Herring Gull

Posted by BrianS on Sun Dec 28, 2003 9:09 am

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I am sure a fairly common Gull but I grabbed a few frames irregardless. I was actually working with some Sanderlings and this guy/gal stepped in front of the camera -- I moved and he/she did it again, so I suppose the gull thought I was going to feed it (pretty smart bird). Thanx for looking.

The Vitals
Canon 10D, 500mm f/4 IS, 1.4x
Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec
Aperture: 11
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Evaluative
Drive mode: Single frame shooting
ISO: 200

[b]Brian Spangler[/b]
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Last edited by BrianS on Sun Dec 28, 2003 9:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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by Chris Valentine on Sun Dec 28, 2003 10:20 am

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Nice shot Brian. Sweet light!

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by Bill Whala on Sun Dec 28, 2003 10:48 am

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Nice shot. Excellent DOF.

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by Larsen on Sun Dec 28, 2003 11:06 am

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'Just goes to show, nice photos can be had of species many avoid. Nice warm light from a low angle, sharp eye, all around very nice.

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by Jim Neely on Sun Dec 28, 2003 11:37 am

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What a gorgeous shot, Brian.

The lighting, feather detail and BG are outstanding.

jn

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by DC on Sun Dec 28, 2003 12:53 pm

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Boy that eye is sharp

Excellent shot Brian. Superb detail and good use of DOF. Congrats

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by AlexC on Sun Dec 28, 2003 1:07 pm

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Excellent DOF and very nice light, Congrats!!!

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by E.J. Peiker on Sun Dec 28, 2003 2:44 pm

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Fairly common in the East but this Giant of a gull is rare out west. Nice shot!

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by Carol Clarke on Sun Dec 28, 2003 2:50 pm

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Superb detail Brian - right down to the freckles! nice shot.

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by Harvey Edelman on Sun Dec 28, 2003 3:28 pm

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Nice bust shot and commanding eye on the burd.

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by Anthony Medici on Sun Dec 28, 2003 7:11 pm

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I'm very bad at identifying gulls, which is usually why I don't post them. However, this doesn't look like a Great Black-backed Gull to me. The back isn't near dark enough and the head isn't white enough. Based on the bill, this is a 3rd winter or later bird. If I was trying to id this bird, I put it as an American Herring Gull. Where'd you take this?

Ok, after all that, I like the image.

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by Greg Downing on Sun Dec 28, 2003 7:33 pm

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Hey Brian! Great light here and nice photo all around. Tony is right, it's a Herring Gull. Nice one.

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by BrianS on Sun Dec 28, 2003 8:50 pm

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Anthony Medici wrote:I'm very bad at identifying gulls, which is usually why I don't post them. However, this doesn't look like a Great Black-backed Gull to me. The back isn't near dark enough and the head isn't white enough. Based on the bill, this is a 3rd winter or later bird. If I was trying to id this bird, I put it as an American Herring Gull. Where'd you take this?

Ok, after all that, I like the image.

Your Analysis sounds good to me -- I went back and forth thru my books to ID this one and with other images of a darker back I opted for Black-Backed. I'll look some more at the American Herring. I got this at Cape May Point a few days ago.

Just looked at additional photos from that day and I indeed have a Great Black-Backed Gull and can identify the differences.

Now some trivia ... can you explain the reason for the red spot on the underside of a Gull's Bill?

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by Marius on Sun Dec 28, 2003 9:37 pm

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The red dot is to get the attention of the young chicks. When they are hungry they start to nibble at the red dot, at which point the parent regurgitates the food to them. At least, that is what I have read.
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by BrianS on Sun Dec 28, 2003 9:50 pm

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Marius wrote:The red dot is to get the attention of the young chicks. When they are hungry they start to nibble at the red dot, at which point the parent regurgitates the food to them. At least, that is what I have read.
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by Bruce DiVaccaro on Mon Dec 29, 2003 10:51 am