Thursday, January 16, 2014

Chaos on Capitol Lake

Four days after Christmas I drove out to the lakes by our State Capitol to clear my head. A small, frail lady stood on the banks next to a huge cart on wheels. It was filled to the top with bread. Most of the ducks were polite and patient, but the ring-billed gulls went berserk. The noise and splashing was a chaotic scene, man. So much for relaxation!






I figured my blogging friends would be back in full gear after New Year's, but my Feedly roll is very sparse. Out of 110+ feeds, only 16 posts appeared yesterday morning. Is something wrong with Feedly or is everyone else seeing the same thing? I'm sure there will be posts popping up later in the day, but I've never seen that few upon waking.

If you can't figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you directly to your purpose.
(seen on my stepdaughter's Facebook status)

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

What wonderful shots - even if a bit noisy!

Elizabeth Edwards said...

looks like the birdies are not wishing to share there in those shots. i can hear them now. making lots of noise. ha. ha!!! ( :

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

Do they call it a chaos of gulls, or a mob? Maybe a congress.

The Cranky said...

I've always found gulls amusing...in photographs. I think your shots perfectly capture the noisy, quarrelsome essence of gull.

Anvilcloud said...

In my former home, we had three chip (fry) trucks located at the bridge between Sarnia and Port Huron. The gulls were always hanging about.

Hootin Anni said...

But even tho they are noisy when engaging in a food fight...still fun to watch. Excellent images again Gail!! As always.

As for feedly...I stopped using that and added my blog reading list on my sidebar...through blogger admin. It keeps each post of those I read up to date by the minute my list of blogs I read is posted!! Much more accurate....since most of the day I have blogger open.

Bas. said...

Heerlijk moment heb je daar te pakken,geweldig mooi.

Bas. said...

Heerlijk moment heb je daar te pakken,geweldig mooi.

The Silver Bunny said...

Extraordinary photos. I don't know what feedly is but I personally find it impossible to blog at the moment; too much work, too tired, too blank outside, nothing great going on... Maybe your favourite bloggers are in the same mood. January is a bit of a downer !

Unknown said...

Wow! Amazing pictures! i hope you got to clear your head out there! Must have been quite noisy yes:-) Happy New Year- I enjoy following your blog:-)

Ruth Hiebert said...

I agree,very few posts,but then if no one was more regular in posting than me,there would be even less. I love the water action in some of these shots.Ring-billed Gulls and free food is sure to bring lots of action.

Amy Burzese said...

Makes me think of the scenes from Black Friday. (Which I only see on the news, BTW) But, I'm glad you captured them even if it is at their worst. lol My Feedly is sparse also. I am not posting as often because I haven't been motivated to get out and get photos.

TexWisGirl said...

feedly seems 'normal' to me - a little lighter but not abnormally so. out of my 275 current feeds, i start out w/ about 65-70 most days now. and more added throughout the day.

i like the gull chaos shots. :)

Ela said...

Wonderful shots :)
Greetings

Deanna said...

Love all that contrast in the whites of the gulls and all that activity!!

Tina Fariss Barbour said...

Wow, you got some great action shots! I can feel the chaos that was there!

don said...

It may not have been relaxing, but you got a fine series of these birds in full action. I like all the variety you achieved in these shots too. Well done.

Lynn said...

Love that fourth pic! Excellent shot of the bird landing in the water:@)

Stephanie said...

More fabulous photos, Gail! My son thoroughly enjoyed looking at them as well. With every picture he said, "Cool, cool, COOL!" The last cool was quite loud and excited :)

Not sure what's going on with Feedly since I don't use it, but I hope you're able to figure everything out.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Beautiful!

I'm not sure about the lack of bloggers?

You asked about the Goldfinch. It is an interesting read that will draw you in. I hated some of the choices the main character made, but that also kept it intriguing. At the end she got a bit overly wordy, which I didn't like. But overall a good read. However, if you have not read her first book, The Secret History, I'd recommend it instead. It's one of my favorite books ever. I don't think she'll ever be able to top it.

Evelyn S. said...

