Western Gull

It's time for another gull post!

Gulls are so hard to identify. I mean, I don't even know where to begin with the picture below. What's with the grey feet? That's not in my field guides.

I can, however, identify Western Gulls. The first step in narrowing down gulls is to look at the feet. California Gulls have yellow feet. Herring Gulls, Thayer Gulls, and Western Gulls have pink feet.

this is MY log, buddy

Western gulls have a yellow ring of skin surrounding the eye called an orbital ring.

Western gulls are extremely common. They're perfectly happy hanging out with other types of gulls. The mottled gray birds below are only a few years old. Adult plumage doesn't come in for a few years.

They're not intimidated by humans.

These were taken in Monterey, where the skies are blue, unlike lovely gray Pescadero.

wait for meee

Below is my favorite Western Gull picture. This guy on a bench was offering food, and the gulls all rushed to get the food first. I love the gull in the lower right. I'm particularly fond of open beak pictures.

mayhem