This is a couple of the quite rare Slender-billed Gulls (Larus genei/ långnäbbad mås). We saw them both (male and female) for a long time as they were fishing and courting just 5 meters from our resting point. The male was fishing really close to use while the female stayed at a further distance calling at him all the time:
- Don´t take any risks you fool. Get a grip of yourself and think a little about me and our eggs!
She was so upset that she could not find the time to eat herself. There is not much difference from us, don´t you think?
Geographic info:
This is from the Camargue area in southern France, every European birdwatchers paradise. We took a bicycle tour along the small strip that separates the huge pond "etange du Vaccares" and the Mediterranean sea.
Technical information:
Canon 300/f4 lens on a Canon 400D body, in rawformat and used Adobe Lightroom for some adjustments before the edit in Photoshop CS3.
05-25-2008, 01:08 PM
Arthur Morris
Sharp and well exposed but with the birds and the heads being slightly away from you the faces are not well lit; this is ESP true of the near bird.
05-25-2008, 08:58 PM
Robert O'Toole
The image is great and the background info was especially nice thanks for sharing. I have never seen this sp before are these Gulls a slight shade or pink? The glassy blue water is very nice here. I love the image but as Artie mentioned the the angle of the birds and the heads as less than optimum.
Thanks so much for sharing this!
Robert
05-28-2008, 10:13 AM
falke
Yes, the breast of the male is pale pink in breeding season.
Thank you for your comments!
Best regards/Bengt Falke
