Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Gull-ible at Barnegat Bay

As a part of our Pennsylvania trip earlier this June, Maria and I made a rare visit to the east coast. The prospect of doing some birding along  the New Jersey shore was very exciting, even if we weren't heading to Cape May or some of those other famous sites. We set our sights on lovely Barnegat Bay, a strip of beach with beautiful scenery and, as it turned out, a few birding treasures of its own. Since I had only been to the Atlantic coast a few times, the prospects of seeing some new and cool birds were great. The Jersey shore did not disappoint, and in fact it exceeded my expectations. Even before Maria and I arrived at the beach, we started to see new birds, with sentinels such as this handsome Laughing Gull dotting utility poles along the road.


We saw Gulls high atop the famous old Barnegat Lighthouse and soaring along the coastal thermals. We also saw them along the lowest points of the Barnegat wharf and shoreline, sometimes in very compromising positions. Gulls can live high and they can live low. You don't become one of the most successful avian groups without making a few compromises.


The Seagull is often used as a symbol for freedom and versatility in literature. Most appropriately for birders, it can represent the unattainable ideal, something you want but can never possess. Keeping in mind the different plumages and vast ranges many Gulls have, as well as the propensity for many Gulls to turn up in unexpected places, I think Gulls embody the frustration and excitement of an unattainable ideal very well.  Especially for a non-coastal person like me, almost every Gull is a potential new bird, but they're so often ambiguous and identifying them is seldom a certain thing. Here, to make the point, are some mid-cycle Ring-billed Gulls. Or at least I think. Maybe Herring Gulls? Maybe not. They could also be space aliens.


Maria and I counted four different species of Gull along the Barnegat shore. The Laughing Gulls were by far the most visually striking and the most graceful of the bunch. Seagulls are pretty talented aviators, but the way that the Laughing Gulls rose and cut and dove almost put them in the Tern and Kite class of flyers. They had serious skills.


The Laughing Gulls were most comfortable in the air, and unlike the other Gulls, I never saw them on the ground. Conversely this third/fourth year Herring Gull seemed to abhor the very idea of flight. Even as I approached it, the bird started to walk out into the ocean instead of taking to its wings. I've seen some impressive flight displays from Herring Gulls and Ring-bills before, so this one must've just been pretty tuckered, or else it was just really wanted to soak its feet.


The Herring Gulls were the most numerous on our stretch of the Jersey beach, and they were visible in the air on the ground, floating atop the water, and popping into trash cans along the peer. Bulky, large, noisy, common, versatile, and semi-indestructible...surely this is the quintessential 'Seagull'.


It is often said that cockroaches and rodents would be the sole survivors of a nuclear holocaust. I'm putting my money on the Herring Gull. This is the cold calculating stare of a bird that can be caught at the epicenter of an atomic explosion and fly away wondering what's for dinner.


The most impressive Gull on the beach was, by far, the Great Black-backed. Their range in North America may be only a tiny fraction of the Herring or Ring-billed Gulls' range, but with a wingspan well over five feet, this bird more than compensates.


The Great Black-backed is the largest Gull in the world. The few that we saw at Barnegat Bay cruised low and slow along the beach, confident in their size and the proper awe they inspired in all whom they passed.


Folding in those wings must be a bit of a chore (I can sympathize too). This Gull held its pose for a little while, so maybe they were just telling me that they were tired of being spied on, and were pointing me in the direction of other cool stuff to see. 

"Go bother those Oystercatchers over there"

As I moved beyond the shoreline and out onto the rocky wharf around the bay, I realized that the awesome birding was just beginning. I already related the story of the Purple Sandpipers, and there are still many cool birds to come! 

16 comments:

  1. Great set of photos of the gull family! Now you got me interested in visiting the east coast!

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    1. Thanks Gordon. Of course, the west coast has more than its fair share of shore birds and Gulls too, but the east coast does provide some different species, and that's always fun!

      Time it right and you could be over there for the Cape May birding festivals too!

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  2. Very nice shots of gulls! I love seeing them in nature and on the beach. I grew up with them as a kid....and they were EVERYWHERE...now when I shoot pics, I don't take pics of them. It's a weird thing because they are something very special to see and yet I don't get into them that much. Plus the red on the Herring Gull always makes me think that they are bleeding. Maybe it was an attack on my French fries as one swooped down from out of nowhere to grab my food....I don't know. Personal issues I guess:) You've got some great shots here. They're tricky to get on camera as the sunlight reflects off of their wings.

