Herring Gull - 3rd. winter

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08-14-2019, 08:41 AM
Geoffrey Montagu

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Herring Gull - 3rd. winter

Captured this image of a Herring Gull - 3rd. winter, on August 2 at Nickerson Beach with beautiful overcast morning light. C&C welcome.

D500, 500 PF, 1/2500s, f 8.0, ISO 1000, HH

Geoffrey

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08-14-2019, 09:00 AM
Bill Dix

Love the pose, with the raised foot, and the bubble. Nice soft light. Ocean color gives the image a greenish look, but that's just the ocean; the whites on the gull look spot on.
08-14-2019, 10:16 AM
Dorian Anderson

Nice sharp shot of this bird. Raised foot adds a nice touch of action. My main critique is that this is a Ring-billed Gull, and probably a second year bird. Herring is much bulkier, has a larger, flatter head, and a thicker, heavier bill. Herring Gull also has pink legs at all ages.
08-14-2019, 05:17 PM
Geoffrey Montagu

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dorian Anderson

Nice sharp shot of this bird. Raised foot adds a nice touch of action. My main critique is that this is a Ring-billed Gull, and probably a second year bird. Herring is much bulkier, has a larger, flatter head, and a thicker, heavier bill. Herring Gull also has pink legs at all ages.

Thanks Dorian. Gulls can be tough to ID especially as they progress in years, and the HERG and RBGU can look very similar in early stages. I found in my research the RBGU at all ages have yellow legs, and HERG can have varying degrees of light gray to grayish pink and pink. This one seems to be a grayish pink. Could this be a hybrid?

Geoffrey

http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu
08-15-2019, 12:57 AM
Dorian Anderson

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoffrey Montagu

Thanks Dorian. Gulls can be tough to ID especially as they progress in years, and the HERG and RBGU can look very similar in early stages. I found in my research the RBGU at all ages have yellow legs, and HERG can have varying degrees of light gray to grayish pink and pink. This one seems to be a grayish pink. Could this be a hybrid?

Gulls hybridize all the time, but Ring-billed X Herring isn't one I've heard of. Leg color is really variable, and first year RBGUs have pink legs to complicate matters. The key thing is structure which doesn't change at the bird ages and molts. This bird is simply too nimble for Herring Gull. I've been a hardcore birder for 33 years and still struggle with gulls!