Franklin's Gull and Laughing Gull

[Joseph Przybyla]

The gull on the left is a Franklin's Gull and the one on the right is a Laughing Gull. Captured at Ft. Desoto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida.
Nikon D7000
Nikon 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF shot at 220mm (330mm FFE)
1/1250 F/8 ISO 320 -1/3 EV

[John Robinson]

Hi Joseph
I see your camera and lens combo is the same as mine and is producing the goods. I love that lens. And gulls are a nightmare to ID for me anyway. Good to get the two species together. Black heads and whites handled well too. Just that thin surfline draws my eye a little but nobiggie.
Cheers
John
PS ave you used a 1.4 add on at all?

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Joseph,
As John states, you handled the exposure here well and both birds look reasonably sharp even though they appear to be in different focal planes. The small wave draws my eye some as John states.

Allen

[Satish Ranadive]

Superb image beautiful gulls. Nice low angle, beautiful colors, details, reflection and composition.
I like the waves at the top.

Regards,
Satish.

[Dan Brown]

Nice shot of these two guys, Joe. I have sent you a PM regarding the ID's.

[Marina Scarr]

That's pretty cool to see them both in the same frame. I learned something new today.

[Dan Brown]

That's pretty cool to see them both in the same frame. I learned something new today.

So, as I have mentioned to Joe privately, these are both Laughing Gulls. Here is a heavily cropped pic of a couple Franklin's Gulls for comparision. Check out the smaller bill, thicker more pronounced eye ring and the reduced amount of black in the primaries on the Franklin's compared to the Laughing. Both Joe's Gulls and my Franklin's Gulls are in breeding plumage.