Somehow I knew this would happen. I've been monitoring a nesting gull since about 12th May and had kept a daily watch up until last Friday, when the Bank Holiday weekend intervened. Sure enough, when I took a look this morning the eggs had hatched. There are two chicks in the brood (Herring Gulls lay two or three eggs usually), and judging by the look of them they can only have emerged in the last day or so.
The photos were all taken from a safe distance and the birds were unaware of my presence.
That was a small selection. More shots are in my Herring Gull Chicks album, on the main site. There's also a link there with information about photographing wild or nesting birds.
Camera note: all shots were taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens. For the ones out of the nest I added the Kenko Teleplus 1.4x Pro 300 DG teleconverter.
21 Comments
Thanks. I'm very safe. I'm indoors, looking out through a window 😉
Fantastic photos…becareful in the roof, Words! Great work!
Great, you are so lucky having this family gull so near you to make this great work with the camera! :up:
😀
Wonderful Words! The Herring Gull new arrivals! Awesome!
What a wonderful opportunity to see these little guys go from eggs to birds! They really are cute! Love the tiny wings!
They are amazing looking chicks, with all those "freckles!" Wonderful photos! 🙂
:yes:
Nice shots. I know your telling the truth about being a safe distance away – as the parent is sitting calmly on the nest rather than attacking you! – I know the 'safe' bit goes both ways! lol
They are so beautiful :heart: I think they are a different colour to camouflage themsleves from potential predators until they are old enough to fly. 😀
Look forward to seeing more pics.
Just gorgeous! They've got a long way to go before becoming pirates of the skies :pirate: 😀
Very cute! 🙂 It will be a wonderful new project to watch how fast they will grow.
Vulpes, thanks!
Adele, too true. It's hard to believe that they'll be terrorizing everything in sight in a little while.
FB, I was surprised at all the freckles. I've not seen them this young before.
Darko, :cheers:
Thanks Cynthia. It's going to be fun watching them grow up. 🙂
Lois, those little wings are too much!
Mark, that makes sense. They'll blend into the next pretty well that colour. It takes a couple of years before they develop a full white plumage. More pix will follow 😉
Elke, I'll be keeping a close watch on them. It's fascinating to get the chance to watch their development like this.
Neil, absolutely. Safety (mine) comes a high first. There's not much that would get me out on a high roof with flocks of seagulls looking after their young. It's a perfect spot for both of us.