Ring-Billed Gull
Larus delawarensis
The Ring-Billed Gull can be difficult to distinguish from the California Gull. Both breed in the interior of North America. Winters find these birds moving to the coasts of North America, or to its southern states and into much of Mexico, where the California Gulls spends their winters only on the Pacific coast.
We often find these gulls in the western USA, and where they share territory with California Gulls, mistaken identities can be a problem. Adult Ring-Billed Gulls have a pale iris, while those of the California Gull are dark brown. There are other distinguishing marks to differentiate the two species, but I find this key useful.
Taxonomists regard the Ring-Billed Gull as monotypic (there are no subspecies recognized).
Most of my meetings with this species have been in California, but I’ve also found them in Oregon, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas. The first time I met this species in Texas, they were perching on foraging Brown Pelicans, and hoping for a free meal from the larger birds. I didn’t see any successful thieving, but the boldness they displayed, was remarkable. They even spent time perched on the larger bird’s heads.
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Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Where the Klamath River feeds into Lake Ewauna at Veteran's Park has proven a great place for bird encounters. Klamath Falls Oregon. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:04 17:59 |
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Location:
Veteran's Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: D3X8507-RingBilledGull |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Second year bird at Poe Road, Salton Sea NWR and Vicinity. Imperial County, California. |
Date Taken: 2003:09:26 16:46 |
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Location:
Poe Road |
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Camera Information: NIKON D1X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: JCD_3023RingBilledGull |
| © 2003 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: First year bird at Poe Road, Salton Sea NWR and Vicinity. Imperial County, California. |
Date Taken: 2003:09:26 16:38 |
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Location:
Poe Road |
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Camera Information: NIKON D1X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: JCD_2999RingBilledGull |
| © 2003 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: First year bird at Poe Road, Salton Sea NWR and Vicinity. Imperial County, California. |
Date Taken: 2003:09:26 16:38 |
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Location:
Poe Road |
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Camera Information: NIKON D1X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: JCD_2997RingBilledGull |
| © 2003 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Ramer Lake. Salton Sea Vicinity. Imperial County, California. |
Date Taken: 2009:11:25 16:11 |
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Location:
Ramer Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/3200 |
File Name: JCD7421.RingBilledGull |
| © 2009 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: San Diego Wild Animal Park. Escondido, California. |
Date Taken: 2011:01:01 16:56 |
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Location:
San Pasqual |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 |
File Name: JCD6637_RingBilledGull |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: San Diego River flood control channel. San Diego, California 2010-01-08. |
Date Taken: 2010:01:08 14:15 |
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Location:
Robb Field |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/5000 |
File Name: JCD5499.RingBilledGull |
| © 2010 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Presumed 2nd cycle, non-breeding bird at the beach at Poe Road. Salton Sea Vicinity. Imperial County, California. |
Date Taken: 2009:07:06 17:58 |
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Location:
Poe Road |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/2500 |
File Name: JCD3264.RingBilledGull |
| © 2009 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: As if walking on water near Lack & Lindsey Roads. Salton Sea NWR and Vicinity. Imperial County, California. |
Date Taken: 2011:10:13 17:09 |
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Location:
Lack-And-Lindsey-Roads |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/2000 |
File Name: D3X8265-RingBilledGull |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Imperial Beach, San Diego, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:01:31 13:44 |
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Location:
Imperial Beach |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/5000 |
File Name: D3X0850-RingBilledGull |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Where the Klamath River feeds into Lake Ewauna at Veteran's Park in Klamath Falls Oregon. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:04 17:46 |
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Location:
Veteran's Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: D3X8474-RingBilledGull |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Near Lack & Lindsey Roads. Salton Sea NWR and Vicinity. Imperial County, California. |
Date Taken: 2011:10:13 16:58 |
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Location:
Fondo |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500 |
File Name: D3X8160-RingBilledGull |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Benson Pond in Malheur NWR about 10 miles north of Frenchglen Oregon. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:03 15:56 |
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Location:
