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Seagulls

If ever there was a ‘Marmite bird’, this would be it. A very common sight in any seaside resort, becoming remarkably tame when a human has settled down to their fish and chips, and believed to be responsible for 97% of all thefts undertaken in said area.

The bird makes for a fantastic subject for photography. They are real characters, and can live to a remarkably old age, some 50-odd years. I had a few days in Scarborough in 2025 and enjoyed the various antics of these birds in action, where they seemed to claim a chimney pot on a roof of a house as their own, so much like us humans, where street addresses indicate where someone lives.

Their ‘birdsong’, if we can it that for a seagull, is very distinctive; whenever I hear it, even if I am nowhere near the sea, will instantly transport me to the seaside.

1. 15 June 2024, Leica SL(601), Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2, 1/1250sec @ f/6.8, ISO 400.

A seagull in Domburg, Zeeland, The Netherlands.

2. 15 June 2024, Leica SL(601), Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2, 1/1250sec @ f/4.2, ISO 400.

A seagull on a breakwater post always makes for a nice photograph.

3. 15 June 2024, Leica SL(601), Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2, 1/400sec @ f/8, ISO 200.

Always enjoyable to watch these birds in action.

4. 15 June 2024, Leica SL(601), Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2, 1/1250sec @ f/8, ISO 200.

5. 26 December 2024, Leica SL(601), Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2, 1/1320sec @ f/4.8, ISO 320.

In England now, specifically my local park, Stewart Park in Middlesbrough. This is a good five miles from the coast, proving that these birds do get around rather than confine themselves near the sea.

6. 26 December 2024, Leica SL(601), Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2, 1/1320sec @ f/6.8, ISO 400.

7. 26 December 2024, Leica SL(601), Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2, 1/400sec @ f/14, ISO 6400.

8. 26 December 2024, Leica SL(601), Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2, 1/250sec @ f/14, ISO 4000.

9. 30 July 2025, Leica SL(601), Apo-Telyt-R 400mm f/2.8, 1/400sec @ f/3.4, ISO 100.

Closer to where we would associate seagulls, on a chimney pot on a house in Scarborough.

10. 30 July 2025, Leica SL(601), Apo-Telyt-R 400mm f/2.8, 1/250sec @ f/8, exposure compensation +0.6 stop, ISO 160.

11. 31 July 2025, Leica SL(601), Apo-Telyt-R 400mm f/2.8 + 2x Apo-Extender-R (effective focal length 800mm), 1/500sec @ f/5.6, exposure compensation +1 stop, ISO 250.

The people of Scarborough evidently don’t need an alarm clock.

12. 31 July 2025, Leica SL(601), Apo-Telyt-R 400mm f/2.8, 1/320sec @ f/2.8, exposure compensation +0.6 stop, ISO 50.

Is this my best side?

13. 31 July 2025, Leica SL(601), Apo-Telyt-R 400mm f/2.8, 1/320sec @ f/3.4, exposure compensation +0.6 stop, ISO 50.

Or this one?

14. 31 July 2025, Leica SL(601), Apo-Telyt-R 400mm f/2.8 + 2x Apo-Extender-R (effective focal length 800mm), 1/500sec @ f/5.6, exposure compensation +1 stop, ISO 500.

15. 31 July 2025, Leica SL(601), Apo-Telyt-R 400mm f/2.8 + 2x Apo-Extender-R (effective focal length 800mm), 1/250sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200.

Obviously the chimney pots in Scarborough have multiple uses!

16. 31 July 2025, Leica SL(601), Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2, 1/320sec @ f/8, ISO 320.

Or if you prefer not to rest on unmentionable, you could just use the pavement in Gordon Street, Scarborough.

17. 31 July 2025, Leica SL(601), Apo-Telyt-R 400mm f/2.8 + 1.4x Apo-Extender-R (effective focal length 560mm), 1/800sec @ f/4, exposure compensation +0.3 stop, ISO 500.

18. 31 July 2025, Leica SL(601), Apo-Telyt-R 400mm f/2.8 + 1.4x Apo-Extender-R (effective focal length 560mm), 1/500sec @ f/4, exposure compensation +0.6 stop, ISO 200.

19. 1 August 2025, Leica SL(601), Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2, 1/1000sec @ f/4.8, ISO 125.

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