Penetrating eyes,
miss nothing.
The most intelligent,
successful birds,
are often resented.
I wonder why?
Are we jealous they are free, and fly?
Cheers to you from the free-flying gulls~
Penetrating eyes,
miss nothing.
The most intelligent,
successful birds,
are often resented.
I wonder why?
Are we jealous they are free, and fly?
Cheers to you from the free-flying gulls~
oh wow they’ve never let me get that close and indeed those eyes, They way they look at you as if going “yes??” 😀
I know they are so smart. There is fancy a hotel by the beach where I grew up that kept getting silver napkin rings stolen off the outside tables. Many decades later, they were rennovating the hotel’s bell tower and found a pile of hundreds of napkin rings that gulls had been secreting there over the years. Revenge is sweet,” sayeth the gulls! 😉
lol! the hotel owners certainly didn’t see that coming! XD
No they didn’t!
I saw a video a while back. I believe it was a gull. Waited for the electronic doors to open and would walk in behind a customer at a store and walk back out with a bag of chips. They are smart indeed. The last shot is amazing.
I love seagulls. We get quite a few that migrate up and down the Rio Grande Valley.
It is always fun for me seeing them way inland, like in Idaho and even Wyomming!
Excellent series, I particularly like the portraits!
Seagull eyes mesmorize me~
Great shots! It looks like the bird put red lip stick on. I like the free flying picture.
And red eyeliner! These are all European gulls.
I don’t do birds. They scare me. But, I do recognize the beauty most of them possess.
I respect that and thank you.
Thank you for sharing the pictures. They’re beautiful.
Oh, these are sooooooo wonderful. Just so beautiful. I love seagulls. Your photographs are amazing. Thank you so much.
I love people who loves seagulls! Where I grew up people called them sea-rats, which is unfair to both species.
Beautiful images, that first one is breathtaking in its detail and clarity. I think perhaps folks resent gulls because they mirror us in our less loving examples, i.e., selfish greed, get what we want at all costs, hectoring, pestering, etc. 😉
Yes, probably, plus they are better at all these things then we are! Laughing….
Thank you so much for GREAT pictures of my favorite birds! I love spending time at the beach watching their antics and aeronautical skills!
I love seagull lovers! <3
wow any closer and you would be kissing cousins.. =^_^= very nice!
They swooped so close I could touch them. You can see the dark bread crumbs I was throwing them way up high in one of the photos.
A great collection Cindy!
Alison
They are so much fun to watch, especially out at sea on a boat. The best was in Antartica, with the Albatross following our boat.
The first two photos makes one think these birds are pretty smart.
Leslie
They are so smart. I grew up with them and have lots of stories. We celebrated Easter at the beach when my son was three. A seagull swooped down and stole his wind up baby duckling.
My son said, He’ll bring it back.”
Hours later, as we were packing up to go, the gull swooped down over us on the beach and dropped the mechanical duckling. The motor inside had been methodically pecked out, but the fuzzy duckling was intact.
My son ran over, got the duck and said, “I told you so!”
This is a true story!
That is an amazing story Cindy. What a memorable moment .
Leslie
<3
Lovely photographs as usual, Cindy. 🙂
Lovely thougths as always from you my friend~ <3
Jonathan Livingston Seagull forever!
Hear! Hear! <3
LOVE the close-up!
Ah, so pleased you do & thank you~
Seagulls are all part of the allure of a trip to the beach for me. The sight of them flying as a flock is awesome – their flight patterns and the way they dive for food. Seeing lone gulls appear in my more inland region is always a pleasant surprise too! They’re quite the adventurous explorers aren’t they? Cindy, have you seen this recent news about a gull who took a dive into a vat of curry? Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbJt8X9G09U
Amazing Lynn, we are psychically connected. I don’t have to click on the link. I saw and was amazed by this. Wild animals, including birds, seem to know so clearly, when people help them. It is wonderful to see!
Brilliant close ups Cindy!
I would love them more if they quieter that’s for sure!
I like their calls, but I can understand your feelings.
I am fascinated by those wings. Aren’t they amazing?
Yes, they are translucent in the right light and appear fragile but so well designed. Remarkable, especially considering how they can skim above the surface of the sea and dive and catch fish!
