Holy crap, I get disconnected from the Internet for just a couple of days only to get back online and find out we had another embassy overrun. Regardless of the opinions on whether we should have been there or minimally that long etc., those that have served there and especially those that gave the ultimate sacrifice deserve better than the images I am seeing on lame stream media at the moment. I can only imagine what other superpowers are thinking at this moment. Looking through the available images, figured I would go with this for today’s featured feathered friend.
The Laughing Gull is not new to the blog. Back in march of 2019, I covered the specimens we found while visiting Tybee Island off the coast of Georgia {shirk eyesight, stare sheepishly at the ground, hum a bit} from our 2015 trip (link here). Yeah, that was a 4 year lag for that. As an act of retribution, today’s images are equally 4 away, but this time the units are months. They still have that new car smell.
Hit jump to read about the Dauphin Island Walmart greeter.
Gulls are an interesting topic for me. I never know what experience I am going to get when I photograph these birds. Not from the birds of course, if you know the Gull family, then you are already aware they couldn’t care less about a human – especially, one holding a camera and not a piece of food – now that would change the dynamics greatly. On the other hand, it is the locals that provide the interesting behavior observations.
I’ve been basically accosted on Mackinaw Island for having the audacity to give one of these “deplorables” a microsecond of time apparently under the impression that pointing The Beast at one causes them to reproduce on the spot. Should have told that person it was a bazooka and we would have left on better terms.
Then we have the other extreme with people walking around with bags of bread holding court with their black and white minions. Basically like shooting through a snowstorm with hundreds of circling Gulls all screaming “Mine!”. Based on my years of observations, those people tend to be a) tourists who do not have to deal with the repercussions or b) they have an army of Cats anxiously waiting for them to return home.
The Laughing Gull happened to be the very first bird I spotted when we arrived on Dauphin Island. It happened to be raining that day (of course, we were on vacation, what else could the weather possibly be). ‘Re’ won an epic battle with ‘Nu’ overnight finally bringing and end to the rain. Popped out of the RV shielding my eyes from the unexpected brilliant light and spotted this specimen hanging out on a telephone pole about 50 feet beyond our site. Just one lone Gull keeping a watchful eye out for someone walking with loaves of bread.
Grabbed The Beast and got it on target. I then pulled my head away from the back of the camera (Beast still aimed) and made a scan of the area. No surprise movements, no mobs of people with pitchforks – Mackinaw this wasn’t. Got back to work and pushed a few shots into the tin. Admittedly, took me a few test shots to get the settings right thanks to all the dreary setting shooting up to that point. Pretty sure the ISO dial creaked when I moved it to 200. Kudos to the pole bird for hanging loose while I got it together. Note the inflight shots are not the same specimen. As usual, wanted to give you additional perspectives, but for some reason got distracted (likely read that as Linda) and looked back to see an empty perch. There was no shortage of opportunities to tin these Laughers and opted to throw a few shots taken a couple of days later while exploring the surprisingly few beaches accessible on the island.
Ooops, out of shots, better get to some facts on this bird before letting you go. In general Gulls are ubiquitous across the states. Come upon a body of water or a Walmart parking lot you are sure to see predominantly white birds laying claim to anything that looks like nourishment. Specific species can be more specialized as with the Laugher. They are pretty much isolated to the eastern and southern coastlines of the US and Central America. One exception being Florida which appears to be completely covered as a state. Beyond that, Cornell is pretty weak on the interesting facts. If you are in the field, just look for the black hood, red bill and the white eye crescents to quickly distinguish them from the rest of the family. For the breeding adults of course…best of luck if you tin a nonbreeding or juvi in which case simply download it off the card and quickly move it to your folder named “Gulls” and forget about it ha!
Take care everyone and our prayers for our citizens and military personnel having to deal in place with the latest unforced error.
Wildlife Intrigued 
I have to agree with you on Afghanistan. What a mess and let down for those who served, and what a horror for the people. The gull is really handsome. We get seagulls all the way up here. The crows go ballistic when a seagull lands on light or power poles out here.
