‘Kwee-aarr, kwee-aarr!’

‘Kwee-aarr, kwee-aarr!’ The Silver Gulls hassled me for not sharing my lunch as I sat on the San Remo foreshore using them for camera-settings target practice.

Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) – flying in front of the only patch of blue sky on a overcast, drizzly day.
Canon 7D, 100-400mm L IS USM, AE priority f/5.0, exposure compensation +1/3, handheld, natural light

Silver Gull (adult)
Canon 7D, 100-400mm L IS USM, AE priority f/4.5, exposure compensation +1, handheld, natural light

Silver Gull (sub-adult)
Canon 7D, 100-400mm L IS USM, AE priority f/4.5, handheld, natural light

Adult and juvenille Silver Gulls look like separate species, only their jizz is the same; their size, shape, postures and behaviour. Adults have bright red bills and legs, creepy white eyes and a red eye-ring. Juveniles have black bills, legs and eyes, and mottled brown feathers. Researchers are yet to identify the gene responsible for the Silver Gulls’ ability to detect a chip as it’s tossed onto sand.

Silver Gulls like hanging around beaches, coastlines, lakes, parks, sewage treatment plants and garbage dumps. Unlike most other birds the population of Silver Gulls has risen along with the human population. The other two species of seagull commonly found in Australia are the much larger Pacific Gull and Kelp Gull.

I had some target practice with Pacific Gulls at one of Phillip Islands western beaches. These gulls aren’t interested in chips, they use their massive bills for feeding on molluscs, fish, marine animals and birds – which I find a little disconcerting.

Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus) – an ungainly take-off.
Canon 7D, 100-400mm L IS USM, AE priority f/5.6, exposure compensation +1/3, handheld, natural light

Pacific Gull – but with a short run and a few flaps of its 1.5metre wingspan it is soon airborne.
Canon 7D, 100-400mm L IS USM, AE priority f/5.6, exposure compensation +1/3, handheld, natural light

Silver Gull at sunset
Canon 7D, 100-400mm L IS USM, AE priority f/5.6, handheld, natural light

I’m yet to see a Kelp Gull but I’m on the lookout!

Happy birding, Kim