I’m fascinated by gulls (partly because I can’t tell a lot of the species apart and that drives me nuts…LOL!) and love their eyes, too! Your in-flight photos are marvelous…I just adore the way the wings are outstretched and their feet dangling. <3 🙂
It’s very cool isn’t it. They can adapt to all these aerial conditions including me throwing bread vertically up over the back of a boat! Laughing……
Video! We need a video of that! 😄
I can just imagine trying to video while throwing the bread!!! 😉
As always, such amazing photos my friend. 🙂 <3
Aww thank you Natalie & blessings too~ <3
😊❤️
There expressions are so comical in the top two photos. Great shots. Looks difficult to capture them while in flight.
What was really hard was throwing the bread and taking photos at the same time!!! 😉
Ha ha. Yes, more than two hands would have been nice to have, I’m sure. 🙂
Wow! Cheers, dear Cindy!
Visa versa 2 U X 2!
🙂
I love the expressions on the close ups. Beautiful wings, Cindy. 🙂
They have the most intelligent eyes~
I am a big fan of seagulls. They seem to soar and be so beautiful far away. Granted they do sometimes scrabble or scrap, when close up! The book, “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” used to be on my coffee table. Raised on Lake Erie, I also enjoy egrets and heron’s. Smiles and hugs sent your way, Cindy. <3
Yes, the birds! They can show us how to live. Be well Robin and cheers to you~ <3
What gorgeous photos. 🙂
Ahhhh, I am honored. Thank you~
Very beautiful post Cindy 😀
Muchos gracias mi amiga~ <3
De nada, Cindy 🙂
They are awesome and I know fisherman do not like them because they sneak up and steal the bait, naughty and super intelligent.
Yes, exactly! Maybe they are jealous that gulls live freely off the sea~
Lovely verse and photos. Bossy seagulls!
Thank you! They are a force of nature~
Amazing pictures! 🙂
I am very happy you enjoyed!
🙂 🙂
Wow! Great shots! Captures and characterizes them just as they are! 🙌😀
Thanks, it is impossible to imagine the sea without the gulls.
That it is! 😊
I love the seagull!
You and me both, but then, we agree on most things~
You caught a look of a bird with a human expression…
Your clear photos make these birds look almost majestic! Wow
Awww, thank you! Watching them out at sea in a storm demonstrates how masterfull they are.
😉
Coucou Cindy
Thnak you so much for sharing your beautiful collection
Anita
🙂
Thank you much more Anita for appreciating them~
We have black-backed gulls nesting on the roof just opposite us – it is lovely to look at the newly-born chicks and see how they are developing. They are really small and cute at the moment, but will soon be soaring magnificently on the thermals…! 🙂
Funny, since I grew up on the ocean, but I have only rarely seen the chicks, but I have seen them, I was entranced. Cute and quite assertive! 😉
And very noisy!!
Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
It is time for our weekly avian fix from Cindy Knoke who is all at sea.. with this steely eyed companion. Terrific as always.
You are a rare gem Sally. Thank you my friend and be well~ <3
Those who want to fly free in our societies are often disliked, they are not main stream or streamlined.
We arent jealous as a species but ranther fearful of the unknown, it might be dangerous.
I like your birds, they are free and beautifully presented in your fotos, Cindy.
Yes. I think you are on to something. Most humans really are enslaved, to money and the need to make it in order to survive or amass wealth. Wild animals of all sorts are actully far more free than us since they survive on their own in what’s left of the wild. I think we may be both fearful and jealous of this and this could explain part of why some people get pleasure out of killing wild creatures.
Great shots
Mille grazie~
You’re deep in Al Forbes’s territory here. He has a real thing about gulls.
He does! I haven’t seen his photos for awhile. I will go and take a peek.
Have never been a fan of seagulls since being attacked whilst eating a bag of chips whilst on holiday in Torquay.This year, we have seen plenty in the marina, and one was witnessed lifting a moorhen chick out of the water. They are huge birds and so graceful in flight, but oh so noisy!
I remember rescuing a baby bird from a very intent seagull when I was a kid. I also remember seeing boys throw rocks at roosting gulls and the whole flock flying over them and letting loose with oodles of seagull pooh. I was cheering for the seagulls, but they can be quite intimidating, so I hear you.
Stunning photos.
Ahhh, honored Mary.
Imperial !!
Yes, very much so, a most imperious stare!
