fall Bonaparte's Gull

[John Chardine]

This dainty North America endemic species breeds in trees in the boreal forest and migrates south through various "hotspot" areas of Canada and the US, feeding as they go. I work around Deer Island, New Brunswick, and this species is there in the 1000s in August and September, feeding on krill and herring. This is the basic, winter plumage of the species. In breeding plumage they show a striking black head.

Composition out of the camera was too far to the right so I added canvas and water to the left to give the birds more room. Robert O'Toole's APTATS techniques were used. Pity the two in the water are lined up like soldiers! I ran some NR on the BG and boosted the blue and red channel saturation a little.

Canon EOS 40D, 70-200 f4 IS, 1.4 tcII @ 280mm
capture date: Friday, September 12, 2008 11:315 AM
exposure program: Manual
ISO speed: 640
shutter speed: 1/2000
aperture: f8.0
exposure bias: +0.0
metering: Pattern
flash: OFF

[Doug Brown]

Like the detail in the far wing. You held the whites nicely in the bird. I also like the dangling feet and the water droplets. A slight head turn towards us would be nice.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the dangling feet and eye contact. The OOF birds in the BG work, too. I only wish for a better wing position.

[Steve Maxson]

I like it, John - for the reasons already noted above. Nice job of adding room on the left. I have seen these birds nesting near Churchill, MB and at first it seems very odd to find a gull nest in a spruce tree!