Well, I’m dreaming of an early Spring … is it out of reach? We were cheated out of a long, lovely Fall after wintry weather began back on November 9th. The groundhog’s prognostication of six more weeks of Winter made most Michiganders mad – me too! We are having 71F/21C tomorrow, but snow on Thursday!
I wonder what this gull is dreaming of?
Now, you may think that I’m strictly a “squirrel girl” but seagulls give me cause to pause too, especially when I have the camera with me.
Songbirds, unless they are busy filling their beak with food or nesting materials, never linger or they spook easily. Great Blue Herons – please tread carefully or they’ll bolt once they see the whites of your eyes. Geese are great, until they’re not. I mean, if you glance at them the wrong way, or it appears you might want to scoop up one of their offspring, they’ll glower at you or have a hissy fit with wing flapping or hissing with that bright-pink tongue. Swans will chase you if they feel threatened. Ducks are mostly polite but that’s because they see you as a potential meal ticket.
But gulls … now that’s a different story.
I find them to be photogenic. Especially when I see them in pensive poses like the Ring-billed Gull you see in the featured image.
In last week’s post I included a few gulls as I stood on the Boardwalk at Bishop Park in Wyandotte, but for me, that day was mostly about the Redhead Duck and the Mute Swans.
Since I want to give seagulls equal press time, I’m going to tell you about my stop at this Riverfront park, only we’ll flip the switch and go from the heart of Winter and flash back to late last Summer.
Just like my recent visit to this venue, I was solo on the Boardwalk which is in contrast to warm weather weekends when the fishing pier is usually hoppin’ with anglers and the Boardwalk is crowded with many folks getting in their steps.
She sells seashores by the seashore.
It was September 11th and the fourth day in a row I set out for long walks and lots of picture taking, invigorated by the finally cooler temps.
Because of the solemnity of the day, I decided to begin my day down at the Detroit River. I planned to be there early, reflect a little and hopefully capture a photo of the fishing pier in the early morn, like this shot from back in January 2018.
Unfortunately, that plan was dashed when I awoke to fog … not the pea soup variety, but enough to keep me home slightly longer.
But there would be no missed opportunity due to the mist either. By the time I arrived at Bishop Park, the sky was just overcast, quite different from September 11, 2001, when it was a gorgeous, sun-filled morning.
As I exited the car, I heard a voice coming from a truck that was parked nearby. It was evidently a news program as I could hear a recitation of names, most likely the names of some of those who were lost 24 years ago.
The driver pulled away and I was pulled back into the present. It was silent except for some seagulls.
I took a photo of the flags at half staff, another solemn reminder of the anniversary date.
I got the coveted picture of the pier, but sadly without the wiggly pier posts. I saw no freighters on the horizon. I usually see at least one when I visit here. Soon we will see freighters again as Winter lay-up is over as of March 25th when the Soo Locks in Sault Ste Marie open up again.
Any season when I visit this venue, if the Ring-billed Gulls are cruising overhead, filling the sky with their noisy screeches, I can place myself at any beach, strolling along the shoreline, gentle waves lapping up and over my feet and spilling onto the sand.
Except there is no beach here, just a cement Boardwalk and wooden railings, separating you from the Detroit River.
There were several seagulls lined up. If you think all seagulls look alike, look again. The Juveniles have spotted plumage and a dark-tipped bill.
A few looked toward me hopefully “would the nice lady with the camera share a treat with us?”
I do think they like “hammin’ it up” sometimes.
Would you define this look as “coy” or “shy”?
Is this seagull doing morning yoga or studying its toenails?
This gull might likewise be exercising or perhaps the seagull version of the Hokey-Pokey. You put your left foot in ….
It’s important to get your steps in – I wonder how it keeps track though?
Is this gull disgruntled about his railing mate and airing its grievances or just screeching to itself?
And why is the above gull, like some others below, standing on one leg? In Winter this helps keep their legs/feet warm as this part of their body is not insulated – in Summer, I guess it’s just for a change of pace.
Occasionally, the gulls raised a ruckus as a bully gull would take someone’s preferred perching spot, prompting the latecomer to fly off in a snit.
