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This heat is killing me!
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Intro:
We are now back in Sweden after a fantastic month on the Croatian island Dugi Otuk. Luckily we meet the local archaeologist Jona and the biologist Vesna, and these two amazing women showed us lots of wonderful places during our stay. Later on will I try to post some of all the great photos we got during our weeks in this marvelous place on earth.
But I can’t resist to start of with this Yellow-legged Gull (Laurus michahellis/Gulfotat trut). He is sitting on a lamppost just below our terrace. The sweat is dripping from his bill and he breathes heavily with the bill totally open and he is gasping for air. Despite that this is a very interesting specie I also hope that you will find this a beautiful photo.
Geographic info:
This is from the island Dugi Otuk in the Croatian archipelago to the west of the town Zadar on the main land. I took this from our terrace in the small and beautiful village Sali.
Technical information:
As always, Canon 300/f4 lens on a Canon 400D body, in rawformat and used Adobe Lightroom for some adjustments before the edit in Photoshop CS3.
Just crop, white balance and a bit hue
Noise reduction with Noiseware professional
Sharpening with Photokit capture sharpener
About the specie:
You can decide about the specie by the yellow eye and the red ring around them.
From Wikipedia:
The taxonomy of the Herring Gull/Lesser Black-backed Gull complex is very complicated. This group has a ring distribution around the northern hemisphere. Differences between adjacent forms in this ring are fairly small, but by the time the circuit is completed, the end members, Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull, are clearly different species. However, different authorities recognise up to eight species in this complex.
It is now generally accepted that the Yellow-legged Gull is a full species, but until recently there was much disagreement. For example, the BOU in Great Britain placed the Yellow-legged Gull as a subspecies of the Herring Gull, while British Birds magazine split Yellow-legged Gull from Herring Gull but included the Caspian Gull in the former. However, recent DNA research[citation needed] has shown that Caspian Gull is basal to the complex, and cannot be in the same grouping as the other form.
There are two subspecies of the Yellow-legged Gull: michahellis (named for the German zoologist Karl Michahelles), which breeds in the Mediterranean, and atlantis, of the adjacent Atlantic shores. Birds breeding in Portugal and the Atlantic coast of Galicia (and spreading north from there) are sometimes considered to be a third subspecies: lusitanius. Atlantic Ocean birds have darker wings and back by comparison, creating a more pronounced contrast to the white parts.
The breeding range is centred around the Mediterranean Sea. In North Africa it is common in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and increasing in places. Recent breeding has occurred in Libya and Egypt. In the Middle East a few breed in Israel and Syria with larger numbers in Cyprus and Turkey. In Europe there are colonies all along the Mediterranean coast and it also breeds on the west side of the Black Sea. Here it overlaps with the Caspian Gull but there is a difference in habitat with the Yellow-legged Gull choosing sea cliffs. In recent decades birds have spread north into central Europe and first bred in Britain in 1995. The Yellow-legged Gull is also common in Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, Madeira Islands and the Azores.
Many birds remain in the same area all year round but others migrate to spend the winter in mild areas of Western Europe or head south as far as Senegal, the Gambia and the Red Sea. It is reported as a vagrant to northeastern North America and Nigeria.
Adults are similar to Herring Gulls but have yellow legs. They have a grey back, slightly darker than Herring Gulls but lighter than Lesser Black-backed Gulls. They are much whiter-headed in autumn, and have more extensively black wing tips with few white spots, just as Lesser Black-backed. They have a red spot on the bill as adults, like the entire complex. There is a red ring around the eye like in the Lesser Black-backed Gull but unlike in the Herring Gull which has a dark yellow ring.
First-year birds have a paler head, rump and underparts than those of the Herring Gull. They have a dark bill and eyes, pinkish grey legs, dark flight feathers and a well-defined black band on the tail. They become lighter un the underparts and lose the upperpart pattern subsequently. By their second winter, birds are essentially feathered like adults, save for the patterned feathers remaining on the wing coverts. However, their billtips are black, their eyes still dark, and the legs are a light yellow flesh color.
The call is a loud laugh which is deeper and more nasal than the call of the Herring Gull.
