08 December 2011

Dolphin gull, Ushuaia


Walking along the waterfront at Ushuaia, I noticed several gulls foraging in the stinking black ooze at the water's edge. They looked different from the gulls I already knew — what's usually white was grey, and the bills seemed bulkier and redder. I checked the book. Dolphin gulls are apparently uncommon, although in Ushuaia they were easy to find. Over several days I tried to photograph them, but found them difficult subjects. This detail, although straightforward, is probably the best of a large number of mediocre photographs.

Of all the things I liked about Ushuaia, the birds rate highly.




[30 November 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 300 mm, ISO 200, 1/2000 at f5.6]


All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the red around the gull's eyes and the perfect match to the bill. A very fine looking creature.

Zhoen said...

That red ring around it's eye, very striking.

Anonymous said...

Lovely portrait (although I don't like to consider the black ooze). Birds rule!

Barbara Butler McCoy said...

Looks like someone stole my 'Red Ravishing' lip gloss ;-0

Me from Cali said...

What a handsome fellow (or attractive gal).

Relatively Retiring said...

Isn't it remarkable that they stay so sparklingly clean when they are foraging in filth?

pohanginapete said...

Robin, they are indeed very fine looking. I think the grey shading adds some interest compared to the simple black and white of some other gulls.

Zhoen, yes — apparently it's a diagnostic feature.

Barbara, I'm sure they'd steal anything, given the chance :^D

Paul, good to see you didn't assume the gender. As far as I know, the males and females can't be distinguished, except by other dolphin gulls ;^)

RR, very true. I've often thought that about birds I've seen foraging in the most horrendous situations — pure white egrets in Indian drains, for example.

pohanginapete said...

Maureen, oops, sorry — missed your comment. But I agree.

Hasta luego!