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In search of food


In search of food
Photo Information
Copyright: Peter van Zoest (PeterZ) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5137 W: 166 N: 13121] (49139)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-12-21
Categories: Birds
Camera: Nikon D300, AF Nikkor 70-300mm f4-5.6 G, Digital JPEG
Exposure: f/8, 1/400 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Three of A Kind, Anna's Favourites 1, Soft on the eye images, CeltickRanger's favorite Bird photos -6- [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2009-12-21 5:53
Viewed: 3609
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 78
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
We had a lot of snow during the last days. This photo is taken from my living-room trough glass panel with a view in my garden. These gulls were searching for food.

The Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south, but some birds in the milder westernmost areas of Europe are resident. Some birds will also spend the winter in northeastern North America, where it was formerly known as the Common Black-headed Gull. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus.

This gull is 38-44 cm (15-17½ in) long with a 94-105 cm (37-41 in) wingspan. It breeds in colonies in large reedbeds or marshes, or on islands in lakes, nesting on the ground. Like most gulls, it is highly gregarious in winter, both when feeding or in evening roosts. It is not a pelagic species, and is rarely seen at sea far from coasts.

The Black-headed Gull is a bold and opportunist feeder and will eat insects, fish, seeds, worms, scraps and carrion in towns, or take invertebrates in ploughed fields with equal relish.

In flight, the white leading edge to the wing is a good field mark. The summer adult has a chocolate-brown head (not black, despite the name), pale grey body, black tips to the primary wing feathers, and red bill and legs. The hood is lost in winter, leaving just dark vertical streaks.

This species takes two years to reach maturity. First year birds have a black terminal tail band, more dark areas in the wings, and, in summer, a less fully developed dark hood. Like most gulls, Black-headed Gulls are long-lived birds, with a maximum age of 63 years recorded in the wild.

This is a noisy species, especially at colonies, with a familiar “kree-ar” call. Its scientific name means “Laughing Gull”.

The Black-headed Gull is the prefectural bird of Tokyo and the Yurikamome mass transit system is named after it.

Source: Wikipedia
Mikolaj, hansh, nasokoun, Miss_Piggy, cirano, Argus, MMM, boreocypriensis, KOMSIS, CeltickRanger, horias, marius-secan, Heaven, xTauruSx, siggi, marianas, Juyona, jaycee, zulfu, goatman04, eng55, albert, anemone, uleko, Noisette has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello Peter! Amazing shot. Perfect exposure. Ideal contrast and sharpness. Fantastic take. Well done!

  • Great 
  • hansh Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 277 W: 1 N: 741] (2762)
  • [2009-12-21 6:03]

Hallo Peter.

Die steken wel heel mooi af tegen de besneeuwde achtergrond.
Prachtige plaat zo met een erg mooie scherpte en een mooi vliegbeeld.

Gr. Hans

Hello Peter,
a fantastic capture of these Black-headed Gulls in-flight in a splendid winter atmosphere, superb sharpness and very beautiful natural colours, very well done
TFS
Best regards
Maurizio

  • Great 
  • bedri Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 111 W: 0 N: 237] (1284)
  • [2009-12-21 6:07]

Hi Peter,
Superb composition, excellent scene. Congratulations and TFS.
Best regards,
Bedri..

hello Peter
splendid scene and photo, with your snowy gulls, beautiful colors and grate control in light and white!
keep photographing! TFS
Nasos

  • Great 
  • zetu Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 967 W: 26 N: 3888] (16941)
  • [2009-12-21 6:25]

Hello Peter
Wonderful scene of these gulls taken with beautiful winter colors and great details
Regards
Razvan

Hi Peter,

Amazing picture of these gulls. Great exposure with all the white snow and gulls, with good detail. The background is a bit to clear and distracting so maybe a smaller f/number but still a great capture and TFS.

Sion

Hallo Peter
Absolutely delightful and what a wonderful scene. They may be in search of food but they are the stars in your Winter Wonderland picture. This is the ideal postcard picture to send around world wishing everybody a Merry Christmas and filling the void for those of us who are not fortunate to see a white Christmas. I love this image. STUNNING and many more. Thanks for sharing this wonderful snow filled scenery. Best regards from a very humid Empangeni.
Anna

  • Great 
  • cirano Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 997 W: 0 N: 944] (13609)
  • [2009-12-21 6:41]

Slav Peter,
An amazing composition with great exposure.Great colors and perfect sharpness.TFS.
Regards,
Dûrzan

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5038 W: 260 N: 15594] (50626)
  • [2009-12-21 7:04]

Hello Peter,
A superb capture through your window!
We have a lot of snow too but gulls rarely visit our garden.
The timing of these three BH- gulls in flight, sharpness and lighting are great, as is the composition and I like the way the red legs and bills show so well against the snowy BG.
An excellent wintery shot!
Thanks and best wishes,
Ivan

  • Great 
  • MMM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1114 W: 0 N: 2546] (11425)
  • [2009-12-21 7:27]

Hi Peter
Great in flight capture.That is a very nice winter composition.Very sharp image with nice detail.One thing that attrack my eye was those red leg and beq on a white BG
TFS Michel

hallo Peter
Een super moment opname
het lijkt wel een 3D foto
er zit een helboel diepte in de foto die mij erg aanspreekt
mooi licht waar de poten erg mooi te zien zijn
super shot Peter
groetjes lou

  • Great 
  • PaulH Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1137 W: 26 N: 3879] (13882)
  • [2009-12-21 7:33]