We love our gulls! They truly are so intelligent, and determined. Yes, their aggression can have horrible consequences, but they are fabulous parents and, round here, our constant neighbours. Pip
They are wonderful and challenging to live with. Thank you for “getting” them. <3
Funny thing: we all love the noise they make, too! Great pictures!
I love their calls. It sounds like freedom to me.
We completely agree! Ours on the chimney had their baby hatch today! Pip
I am jealous! I would love to photograph them~ <3
Beautiful pictures..Cindy
thanks for sharing…:-)
Thank you more for appreciating them~
Fantastic close ups. Yes, these birds ARE smart. Not only do they fly free, they let fly.
A place we once lived, we had hundreds of gulls. On a wonderful summer day, my mother hung out newly laundered, white sheets and pillow cases, but not for long. After the gulls passed over, she had to rinse them down with the water hose and wash them all over again. 😀 😀 😀
Seagull poo is up there on the list of most unpleasant things. I remember eating lunch in elementary school where segull poo in some kid’s hair was an almost daily occurance. I thought it was the worst until I encountered penguins! 😉
Eke. Time to get out those hats that look like umbrellas but fit on the head. 😀 😀 😀
That will work with gulls but not with penguins. Hint: if both like you, they won’t poo on you! 😉
Is it portrait of Jonathan Livingston? 🙂
It certainly could be!
It almost looks like they are wearing lipstick. Years ago (many years) I went on a boat trip through the Finland fjords. I spend hours and hours feeding the seagulls until I was nearly frozen.
It is the most wonderful feeling isn’t it, especially in the far north or south. I did the same in Finland. For awhile, while you are watching and feeding them in the frozen solitude, you feel one with them. It is a special thing.
I couldn’t’ afford a real cruise back then, it was a postal ship, with only a few crazy passengers like me. They are acrobats in the air.
We are thinking of taking a grocery/mail delivery freighter through the south pacific. I bet it’s better than a cruise.
What a Beautiful Bird
Wonderful Capture
Yes we are Jealous
Its Free
We have no Flight
As always in Plight
For you Might
Visit My Site
And say what
Through your thought
Cindy!
My Salutations
Shiva
Beautiful Shiva. Wild creatures represent to us, what we are not, which is free. Thank you my friend for understanding and I will visit you blog my friend~ <3
Maam! Cindy!
Like how YOU capture by your camera.
I am sure YOU shall capture my thoughts.
I told my daughter what you said last time that I am liked by many in the Blog world. She reacted expressing, Wow!
Amen!
Shiva
😃💗👌
Love the photos, especially the gulls!
Most appreciated Lavinia~
“I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull’s way and he whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife, And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.” John Masefield
So perfect and I had never read this before. Thank you Rebecca & cheers to you my friend~ <3
You would love the full poem – Sea Fever. Hugs, my dear friend.
Off to read it now. Thank you for the lead~
I really had to look closely at these photos, Cindy — the detail is outstanding! So much so that at first I thought they must be statues, ha!
I was amazed at how delicate they are. I knew their feathers were hollow, but it amazes me that such precision and power can come from such fragile feathers. Thank you Debbie and cheers to you my friend~ <3
Oh, my !!!!! Jonathan Livingston Seagull ! I wondered where he’d gone.
Wise guys
with golden eyes
ply the summer’s azure skies
and ride the vaults on silvered wings
to sing of joy and other things……
Happy day, Cuz ! 🙂
That is so beautiful Paul, as are you my friend. Be well & cheers to you cuz~ <3
What a stately bird! I never saw a gull like this. Thank you for showing their beautiful side 🙂
Thank you more for seeing it!
Wish I have wings like that….⋋║ ՞ ▽ ՞ ║⋌
Me three! ⋋║ ՞ ▽ ՞ ║⋌
Liebe Cindy super tolle Nahaufnahme von den Möwen hab einen schönen Mittwoch mit vielen lieben Grüßen Klaus in Freundschaft
Gluckliche Woche zu Ihnen mein lieber Freund Klaus und vielen Dank! <3
Bonjour CINDY très beau
Mon passage sur ton joli blog
Ce sont mes 2 mains sur mon clavier
Sur un profil une belle image
Qui derrière cet écran se trouve une personne de gentille
La ou je retrouve une de mes meilleurs amies ou amis
Je te fais un énorme sourire même si tu ne vois pas
Dans le fond de mon cœur je te l’offre
Passe une agréable journée
Surtout ensoleillé ,chez moi le temps pas extra
Bise amicale Bernard
http://img15.hostingpics.net/pics/2424687114.jpg
Vous ecrivez magnifiquement Bernard. Merci beaucoup mon ami. Passez une merveilleuse semaine! <3 <3
Again amazing pictures! Showing every detail! so cool!
