"Seagulls"

There is actually no bird species called a "seagull", even though everyone uses that name for the ubiquitous gulls (17 species of which can be seen in North America) that you find all around the Great Lakes shorelines.  So when I dropped into the Owen Sound harbour the other day, I wasn't surprised to find some gulls.

There were four ships in the Owen Sound harbour, making the Chi-Cheemaun, the ferry that runs between the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island, look relatively small.  The other three were big lake freighters, including the Algoma Olympic on the right.  I presume they were all in harbour for the winter.

It's actually their raucous call that I always associate with the Great Lakes shoreline, more than actually seeing the birds.  That screeching is always in the background, as the birds wheel around and pick up whatever they can find to eat while I usually try to ignore them.

I don't usually get photos of birds in flight, let along clear ones, but I just lifted my camera and snapped, and it worked.  These first two photos are a Herring Gull, the larger of the two common gulls we see here.

Incoming! - another gull sailing toward me.  I raised the camera and snapped three times.  I amazed myself as how clear the focus was, as these three pix are considerably cropped.

You can clearly see the black ring around the bill that marks this as a Ring-billed Gull.  They're very common, and are actually found inland as much as on the shoreline.  I often see flocks settle on fields, and there are always a herd of them around the garbage dump.

There are actually 7 gull species that have been seen in Ontario the past year according to 'ebird'.  These two species are by far the most common and the only ones that can be seen year round.  With the success of these, I think I may have to try a few more bird shots!

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