Yesterday morning I went out to Jetty Park near Port Canaveral. I went there to see gulls. I wanted to see black-backed gulls, but I was also hoping to get better at identifying immature gulls. I’m getting pretty good at identifying adult gulls, but immatures still give me some trouble at times. I didn’t realize that, since I’m not a Brevard County resident, I would be charged $10 to enter the park. But I got over that irritation when I got out of the car and right off the bat found one adult Great Black-backed Gull, and then five minutes later, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. Then I saw three Bonaparte’s Gulls floating in the water. As I walked over to the beach, I found younger gulls to test my ID skills. The one below is a Lesser Black-backed Gull.
But the gull below gave me some trouble.It was a large gull, and I’m thinking it’s a first year Great Black-backed Gull, given its large size, wing pattern, the color of the legs, and that enormous black bill.The fish must have either escaped a fisherman’s hook or an Osprey’s talons, and this gull was the beneficiary. It was very timid about it, tough. When people walked by, it would walk away from the fish, I had to keep my distance in order to let it feel comfortable enough to go to work on the fish..
Other highlights were many Brown Pelicans, a couple Reddish Egrets, one Common Loon, many Royal Terns, and one Sandwich Tern.
Scott Simmons
Scott Simmons, based in Florida, is a lover of nature, landscape, and wildlife photography. Scott became interested in photography in 2001 when he was given his first SLR camera. When he acquired a telephoto lens, he became progressively more interested in birds and other wildlife. Scott enjoys learning about bird habitats and behavior, striving always to take images that are both beautiful and interpretive. Scott believes photography is a great vehicle to help others to appreciate the wonder for the stuff of earth.
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