I am very happy you like them and Happy Wednesday Lyn!
Happy Wednesday x
<3
That is so beautiful!
Liebe Gruesse Monika
Vielen Dank und alles Gute fur Sie! <3
My parents had a seagull that came knocking on their sliding glass door one day. They gave it some bread and it kept coming back. Eventually the bread turned into catfood sandwiches and the seagull came around for about 20 years – kind of frail towards the end. They always knew it was the same one because it had a hole in one foot.
Oh, that is so touching and nice of your parents~
Excellent pics, dear Cindy!… well caught in motion… Sending love. Aquileana 😀
Buenos noches mi amiga y muchas gracias y abrazos! <3
Son of a gun! When you first open your page and that beak and yellow eye greet you, it’s a little startling, LOL We live very close to the river and the gulls make good use of a sandbar there. Squawking and carrying on. They seem to have a lot to say. I’m often glad they’re not closer because they drown out the robins, buzzing bee’s and other things I like about summer. Like listening to the breeze in the flittering green leaves or the sound of the fountain, x b
This is synchronistic. I saw your name in comments. So I immediately went to your blog to tell you how much you remind me of the talented aspects of author Mary Kay Andrews who I am reading a lot of now. You are different though, you are not hamstrung by the American south.
I never saw this comment, but I am more than pleased we were apparently thinking about each other at the same time.
“Like listening to the breeze in the flittering green leaves or the sound of the fountain.”
Brilliant writing.
Be well my friend~ <3 <3
Birds of a feather…pun intended, ha! I’ve Googled Ms Andrews so I might get some insight on the writer who’s using my schtick (LOL). Her books look like fun reads with silly dilemma’s going on, that really does sound familiar. I swear my life is one big ‘oopsy’ after another. This week I twapped my forehead on a tree branch while doing some landscaping. So now I must travel round London and Paris with a rather obvious pink scratch across my noggin’ LOL. Very Chic…not! We leave on Monday evening. So for this month, I’m following your lead and seeing the world. Cheers! x B
Oh good for you! Not for the knock on the noggin, but for the travel. I look forward to hearing about your esperiences and hope your scratch heals with nary a trace. Have fun my friend~
Amazing set of photos with nice text 🙂 I love it! Have a nice rest of week Cindy. Bye. K
Have a wonderful weekend Kamila & cheers to you~
Fantastic photographs, Cindy!
Happy Friday and glad you enjoyed!
Thank you! Truly enjoyed!
<3
Free-flying may be a lot to be jealous of, but I’m happy to enjoy the view. What terrific camera equipment you must have to get such stunning photos!
Yes, I am grateful for being able to see too! My camera is not expensive, but I do love it so and thank you~
SuperB <3
Merci beaucoup mon ami~ <3
Lovely pictures, Cindy. 🙂 — Suzanne
Very pleased you enjoyed & Happy Friday!
Such amazingly sharp photos I can see into that gull’s soul Cindy. I think it is their raucous squawk and greedy habits that make them unloved, but they are certainly survivors.
A person who can see a gull’s soul, has a beautiful soul herself Pauline, but I already knew that about you~ <3
Amazing photos Cindy… I just love the one with the seagull flexing his wings on the railing..
Aren’t the wings beautiful! They remind me of angel wings~
Gorgeous shots, Cindy! It’s funny that we have a bit similar motive this week 🙂
Not so surprising to me. We have very similar interests! Happy Friday my friend~ <3
Lol….actually I saw an article today regarding a greedy seas gull that dive bombed an innocent beach goer eating fish and chips…With a view to pinching them lol end result – man has lip torn open by a gull and was covered in blood😲 Oopsy!!
I remember in Patagonia gulls were killing whales methodically and rather terribly. Still they can’t even begin to emulate the destruction we humans wreck upon our fellow creatures, including of course, each other.
