Western Gulls

Flicking through some pictures today of a trip to California in April 2010, this shot of a Western Gull with Northern Elephant Seals basking in the background, caught my eye. Since days are short and work is busy, I thought I would post it up along with a few other Western Gull shots.

The above individual, photographed in Los Angeles, is of the darker-backed occidentalis subspecies. The strong sunlight is reducing the apparent depth of the upperpart colouration.

Big Sir at Big Sur, perhaps...

Not the best shot, admittedly, but this is probably a lighter-mantled wymani from Monterey.

I realise that they get paler further north, but this individual from San Francisco was a tad extreme...