These are omnivores like most Larus gulls, and they will scavenge on rubbish tips and elsewhere, as well as seeking suitable small prey in fields or on the coast, or robbing plovers or lapwings of their catches. |
SelenE, writerscrawlz, jaycee, uleko, Proframe, dew77, Kathleen, Argus, nglen, juhi has marked this note useful
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First of all, excellent notes! I love the contrast, the black against the white because it brings out yellow-legged gull to where it pops. The beak is a great contrast against the white body and the photo is pin-sharp. Congratulations on a job well done.
Hi Bengt, very nice picture, well done
friendly
Pat
hi bengt,
impressive capture !beautiful !
perfect sharpness and amazing details !
like the dark BG, great contrast, the gull stands out perfectly.
love it !
thanks,
carole
- uleko
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2582 W: 170 N: 7867]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(24879) - [2007-07-18 11:03]
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Hej Bengt,
Nice to see you back again and I bet you had a good time! Great capture of this Gull suffering from the heat. Excellent close-up, sharp details and fine colours.
TFS and best wishes, Ulla
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- PeterZ
(9497)
- [2007-07-18 11:20]
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Hello Bengt,
Beautiful sharp photo. Very good colours and dark BG. Great POV. I'm looking out for the other great photos.
Regards,
Peter
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- GLEM
(5741)
- [2007-07-18 13:20]
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Hi Bengt
fantastique image, l'ouverture de la gueule est extra. Bonne maîtrise de la netteté, parfait BG flou et unit, bravo.
gl
Hello Bengt,
Great portrait of this gull with wide open mouth.
He neads to go to a doctor with his tonsils beacause they did grow to big :)
Very beautiful shot with wonderful details and background against wich the head of the bird does stand out greatly.
Composition, sharpnes and exposure are spot on.
Perfect work.
Thanks for sharing.
Best wishes,
Harry
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- dew77
(13069)
- [2007-07-19 1:49]
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Hello Bengt,
Magnificent shot.Moment you caught is great.POV,exposure,lighting,contrast between dark BG and gull are excellent.
TFS..:-)
what a fantastic shot, and your title fits perfect with it..love the clear eye and pov...what a cracker, one to be proud of
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- pirate
(3035)
- [2007-07-19 5:32]
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Wow Bengt
amazing portrait with beautifull BG and great action!
I love it!
Tfs
TOM
Hi Bengt.
Awesome shot, DOF is perfect to make him stand out. Exposure and detail are superb.
Really impressive
Kathleen
New Zealand
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- Argus
(24819)
- [2007-07-19 6:29]
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Hej Bengt,
What an amazing capture of this Yellow-legged Gull's head! The POV allows us to see the details of the open mouth and eye, all presented sharply and with good lighting and colour. The dark neutral BG contrasts well to emphasize its head in this fine compositin, to produce a first class and unusual image.
Look forward to seeing more from your Croatian trip.
TFS and all the best, Ivan
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- jaycee
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1909 W: 8 N: 4974]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
(16081) - [2007-07-19 7:58]
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Hi Bengt,
A fantastic shot! The black background makes this gull pop right out of the picture. Amazing to catch him gasping for air like this. Even his tongue looks dry. Beautiful colors and details showing off that fantastic eye. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip.
Jane
hi bengt
l'expression est superbe,comme la photo!
felicitations.
laurent
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- nglen
(22526)
- [2007-07-19 12:56]
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Hi Bengt. This is an excellent shot. never seen inside a gulls mouth before.the detail is very good. with good light in the eye. well done TFs. very good notes too.
Nick.
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- SelenE
(12912)
- [2007-07-20 1:08]
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Hi Bengt,
Welcome back, I'm glad you had a good time in Croatia.
Lovely capture of this gull with a very good POV, focus, clarity and an exceptional pose. TFS
Best wishes,
Selen
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- julian
(585)
- [2007-07-20 2:35]
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Great shot Falke. Like most of your gallery.Kind regards
Julian
WOW Bengt!!!what a detail in this gull bill!!!this should help gull's dentists ;-).
excellent shot.i tried it with diffrent kind of other birds but never catched a nice shot.never! :-(
thanks
caroline
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 594 W: 14 N: 1102]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif)
(5906)![Silver Star Critiquer [C: 30 W: 0 N: 0]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/s-n-n.gif)
(0)
Perfect sharpness and amazing details