After taking a ton of photos of my feathered friends, I took this photo after the wording on the memorial park bench caught my eye and I knew I would mention the anniversary of September 11th.
It was time to move on to Downtown Wyandotte and BASF Park – the rest of my stroll will be next week.
Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge this week is: “Seascapes”. Since Terri is on vacation for a few weeks, this week’s Challenge is being hosted by Cathy, who blogs at “Between the Lines”.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
I loved your exercising seagulls.
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Thanks Anne! Their antics are fun to watch and photograph.
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Your gull closeups are amazing, the way you capture their facial expressions! The sunrise photo over the pier was good too. Cloudiness added atmosphere. And that message on the bench is a good reminder that life is short.
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Thank you Debbie! I like photographing gulls as they’ll hold a pose for a long time, so I often have good luck with them on the Boardwalk railing, but not so much once they are in the air. I had a lot of fun facial expressions and antics this time and I held one photo from this group to use for March 18th, my sixth anniversary of continuous Wordless Wednesday posts and will invite people to caption the photo. I was happy to get that original picture of the pier – it was soft light as the sun had just risen. I thought the bench was a good reminder too. I once did a post featuring all the memorial benches at this park and I Googled their names and obituary information to learn about the honoree.
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Gorgeous sunrise to start, Linda and wonderful shots of the gulls. A timely reminder on the bench too. Thanks for joining in 🙂
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Thank you Cathy! It is a very peaceful venue and if you shut your eyes, it would appear you are at a beach or shoreline setting. They have quite a few memorial benches here, all with meaningful messages. You’re welcome; thank you for hosting in Terri’s stead.
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Too often, I see gulls as inland trash scavengers, so these shots help me to reorient. They are beautiful in close up, and I had never noticed the variety.
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I agree with you JP – seagulls often terrorize our picnic areas, circling overhead and unbelievably, even swooping down to steal something off a grill. They are photogenic and you can get fairly close to them before they bolt. At a glance, you don’t really notice the difference unless you see them all lined up.
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The gulls are beautiful. My memory of them is trying to steal food at the beach.
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I think they are photogenic and beautiful too Kate. At least you can sneak up close to seagulls for a few shots before they bolt. Yes, they are bad for hovering overhead and/or swooping down to steal food that is sitting out, or even stealing food cooking on a grill.
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Fantastic seagull captures, Linda. 😉
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Thank you Pepper! Seagulls are a favorite subject of mine!
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I can see why. I hope you enjoy the sunshine today. 😉
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It is peaceful, especially on a weekday. I did enjoy the sunshine. It felt like an April or early May day!
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These are great linda
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Thank you Kirstin! Seagulls are one of my favorite birds to photograph!
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You’ve captured the buoys and gulls so artfully, Linda! That was a beautiful day in September! I agree that seagulls are photogenic and put on a fun show!
Today is our last day in Gilbert, AZ before we drive the short 2 hours to Tucson tomorrow. I’ve collected so many amazing pics and more later today at the nearby riparian preserve. We saw a cardinal up close and personal serenading us with his song on Saturday. Such a thrill! Thanks for supporting my co-hosts this month!
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Thank you Terri! I love photographing seagulls with their antics and they are so photogenic – you can’t go wrong taking their photos. You’ve been lucky with photos too – that’s great! It’s also great you got to see a cardinal and hear his song. They are beautiful birds. I saw my first red-winged blackbird today. That’s a sign of Spring for me – we got to 73 degrees here today. A local meteorologist says Arizona and California is in for a heatwave the rest of the month, so enjoy your fun in the sun and safe travels. I forgot to comment on Cathy’s post, so I’m going to do that now. I had tagged her but went on her site last night with my link.
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Love you pier capture, Linda! The lovely Ring-billed Gull shots with all the funny captions made me giggle!!
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Thank you Donna! The pier and Boardwalk are a nice spot to enjoy a short stroll with the seagulls in the warmer months. I did have quite a collection of funny seagull expressions to make captions for their antics. I’m happy to give you a giggle!
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