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Sounds like there could be an epic battle down there when a murder of Crows takes on a horde of Gulls ha. I have mixed feelings on the Gull front. The ones I can identify without spending hours in a reference book I like – the juvis and nonbreeders I curse as there is very little to distinguish them apart that are readily available from the field – larger bill here, more black on the tips etc. are not helpful – thus the Gull folder. Thanks for dropping by Tim. Good news is I got my permanent crown today!
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You are well crowned. Congratulations on the coronation. I’ve had limited interactions with gulls, but they have a lot of gall and are really sassy. Here are some of my gull photos:
https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2018/1/seagulls-in-our-midst
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Wow, you have FRENCH Gulls – do they sass at you for being a stinkin’ foreigner in their presence – “I taunt ya a secuuund time unless you gives me sum fine French breeead!!” Assuming you are done or nearing your permanent crowning as well.
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I get coronated on the 3rd. Here’s some more seagulls and other birds in Paris:
https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2018/7/les-oiseaux
More gulls on the Rio Grande
https://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2018/2/youve-got-gull
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Laughed at the image of those feeding gulls are most likely cat ladies. I think that is a fair assessment.
Thoughts and prayers go out to all those dealing with and in harms way. Never easy to see and never the entire story as it most likely is 10-15 times worse than what we see! Speaking from personal experience.
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Ha, I was bracing for the backlash on the Cat reference – didn’t materialize so it must be true! I can only imagine how bad it is over there. We’ll see how this plays out and more importantly whether anyone will be held accountable. We will see. Appreciate you coming by CJ.
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I will have to re read to locate cat. If was it has any reference to a cat lady, well you must know by now that they are not held in high regard in this household! In fact I joked with a friend that she can’t become a cat lady as I would have to unfriend her.
On that other situation, who knows!
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Totally agree on Afghanistan – what an unqualified mess. And the one good thing I can say about flocks of gulls is that they typically provide unending practice opportunities for bird-in-flight photography. Good job getting such solid shots of this very handsome bird.
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Excellent point, if you need some practice with birds in flight shots or the even harder bird going from stick to flight shots, Gulls are your go to practice subjects. Best if you find some sacrificial person to draw their attention (cue up brother Ron hehehe), so you can distance yourself a bit from them otherwise they will be too close for the big glass. This Laugher was kind enough to let me dial the settings in on it before taking to the skies. Thanks for coming by Sam!
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How painful the heartrending stories and photos coming out of Afghanistan are! I hope those who want to escape do get to leave, although I am sure some of them will die trying. I feel for the women and girls who will lose many of their rights. Maybe pressure from the international community will help to force the Taliban to keep their promises of a more moderate and inclusive government. One thing I am sure we all agree on: this is a mess!
The gull photos are fresh and gorgeous! Thank you for sharing. Have a great weekend! ❤
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We can hope some body/conglomerate will step up and not allow the advancements the women /girls have made in the last 20 years – based on past experience I am not holding my breath. Thanks for the kind words on the shots. It was a good way to start off the fallout at Dauphin to get the arms ready for the barrage of birds that we encountered from that point on. Imagine me laying out on the picnic table with ice bags on my arms from whipping The Beast around for 8+ hours a day. Appreciate you coming by Cheryl!
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They are really beautiful birds, and your shots are great as always, Brian. My heart goes out to those dealing with the Afghan fall-out. You guys have been on the Gulf Coast for a while now, no? Any hurricane activity affecting your adventures? 🌞
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We are actually back from the Gulf now so no issues with the hurricane now – most of our issues as of late has been an odd mix of absolute downpours followed by excessive drought. We were up in Wisconsin and Minnesota the last couple of weeks and other than the rain for the first half of the trip the rest was pretty hot making for some difficult long runs in their steep terrain. Thank you for the kind words on the shots and take care while out there adventuring.
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