Gulls are definitely raucous, aren't they? Every so often they make it to inland Oregon, probably by way of the Columbia River...and I've seen them on lights in a parking lot in La Grande. One thing I noticed in one image that I really liked....how you captured the water splash and drops! :-)

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

Hi Gail, nice to meet you! Thanks for visiting and your nice comment on my note cards. Do you mind telling me who referred you to my blog?
I scrolled through several of your posts and you take great bird photos. I love the little gnat catcher. I don't seem to have much luck photographing birds.
I am you newest follower.

Anonymous said...

You always inspire me to use my camera. I wonder how much nutrition the birds find in that bread. Dianne

hootnonny said...

These images bring to life the words "feeding frenzy!"

Stay warm!

Waldameise Andrea said...

Excellente Fotos. Ich kann mir das Geschrei der Möwen beim Streit um das Futter richtig vorstellen.

Liebe Grüße
Waldameise

EG CameraGirl said...

Ha! Ring-billed gulls are incredibly greedy...at least the ones I see around Lake Ontario are.

Karen said...

Great shots of the feeding frenzy!

sunshine said...

Great and dynamic photos.

Hilary said...

I have found Feedly to be a bit lighter than usual the last couple of days.. but not to an extreme. Fun pics.. and you know what they say/sing... Gulls just wanna have fu-un.

Wally Jones said...

One thing about gulls, they are NOT shy!

Good opportunity to study their plumages.

Very nice photographs, Gail!

DeniseinVA said...

Now that was quite a traffic jam. Love these rascals and you caught them beautifully. Haven't noticed any delay on my side bar regarding new posts but not sure we have the same one. People have been having a few problems with commenting lately. Maybe it's a blogger thing. Have a great weekend Gail :)

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Berserk is a great word to describe gulls....definitely not a calming bird. (Plus, I am usually the one in the crowd of people who gets 'dumped' on... never a good omen!)

Our newish computer is at the shop ... under warranty, but it will probably take forever to get it back...so I'm using a slow old one that is driving me nuts. Feedly won't load at all, but I think it's my problem. Sso I'm trying to find everybody on my comments.

Nancy said...

I imagine these gulls didn't help your head any!

I'm like Anni -- I just use my blogroll to work from. I'm on feedly, but don't use it as my reader.

Debbie said...

ya' gotta love a good fish fight, your action shots are wonderful. we have lots of gulls here at the jersey shore and i always enjoy photographing them.....even if they can be a lil annoying!!

i am wondering who sent you to me?? i would like to thank them. i think we might be soul sisters!! hehe

Jeanne said...

Wowza! Very nice crisp shots. I love the fourth one with the water splash. Perfect. Gulls do tend to be a bit roudy.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting. My posts have been a bit sparse lately.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

Oh, I know exactly how that sounds. We've been spending some beach time in Florida, and we've seen some of those scenes first hand. Your captures are perfection, especially the shot with the splash around the gull and the coot in the background.

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

These leave me speechless, Oh my goodness!!! The detail is scrumptious!! What shutter speed did you use to capture such chaos?

Unknown said...

Hi Gail, thanks for visiting my space and your kind comments. Your series is beautiful. It may not have been the quiet you were for but they sure made for wonderful photos. I love all the action!

Stewart M said...

Similar scenes with different species of gull here this week - fighting over discarded hot chips!

Thankfully the hot days are now over - we had a 15 degree drop in temp this afternoon - a cool change as we call it. Splendid!

Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

Unknown said...

There are lots of Seagulls here in Washington. In fact I got a couple of shots today. I always look forward to my stop here. Your photos are always amazing.

Hugs~

Anonymous said...

I miss feeding birds like that.

Helma said...

It is seagulls fighting over food in this group. Beautiful view and nice mapped :-)

Brian King said...

LOL! They're a rowdy bunch! Nice shots!

Rosemary Aubut said...

Bird-mania! Wow what a frenzy! Love them all!

Suzan said...

Sea Gulls are a hoot to watch! my girls love to take old McDonald French fries out to the beach and throw them in the air for the gulls!! They act just like this in the water as in the air. You just have to keep your mouth closed while standing under them!!

Suzan said...

Sea Gulls are a hoot to watch! my girls love to take old McDonald French fries out to the beach and throw them in the air for the gulls!! They act just like this in the water as in the air. You just have to keep your mouth closed while standing under them!!