Laughing Gulls, Bartlett Pond, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

I don't normally try to photograph wildlife with a point-and-shoot camera since results are usually dismal.  Every once in a while though, the result is adequate.


This Laughing Gull and many of his buddies like to hang out on a sand/mud bar in Bartlett Pond and bathe together in the fresh water.  So I grounded a kayak in the shallow water and sat calmly until they forgot about me or decided I was not a threat and resumed normal behavior. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, "Laughing Gulls are summer visitors to the Northeast and year-round sights on the coasts of the Southeast and the Gulf of Mexico."

They are pretty creatures but they sure are raucous. (Raucous is defined as harsh, strident, grating - actually that sounds more like a definition for modern-day politicians than birds but I'll save that snarky comment for another day.....)