Birding Pictures

I went birding a couple of weekends ago in my old stomping grounds of Abilene, TX where I grew up. It was fun, and I managed to get a number of pictures of birds (and the ever present summer dragonflies of course). While none of them are spectacular, it was nice to get shots of feathered friends, since before owning a telephoto lens they were simply out of reach. You can, as always, find them in the gallery.

I did manage to get three interesting pictures of a Franklin’s Gull (here, here, and here). For birder’s, the reason these pictures are interesting is because of this species similarity to Laughing Gull. Normally, Franklin’s Gulls can be separated by large white tips to the flight feathers (primaries). However, during this time of year, the birds largely lack these, and one could get the identification wrong. These picture show a number of characteristics which separate the two. Note that the white eye crescents are much bolder, the underwing coverts are in flight are largely white (they would have strong brown markings if it were a Laughing Gull), the black on the underside of the primaries is less extensive than Laughing Gull, and the black band on the top of the tail does not go all the way to the edges. This bird shows the necessity of caution in relying on one mark (white to the tips of the primaries) in identifying a bird like Franklin’s Gull.

Ah, the subtleties are what keep it fun!