bonaparte's gull

First cycle Bonaparte's Gull in the center flanked by first cycle Franklin's Gull on the left and first cycle Black-headed Gull on the right.

Bonaparte's Gull spotted at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

A very long distance away, but you can see them. A gull was taking off and dropped a small fish. At the same time a nearby pelican decided to grab the fish as it hit the water resulting in this image. The gull took off just fine.

Non-breeding Bonaparte's gull, photographed on Rose Bay, St. Lawrence River, Jefferson County, New York, during a very mild December.

Still learning, but these birds are amazing. No graceful dive into the water - just a straight down - like a cannon ball.. Must work - they seem pretty hale and healthy. Birds never seize to amaze me.

Just to fit with the Muskrat ramble caption. Now for bluegrass fans, however. It's a foot-tapper f'sure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yeQucos9-M. In terms of the military/historical meaning, the title probably would have worked better with the shot of the Bonaparte's taking off into flight...

From a lagoon we passed along the shoreline trail on our first full day in Anchorage. First I thought "Black-headed gulls", but I took some shots anyway as they're my favorite gulls. Then it struck me that these ones had black rather than red bills. So when I got back to our hotel room...

http://micclarkphotography.co.uk/ Photo taken at Ogmore Estuary South Wales

I was on an elevated river bank watching for brown bears when this gull made several passes across the river below me. These are fairly common birds in the USA but I was told by a local forest ranger they are very rare in this part of Alaska.

Non-breeding Adult. Found this one in Southeastern Tennessee. I edited this photo quite a bit.

At first when we were out enjoying an afternoon drive I thought these birds were terns. But after examining it closer on the screen I was pleasantly surprised to see it to be a Bonaparte's Gull. This is a first sighting for me. I always strive to add at least one new bird for each outing. So...

This is my second sighting of this species; the first one I saw was an adult seen through a spotting scope at a great distance. I wasn't able to get any photos of it, and so I was thrilled when this juvenile showed no fear and approached within 15 feet of me!

Not a very good photo because of distance. This is an extreme enlargement. But this is the first time I have been able to capture the wing pattern on these beautiful little gulls.