Juvenile Herring Gull - Party trick

[Steve Kaluski]

I think it's a Herring Gull 2nd winter, but if wrong please advise.

More of a grab shot (so yes, more below would have been better...) as we walked through Stanley Park on route to catching up with some good friends in downtown Vancouver. Amazing to see the Gull rotate it's head as it kept an eye the others above.

Thanks to those who viewed or commented on the previous posting.

Steve

Subject: Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) Juvenile
Location: Vancouver CA
Camera: Canon EOS-1DX MKII
Lens: EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM HH
Exposure: 1/2000s at f/6.3 ISO640
Original format: Landscape, very slight crop
Processed via: LR Classic 9.4 & PSCC2020

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Steve, a fun pose with the head rotated upwards. Nice BG and good techs as usual. I agree more below would be nicer but this works as presented. Nice details.

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks Sanjeev, hope your friends wedding went off well.

[kevin Hice]

Details are superb Steve,for me don't care much for the head turn maybe would like it better if the eye wasn't closed or squinted. Love the water colors and pattern. Would have been nicer with more below. TFS

[Arthur Morris]

Neat behavior but the off-angled light does not work for me.I think that this is a second cycle Glaucous-winged Gull. If you give me permission to post it on North American Gulls along with the date, we can see what the expert say. There is lots of hybridization with Western Gull. I think that Herring Gull would show much darker primaries. Maybe Dorian will chime in.

with love, a

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Artie, as I said it was more of a grab shot to try and get this rather strange HA.

If you give me permission to post it on North American Gulls along with the date, we can see what the expert say.

Go for it, as I think it's second winter, but I'm not a Birder , just enjoy photography, but be good to know, thanks a bunch.

[Randy Stout]

Steve:

The pose with direction of view reduces the need for quite as much below as normal, but still a bit more would have been nice. Agree about the squinty eye, but so common with head shakes in the species I know best.

Randy

[Dorian Anderson]

I think this is a third cycle Herring; second doesn't have any gray on the back. Artie's point about the primaries is well taken, but they don't get jet black in Herring until the 4th/adult. Herring has yellow eye, GW black, so an adjacent frame might show that detail.

Light is rough, but I love the detail on the legs/feet (those are one of the most underrated parts of any bird photo in my book!)