It's not a Bald Eagle, but… :)

A couple of us had gone off somewhere different after getting tired with going to the same place day after day looking for warblers. We initially encountered this Great Black-backed Gull floating in the water close to the shoreline. I expected it wouldn't let us get anywhere near it as these birds seem to always be very wary of people around here and start moving off long before we can get anywhere near them for a photo. It seemed like that would again be the case with this guy; he started retreating as we approached, but when he came to a rock a short distance away from the shoreline he climbed up and must have felt secure there because we were able to continue approaching until our frames were filled. I had never been that close to a Great Black-backed Gull and was thrilled with the photos that we were able to get, my first good shots of a Great Black-backed Gull. Meanwhile, back at the place I had been at day after day looking for warblers, Hank ended up there by himself and encountered a Bald Eagle that posed for a collection of amazing photos. Just when we decided we had enough of that place :) It's not everyday one encounters a Great Black-backed Gull up close like this around here, so we joked that when we posted these shots we would include the caption "it's not a Bald Eagle, but..." :)