Ring-billed Gull ~ Ad. W ~ Lake Merritt, California - 19.02.15

This species is far easier to find inland, any lake usually holds plenty, where the families come to feed the ducks, so do the Ringo's for easy pickings ..

There was a few at Santa Barbara beach, but Stafford Lake and a couple of the smaller lakes in Golden Gate Park had 100's yet they were always over shadowed by American Herring's or Thayer's etc ....

Lake Merritt had a great selection of birds from Canvasbacks, Lesser Scaups, White Pelicans to Belted Kingfishers but most meant shooting at an angle downwards and that's not for me, I just wandered around taking it all in as nearly ever species was new, whilst looking for some inspiration which came from this really vocal adult ringer !!

I spent quite a while trying to get a fully symmetrical head-on call and near enough got it ..

  The neck is just off center, but still pleased with this striking pose ..

The sky reflecting in the lake makes up the background .. 

The background is trees reflecting in the lake ..

The Ring-billed ended up being my least photographed of all the gull species in California as the other 7 species took over ...