Bird/Ice Combination

[happy_peasant]

So yesterday I made two posts,one with ice and another with a gull. I went back to the lake today at several locations. Got a fair number of flight pictures which I may make another post about. The ice was sort of a bust as it was gloomy and the changing lake conditions brought in all kinds of scummy ice. I did find this interesting gull shot though. Poor guy. I may go back and feed him later. Click on him to see larger version.

[sandybhale]

Steve,

My heart goes to this poor chap, thats quite a tragedy for him. Will he be able to get back and fly, steve. Just curious.

Its great thing that you are going back to feed him.

Thanks for sharing,

sandeep

[happy_peasant]

sandybhale wrote:

Steve,

Will he be able to get back and fly, steve. Just curious.

Actually, he did fly although not as well as he could have. I was about a half mile from the area they rest at and he must have come at least that far. He is at a disadvantage though, and if the ice does not come off soon he may well have a problem.

[rafinmelb]

An amazing shot. Thanks for sharing this. I have never felt sorry for gulls, considering them the rats of the air, but this really tugged the heart strings.

[annie57]

Wow, what an interesting shot and I feel sorry for the little guy as well!! Sure hope he will be okay!!!

[bayourebel]

Wow, Steve. What an unusual photo. Wonder how this happened to him and is it a more common occurrence than we realize.

[Idle]

Don't know about the drooping feathers, but one-legged gulls are not uncommon.

A gull's leg in the water looks a tempting morsel to a hungry fish or eel.

[happy_peasant]

Idle wrote:

Don't know about the drooping feathers, but one-legged gulls are not uncommon.

A gull's leg in the water looks a tempting morsel to a hungry fish or eel.

If you look through my flickr albums you will see a lot of gulls with only one visible leg. Around here though, instead of meaning it was tasty it means one leg is tucked up in the feathers because of cold.

[happy_peasant]

bayourebel wrote:

Wow, Steve. What an unusual photo. Wonder how this happened to him and is it a more common occurrence than we realize.

Well, about half the flock of a few hundred gulls at my usual spot did not get off the slush today to come eat. And half a thousand stayed there at the harbor. Having said that, I doubt they were all stuck or the lake would be paved with dead birds come thaw.

Not a good picture, but shoreline is probably by that bit of darkish in the center left of picture. When I took ice pictures yesterday it was clear water a bit beyond that point. Today it looks like this, with all the grayish stuff that looks like choppy water a mass of ice cubes a up to a foot or so across just sliding around in the surf. The gulls sit on that sort of garbage down the beach aways where there is a pier to cut the chop, so I can see how they can get iced up. (click it for large and extremely cold looking version.)

[happy_peasant]

somehow that last one posted twice. ignore this. it is nothing.