[b]NSN-0024[/b]
"At the feast of ego everyone leaves hungry." - Bentley's House of Coffee and Tea, Tucson, AZ

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by Bill Whala on Sun Nov 02, 2003 9:14 pm

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Good for Gimpy!! You've gotta love her. Very nice photo of her as well.

Are the bird droppings an optional accessory for this perch, or standard equipment

Bill Whala

"Aves of similar plumage tend to converge with one another"

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by AlexC on Sun Nov 02, 2003 10:02 pm

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Bill wrote:

Are the bird droppings an optional accessory for this perch, or standard equipment

Bill, if you want the imitation droppings (Liquid paper) there is no charge, the real McCoy is $ 25 extra, From what I hear it is very hard to hold the gulls in place!!!

[b]Alex Calzadilla[/b]
[b]Miami, Florida[/b]
[b]NSN-0024[/b]
"At the feast of ego everyone leaves hungry." - Bentley's House of Coffee and Tea, Tucson, AZ

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by Jill on Sun Nov 02, 2003 10:33 pm

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She's a sweetheart, Alex, and despite her limitations appears to be managing well in the wild. The perch ... oh, well, Stumpy likes it!!

Jill Rosenfield

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by Alan Murphy on Sun Nov 02, 2003 10:43 pm

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AlexC wrote:Bill wrote:
Are the bird droppings an optional accessory for this perch, or standard equipment
Bill, if you want the imitation droppings (Liquid paper) there is no charge, the real McCoy is $ 25 extra, From what I hear it is very hard to hold the gulls in place!!!

Looks like you tried to hold this one in place

I can add barnacles for $1.00 each.

Alex, the techs on this Gull are great.

Alan Murphy
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by Sheri Whala on Sun Nov 02, 2003 11:22 pm

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I am glad to know that she does so well! Great photo of her!

Sheri Whala
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by Ed on Sun Nov 02, 2003 11:29 pm

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Alex,

Very nice shot of Stumpy. My wife and I have always noticed what seems to be a rather high number of gulls missing one leg. Is there any unique reason for this?

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by AlexC on Sun Nov 02, 2003 11:41 pm

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Ed wrote:

Very nice shot of Stumpy. My wife and I have always noticed what seems to be a rather high number of gulls missing one leg. Is there any unique reason for this?

Ed, I am sure there are many reasons, from predators to accidents, but the lion share of these missing limbs are due to discarded fishing lines and fish nets from the fishing trawlers!!!, Sad indeed!!!, Too many unnecessary amputees in my view!!, No other birds are so castigated as the gulls are, Thanks for looking and commenting!!

[b]Alex Calzadilla[/b]
[b]Miami, Florida[/b]
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"At the feast of ego everyone leaves hungry." - Bentley's House of Coffee and Tea, Tucson, AZ

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by Jim Urbach on Mon Nov 03, 2003 12:01 am

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Alex, Nice alert looking gull. She looks kike she's doing her pier piling dance. It's amazing how many birds have a limb abnormality. Most folks are not aware of this because they never look through a viewfinder.

Jim

Enjoy viewing

Jim Urbach

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by LHays on Mon Nov 03, 2003 6:04 am

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Alex
You certainly made her look beautiful with this shot. Amazing how they can adapt to such hardships. I saw a Pectoral Sandpiper this weekend with a missing foot. He was doing just fine...eating, defending his territory, and flying. It was the first time that I had seen one like that and I was in awe of him....as I am of this lovely lady. Excellent!!!

Lana Hays
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by Greg Downing on Mon Nov 03, 2003 7:49 am

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Good job on cloning out the other foot.

Again, I think I would rather see the Zebra biting the Lion.

....

Nice job on this poor guy. I have to go dig up gimpy the Marbled Godwit now....

Greg Downing
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by Alan Melle on Mon Nov 03, 2003 10:19 am

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An excellent image! Glad to see that Stumpy is doing well.

Alan Melle
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by E.J. Peiker on Mon Nov 03, 2003 10:50 am

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Poor birdie. A nice shot though!

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by Bruce DiVaccaro on Mon Nov 03, 2003 1:05 pm

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Alex,

Nice shot. The missing foot is very unfortunate. Glad to hear she is doing good.

Bruce DiVaccaro
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by Mike Wilson on Mon Nov 03, 2003 1:58 pm

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Stumpy the hunchback posed his best for you. Gotta feel sorry for these guys when you see this.

Mike Wilson
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by Bill Keown on Mon Nov 03, 2003 2:13 pm

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Nicely made image. Not only do you have to feel sorry for the bird but angry at what humankind does.

Bill Keown

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by Juan E. Bahamon on Tue Nov 04, 2003 9:30 am

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Alex:

First at all: Very artistic rendition of the reality of life. Second: The stump is very well roundly formed with skin coverage and the fact she had adapted so well may indicate a congenital anomaly. Same chemicals that humans are exposed are present on polluted sea waters capable to produce DNA alterations in birds. (In Humans this is called "amelia") Not a woman name but a scientific term. Very common in the days of Thalidomide.

Juan E. Bahamon
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by Carol Clarke on Tue Nov 04, 2003 11:02 am

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Great shot Alex! beautiful detail and what a sad expression!! she does seem to have adapted well to her loss and you have captured the image very well.

Carol Clarke
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