Gee whizz, Cindy, I was feeling proud of my latest bird shots and then I looked at this! Fantastic!! I remember trying to sleep in a hotel in Aberdeen but the herring gulls were clomping about on the roof endlessly and screeching, too… I rescued a juvenile with a broken wing once (and they are really big birds)!
They are really big birds! I spent some time among the Albatross though and Coleridge was right, those are really BIG sea birdies! So cool you rescued a gull with a broken wing! I have never rescued or cared for a gull but I have heard they become quite tame~
I should have said that I rescued it until the animal officer came and they repaired the wing… 🙂 It was right in the middle of the main street of Aberdeen, in danger of being run over so I fed it bread until he arrived.
You did two good deeds that day, fed it, and responsibly rescued it. <3
Beautiful captures!
Abrigada Kendall~
De nada!
She is amazing
You are a wonderful blogging friend~ <3
Incredible close ups Cindy!! they look so dignified!!
The do don’t they and intelligence in those eyes~
Great shots deep into their eyes. You have a great hold on that camera or tripod?
Thanks you and I love their eyes! I never use tripod except for moon and star shots because I like to move when taking photos~
I think I need a more modern camera it seems the stabiles are so much better. I’ll save up!
Remarkable photos!!
Merci beaucoup mon ami!
🙂
¡Qué bellas fotos! Los primeros planos de las blancas gaviotas, con su penetrante mirada, me han encantado. Un abrazo y buen fin de semana, Cindy <3
Tan bien a tu, mi amiga, un buen fin de semana y abrazos y besos~ <3
So very beautiful, Cindy. Whenever I see gulls, I always think of the beautiful stories of the Salt Lake City seagulls! 🙂
Yes! We are going to Mono Lake soon where most of the California Gulls nest, the only larger nesting area I know of in the western US is Salt Lake. I would love to see this!
Amazing pictures:)
So pleased you enjoyed them and cheers to you John~
Striking eyes and striking beak of first two pictures. I would not want to be pecked by that beak though! All the photos are beautiful.
They won’t peck you if you treat them nicely, which I know you would! <3
Okay, how many hundreds of blurred and blank digital images did you delete while getting thes fabulous in-flight moments! Well, I would be sending lots to the digital trash bin.
Oscar
Laughing, I actually had a limited amount of time with these gulls. I was at the back of the boat, throwing bread at them, waiting to be told to stop. I probably took around 50-60 pics, so you can do the math! The digital trash can is my friend! 😉
Every nature one you have done lately is wonderful, of course. I think this is the one I’d like to use in the newsletter. 🙂
Awww, the seagulls and I thank you! They have a very unfair bad-rep~
Well hopefully having it in the newsletter will extend your attempt to change that!
A gull tried to pull my sandwich right out of my hands once. Came in from behind me, giving me only a split second warning. Being a New Yorker at the time, I didn’t let go. I didn’t resent him, though. It was a good sandwich. LOL
Right he was a smart New York gull, and he knew a good sandwich when he saw one!
LOL Absolutely! Jones Beach had stiff winds. He was a New Yorker, too.
He was probably more assertive than the laid back Caly gulls! 😉
Beautiful shots, Cindy! Actually, I think many fear them. (I’ve been working nights for days now…just exhausted, but going home in early July!)
That is so hard on your mind & body when your circadian rhythms get turned around. Looking forward to you having a break and be well my friend~ <3
Wow! How did you get so close to his face? I love it! Reblogging.
Bread! I was feeding them! Food hath charms to calm the wild beasts! Thank you Suzanne & be well my friend~
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beautiful seagull.
He appreciates your appreciation and so do I! 😉
they are smart and beautiful creatures x
Yes! I am so happy you know this. <3
Beautiful photo
Thank you!
Indeed!
<3
Powerful and pure beauty. I love birds.
So glad you do and that makes two of us!
Oh Cindy, as a very young child I wished so hard to be a bird, to fly free…
Your photos are inspiring as always. xx
Sometimes, I still wish that! <3
Awesome photos! I am an avid bird lover. I especially love those closeups.
All bird lovers are my kin! <3
Lovely portrayal of freedom in the air great photos CIndy
So pleased you enjoyed them and cheers!
Essas fotos são uma verdadeira poesia!
Você é muito gentil. Obrigada! <3 <3
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