Bonaparte's Gull Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: Bonaparte's Gulls are so delicate looking, smaller than the similar Franklin's Gull yet more petite and elegant. My favorite photo is pretty simple...a profile of a Bonaparte's Gull in full breeding plumage. The latter is key because you note most of the photos below that I've gotten of this species have been of birds in winter plumage! It was nice to capture a photo of one in it's full breeding regalia, in good light. Photo taken on April 23rd, 2020 at Lake Whitewood in South Dakota.

Bonaparte's Gull - Chroicocephalus philadelphia


Bonaparte's Gull 1	Bonaparte's Gull 2	Bonaparte's Gull 3	Bonaparte's Gull 4
April 2nd, 2003	November 6th, 2005	April 2nd, 2003	April 2nd, 2004
Lake Thompson, South Dakota	Highway 81 Lakes, South Dakota	Lake Thompson, South Dakota	Lake Thompson, South Dakota
Non-breeding plumaged gull in flight, from below	Non-breeding plumaged gull standing on gravel road	Non-breeding plumaged bird in flight	Non-breeding plumaged bird in flight

Bonaparte's Gull 5	Bonaparte's Gull 6	Bonaparte's Gull 7	Bonaparte's Gull 8
April 30th, 2005	February 13th, 2008	December 1st, 2010	April 21st, 2013
Highway 81 Lakes, South Dakota	Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, Alabama	Gavin's Point Dam, South Dakota/Nebraska	Lake Vermilion, South Dakota
Bird transitioning to breeding plumage, spreading its wings	Winter plumaged bird in flight along the Gulf Coast	Winter plumaged bird in flight, with view from above	Bird transitioning to breeding plumage, taking flight

Bonaparte's Gull 9	Bonaparte's Gull 10	Bonaparte's Gull 11	Bonaparte's Gull 12
April 21st, 2013	April 21st, 2013	April 21st, 2013	May 2nd, 2014
Lake Vermilion, South Dakota	Lake Vermilion, South Dakota	Lake Vermilion, South Dakota	Near Madison, South Dakota
Not quite breeding plumage bird walking on shoreline	Not quite breeding plumage bird standing on shoreline	Breeding plumage gull floating on water's surface	Breeding plumaged gull taking flight

Bonaparte's Gull 13	Bonaparte's Gull 14	Bonaparte's Gull 15	Bonaparte's Gull 16
April 23rd, 2020	April 23rd, 2020	April 23rd, 2020	April 23rd, 2020
Lake Whitewood, South Dakota	Lake Whitewood, South Dakota	Lake Whitewood, South Dakota	Lake Whitewood, South Dakota
Breeding plumaged gull in flight on a sunny day	Summer plumaged gull sitting on a rock in the water	Breeding plumaged gull standing on a rocky shoreline	Breeding plumaged gull standing on a rocky shoreline

Bonaparte's Gull 17	Bonaparte's Gull 18	Bonaparte's Gull 19	Bonaparte's Gull 20
April 19th, 2020	November 12th, 2018	April 12th, 2019	April 14th, 2019
Weisensee Slough, Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Gavin's Point Dam, South Dakota/Nebraska	Wall Lake, near Sioux Falls, South Dakota	Wall Lake, near Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Bird not quite in full breeding plumage, flying over a wetland	Winter plumaged gull in flight	Breeding plumaged gull in flight through a snow storm	Non-breeding plumaged gull walking along an icy shoreline

Bonaparte's Gull 21
November 17th, 2019
Wall Lake, near Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Non-breeding plumaged Bonaparte's Gull in flight on a blue sky day