Benson Pond |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: D3X7929-RingBilledGull |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area south of Meridian Idaho. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:01 13:01 |
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Location:
Birds of Prey NCA |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/6400 |
File Name: D3X6870-RingBilledGull |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Part of the collection at the Western Foundation of Vertibrate Zoology in Camarillo, California. |
Date Taken: 2011:11:02 9:20 |
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Location:
W F V Z |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 105 mm, f/8.0, 1/4 |
File Name: D3X4617-RingBilledGull |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Part of the collection at the Western Foundation of Vertibrate Zoology in Camarillo, California. |
Date Taken: 2011:11:02 9:12 |
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Location:
W F V Z |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 105 mm, f/8.0, 1/8 |
File Name: D3X4613-RingBilledGull |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Along the Southeastern shoreline of the Salton Sea near the intersection of Lack and Lindsey Roads in Imperial County California. |
Date Taken: 2019:10:11 8:38 |
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Location:
Lack-and-Lindsey-Roads |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X0466-LackLindsey |
| © 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Tijuana River Mouth in Imperial Beach, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2014:03:05 9:17 |
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Location:
Tijuana River Mouth |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: D3X3323-RingBilledGull |
| © 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Black winged midges were on the menu at Veteran's Park by the Link River (a.k.a. Klamath River) in Klamath Falls. This place is a *go-to* destination for me when I'm in Southern Oregon. These birds were feasting on the millions of tiny black flying insects. |
Date Taken: 2019:08:18 8:57 |
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Location:
Veteran's Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/16.0, 1/800 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X5064-VeteransPark-KlamathFalls |
| © 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Black winged midges were on the menu at Veteran's Park by the Link River (a.k.a. Klamath River) in Klamath Falls. This place is a *go-to* destination for me when I'm in Southern Oregon. These birds were feasting on the millions of tiny black flying insects. |
Date Taken: 2019:08:18 8:54 |
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Location:
Veterans Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/16.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X4989-VeteransPark-KlamathFalls |
| © 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
|
Description: Black winged midges were on the menu at Veteran's Park by the Link River (a.k.a. Klamath River) in Klamath Falls. This place is a *go-to* destination for me when I'm in Southern Oregon. These birds were feasting on the millions of tiny black flying insects. |
Date Taken: 2019:08:17 10:22 |
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Location:
Veterans Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/16.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X4632-VeteransPark-KlamathFalls |
| © 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
|
Description: Black winged midges were on the menu at Veteran's Park by the Link River (a.k.a. Klamath River) in Klamath Falls. This place is a *go-to* destination for me when I'm in Southern Oregon. These birds were feasting on the millions of tiny black flying insects. |
Date Taken: 2019:08:17 9:33 |
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Location:
Veteran's Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/16.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X4009-VeteransPark-KlamathFalls |
| © 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
|
Description: Black winged midges were on the menu at Veteran's Park by the Link River (a.k.a. Klamath River) in Klamath Falls. This place is a *go-to* destination for me when I'm in Southern Oregon. These birds were feasting on the millions of tiny black flying insects. |
Date Taken: 2019:08:17 9:32 |
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Location:
Veterans Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/16.0, 1/800 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X4001-VeteransPark-KlamathFalls |
| © 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
|
Description: Black winged midges were on the menu at Veteran's Park by the Link River (a.k.a. Klamath River) in Klamath Falls. This place is a *go-to* destination for me when I'm in Southern Oregon. These birds were feasting on the millions of tiny black flying insects. |
Date Taken: 2019:08:17 10:11 |
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Location:
Veterans Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/16.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: AmericanWhitePelican_D5X3894-VeteransPark-KlamathFalls |
| © 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Bosque Del Apache, south of Socorro New Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2016:03:23 13:17 |
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Location:
Bosque Del Apache |
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Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: D726484-RingBilledGull |
| © 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Seen while visiting the Salton Sea along the south-eastern shoreline. Imperial County California. |