Hi Peter,

i like the way their feet satnd out in this almost black and white shot. Nice details, sharp focus and well exposed in the difficult environment of snow!
Merry Christmas,
Paul

Incredible in-flight capture of these pretty gulls while searching food on snow MF Peter!
The focus, details, DOF and POV looks excellent.
TFS and have a nice evening MF!
Cheers,

Bayram

  • Great 
  • KOMSIS Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 821 W: 0 N: 2419] (10674)
  • [2009-12-21 7:58]

Hi Peter,
When the snow ...
Nice timing, depth of field and detail is excellent.
Best wishes,
Seyfi

hello Peter

i would never think one day i would see gulls in (with) the snow,
you did an excelletn and beautiful in-flight photo of these
white colored birds with the white snow background, TFS

Asbed

  • Great 
  • joska Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 806 W: 0 N: 4092] (22535)
  • [2009-12-21 8:14]

Hi Peter,
It is a really good photo of this Gulls, very good composition, nice color too!

  • Great 
  • horias Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 837 W: 58 N: 2084] (11033)
  • [2009-12-21 9:01]

Peter
Fantastic capture!
The sharpness of this pair of Chroicocephalus ridibundus are amazing!
Congratulation!
Horia

Hello Peter,
Wonderful composition. Excellent colours and amazing focus in flight.
A superb winter scene.
Marius.

Dear Peter!

Congratulations for this outstanding picture! I find it particularly beautiful and I'm fascinated by its double impact: it's a superb wildlife picture as well as a typical seasonal one. The winterly atmosphere is shown in all its beauty and the Gulls seem to be dressed to complete the spectacle. Superb!

Kind regards

Markus

An expert job Peter. I love the dynamism of this shot.
TFS and regards,
Deniz

Ciao Peter, splendid capture of wonderful flyng trio, great winter composition, fine details and excellent sharpness, very well done, ciao Silvio

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3097 W: 109 N: 12399] (52850)
  • [2009-12-21 11:09]

Hello Peter,
This is an amazing photo. Great sharpness and focus. The white color on gulls is very good contrasted. I like as well the snow BG in this shot,well done and Thanks for sharing.
Best regards Siggi

Peter
Wonderful capture!
Indeed, in the winter is no so easy for the birds to have food!
Mariana

  • Great 
  • Juyona Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor [C: 2232 W: 10 N: 2971] (16891)
  • [2009-12-21 13:12]

Hola Peter,
muy buena captura,
hermosa composición y fino foco.
saludos
saludos

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2454 W: 10 N: 8044] (25460)
  • [2009-12-21 15:17]

Hi Peter,

The thumbnail looked like a black and white but the beaks and legs prove the picture is in color. How striking! A marvelous capture of these gulls in flight with sharp sharp details. Very unlikely that I will ever see them in my backyard! Excellent picture and composition.

Jane

Impresionante conjunto Peter. Profundidad, realismo, vida y un gran juego de colores.
Saludos.

  • Great 
  • lousat Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 6554 W: 89 N: 15641] (65421)
  • [2009-12-21 16:13]

!!!!Great!!!What a fantastic pic my friend! I think that no need comments...right on my prefered,and 1 star isn't enough! My best best compliments,have a nice day,Luciano

  • Great 
  • zulfu Gold Star Critiquer [C: 685 W: 0 N: 2] (43)
  • [2009-12-21 16:32]

Hello Peter,
What a lovely and relaxing winter scene shot. The flying gulls and trees on background looks superb.
TFS and R's,
Mehmet

Hello Peter,

A remarkable shot with beautiful colors, sharpness & setting. Very well taken, composed & presented. TFS & best compliments.

Umar

  • Great 
  • eng55 Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1256 W: 42 N: 1976] (5892)
  • [2009-12-21 23:28]

Hi Peter,
Very nice capture.I liked POV,snowy atmosphere,pose of birds and composition a lot.Excellent work!
Thanks for posting..

  • Great 
  • fiyo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1053 W: 5 N: 3475] (15161)
  • [2009-12-22 2:20]

Merhaba Peter,
harika bir kompozisyon,evinizin de çok güzel bir bahçesi olduğu anlaşılıyor.
Karabaşlı martıların yem bulma telaşını çok güzel fotoğraflamışsın.
Tebrik ederim.

Ciao Peter. Great dynamic and contrasted capture. Perfect light's management and excellent details. Little masterpiece MF!

Roberto

Hello Peter,
The glass of your living room is very clean !
A nice scene indeed, and ideal postcard for a white Christmas !
TFS
Albert

Hi Peter.
Great capture of these flying gulls.
Pov, dof and composition are fine..
TFS. Kind regards,
Özgür

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3396 W: 172 N: 3310] (10940)
  • [2009-12-22 9:44]

Hello Peter,
Aha, you've got the same species as me here and WOW what a brilliant natural view of these three in flight! They look really lovely against the snowy landscape. Excellent focus and sharp details. Lovely colours too and well composed!
TFS and all the best wishes, Ulla

Hello Peter
nice shot, great to have seagulls in your garden, you have taken this birds nicely in landing position and fine details
her red beaks and legs are well contrasting in the wintery environment
Have a good night
Jacqueline

Hello Peter,

Snow for sure looks good on Christmas cards, but it creates problems too!
Not the least for birds and animals not used to this kind of downpour...

And I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, probably White this year!

Greetings,
Pablo -

Hey Peter! Very beautiful capture and a bit unusual to see the Black-headed Gull in front of all this wood! Good sharpness and colors.Thank You!

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