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    1. Thanks Chris. I know what you mean about the mixed feelings on Gulls. Before I birded very seriously, I'd see them at the beach, at dumps, around McDonalds...it was gross.

      Now seeing them on the beach they seem beautiful and purposeful again, in their proper element. It was really nice to shoot on the beach with plenty of light and no leafy trees in the way but, as you mention, the Gulls have lots of white and boy does it reflect! I think I had my exposure compensation at -1.3 most of the time, and the white still washed into purple!

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  3. Mmmm gulls! Nice collection of photos- it seems your time on the shore served you well, though still disappointed at the lack of Snookie Gulls. Also, I am not sure what it is, but that gull you call Ring-billed (fifth photo from the top) does not look Ring-billedy to me... Maybe it's the red patch on the beak. Do not take my word for this though. It could in fact be a space alien...

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    1. I am sorry about the lack of Snookie Gulls. They must've been absent because if they were there they would've raised a super ruckus. Then again, I do not know all of the molts of the Snookie Gull, so it's possible they were there in disguise.

      Speaking of not knowing the molts, I think you might be right about that 5th picture. Maybe it's the third year cycle of Herring Gull? It's hard to find an exact match with other photos online. Do you think there's any possibility of a hybrid? Perhaps it's a Ring-billed x Snookie Gull. ewww....

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    2. The mere thought of Snookie hybridizing with anything or anyone is enough to make me gag... Ask Seagull himself maybe, I am not much help.. Herring sounds believable.

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    3. Aye what a conundrum. Well one thing that is for sure is that neither Ring-billed nor Herring Gulls will be in my 'Favorite Gull' slot for a long time!

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  4. Awesome! I used to go to the Jersey shore with my family every summer when I was a wee lad. I usually regret the places I've been, pre-birding, when I think of all the sweet avifauna I've missed out on, but maybe it was good that I got to enjoy the beach qua beach when I was young. Even though Maureen and I have lived on the coast for the last 7 years, I can't remember the last time we went to the beach just for the sun and waves. Still, gotta wonder what I missed all those summers...

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  5. I know exactly what you mean Nicholas. Well, maybe not exactly. It's hard to fully synchronize my thoughts with such a hirsute man as yourself, but I've definitely had the wistful feeling of recounting cool childhood destinations and vacation, and bemoaning the total lack of birding I did.

    I paid almost no attention to the bird when I was in Belize(!) for a week. To be fair, I was very interested in the insect and amphibian life but good grief what a missed opportunity...

    Even now, it's still hard to balance birding in a vacation with doing other enjoyable non-birding things, especially because, as much as I love it, birding does give me stress sometimes. Through a family in there who's not always so interested, and it's a lot to manage!

    That being said, I still think you and Maureen should make a trip out to southeast Arizona sometime in the spring.

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  6. It might sound odd to some bird photographers but I love working with Gulls, they are incredible to watch in flight and strike aerial poses even an Eagle could be envious of. I don't like to pass any birds without photographing them, especially those that are considered "common".

    When I get back to the east coast I hope to photograph the Great Black-backed Gulls.

    A wonderful post Laurence.

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    1. Thank you Mia. I agree, the Gulls have a lot to offer to the photographer and simple viewer alike. Photographing at the beach was such a wonderful experience too, with the unobstructed views, plenty of light, and near-gauranteed great backgrounds.

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  7. Awesome. Gulls are great, and the challenge in identifying them can be fun. I've found my Sibleys Guide is pretty much a necessity when identifying gulls. Great shot of the black-backed in flight. Amazing how big that bird is!

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    1. Thanks Moe. I've heard Sibley's is excellent. Lamentably, I don't have great bird books, and now I use internet sources more often than not, so I haven't gotten around to buying better ones.

      I've had very little experience with Gulls, or birding on the beach for that matter, but it was a lot of fun...scarily addicting. I've been pining for it ever since.

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  8. Good for you! Sounds like you had tons of fun!

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    1. I did indeed! To be exact, I had 2,117 lbs. of fun, which puts it high the running for one of my best beach days ever!!

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