Date Taken: 2016:10:30 13:42 |
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Location:
Salton Sea |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5D2127 |
| © 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Seen while visiting the Salton Sea along the south-eastern shoreline. Imperial County California. |
Date Taken: 2016:10:30 13:40 |
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Location:
Salton Sea |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5D2055 |
| © 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Loafing with a few Herring Gulls near Lack and Lindsay Roads, Salton Sea NWR. Imperial County, Southern California. |
Date Taken: 2014:11:23 17:04 |
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Location:
Fondo |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 70 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X1923-RingBilledGull |
| © 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Near Lack and Lindsay Roads, Salton Sea NWR. Imperial County, Southern California. |
Date Taken: 2014:11:23 16:29 |
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Location:
Fondo |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: D3X1793-RingBilledGull |
| © 2014 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Malheur NWR is in southeastern Oregon, west of Steens Mountains and south of Burns Oregon. Harney County. |
Date Taken: 2017:08:30 11:58 |
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Location:
Malheur NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/10.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: RingBilledGull-Pre-Juvenile_D5X8952-MalheurNWR |
| © 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Water landing at Antelope Island State Park north of Salt Lake City Utah near the community of Layton. |
Date Taken: 2017:08:17 7:06 |
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Location:
Antelope Island |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X5201-AntelopeIsland |
| © 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Imperial Beach, San Diego, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:01:31 13:44 |
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Location:
Imperial Beach |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/6400 |
File Name: D3X0849-RingBilledGull |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Antelope Island State Park is one of the most memorable birding locations I've had the pleasure of visiting. It sits north of Salt Lake City Utah near the community of Layton. |
Date Taken: 2017:08:17 7:06 |
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Location:
Antelope Island |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/3200 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X5203-AntelopeIsland |
| © 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Antelope Island State Park is one of the most memorable birding locations I've had the pleasure of visiting. It sits north of Salt Lake City Utah near the community of Layton. |
Date Taken: 2017:08:17 7:10 |
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Location:
Antelope Island |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X5266-AntelopeIsland |
| © 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Gulls like this first year Ring-Billed, sometimes perch atop foraging pelicans, hoping to snag an escaped fish from the larger bird’s crop. I rode my bike to the southern end of Boca Chica Beach and enjoyed meeting the foraging birds at the mouth of the Rio Grande. This is the east-most border of Texas and Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2021:01:30 8:34 |
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Location:
Boca Chica Beach |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/11.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X6328-BocaChicaBeach |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Gulls like this first year Ring-Billed, sometimes perch atop foraging pelicans, hoping to snag an escaped fish from the larger bird’s crop. I rode my bike to the southern end of Boca Chica Beach and enjoyed meeting the foraging birds at the mouth of the Rio Grande. This is the east-most border of Texas and Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2021:01:30 8:34 |
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Location:
Boca Chica Beach |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/11.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X6384-BocaChicaBeach |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: Ring-Billed Gulls share company with Laughing Gulls in south Texas. There are wetlands that the South Padre Island Convention Centre (free access) and the Birding & Nature Center (admission fee required) share. My previous visits to the wetlands had been to the Convention Centre. On this day I would find out why folks pay money to see the marsh, when there is free access next door. |
Date Taken: 2021:02:08 9:40 |
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Location:
South Padre Island WBC |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/11.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X0155SouthPadre-WBC |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Ring-Billed Gull(Larus delawarensis) |
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Description: This Ring-Billed was the only gull I saw on my tour of the town. I’ve camped in Austwell (Texas) several times while exploring nearby Aransas NWR. This afternoon, I looked for birds in the area. |
Date Taken: 2021:03:11 11:53 |
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Location:
Austwell Landing |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: RingBilledGull_D5X1948-Austwell_TX |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
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