I stopped by a tidal pond because I thought I saw baby ducks but they turned out to be Mew Gull chicks. There were two chicks plus both parents and they were quite active so I got a lot of shots. They weren’t very close so I used the 1.4x TC on my 200-600 lens. In this shot, one of the chicks was doing the bird bath thing.
Any feedback is appreciated
Sony a6500, SEL200600G + 1.4 TC @ 840 mm (1260 mm w/crop factor), ISO-500, f/9.0, 1/800, hand held.
OMG look at those primaries filling in! What a great pose and I love the grass that seems to be mimicking it. I’ve never heard of or seen this bird before so thanks for sharing what might be a common sight for you. Looks like it might need a touch of CCW rotation though. I like how the green reflection sets off the delicate coloring in the downy chick. Really terrific.
A great pose from this chick, Gary. I see what Kris is saying about rotation, but looking at the reflection, I think you have it about right. To me, this feels like it has more negative space than necessary on the right.
Wow! What a beautiful capture, Gary! I love that you were able to get such great detail in the wing feathers. And the dark green water and the grasses for a frame, is such a nice contrast to the delicate looking chick.
Oh, I’m enjoying this one, Gary! Love the title too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these, and to see it in action is really neat. I love how the grass frames him.
What a treat to catch this, Gary. Really a nice image to view and appreciate.
Outstanding image. Well-balanced with excellent detail and setting.
Cute little fuzzy thing!! Wonderful detail and tonalities in the soft light. I like the shape of the grasses but would love to see more on the left and not so much on the right. It feels unbalanced with all the weight in the left half.
What a cool shot. The contrast with the water and the chick is great and I like the grasses behind the chick. Another vote for more room on the left.
Really nice Gary - love the arc of the wings and that newly forming plumage! Great job on hand holding at that focal length. Another vote for more room on the left. And maybe crop some from right. Well done capture and image!
Thank you all for the critiques!
This was a reaction shot and I caught it on the left side of the frame so there wasn’t any room on that side. Also, I had processed all the Mew Chick series for display on a 4K TV (16x9) and hadn’t re-cropped any of them for a more conventional print dimension. I should have done that before posting here. This is a version cropped to 3x4 to put the bird closer to the center. I think all of you will like it better 
Hi Gary
I have never seen or heard of a Mew Chick, thank you for the lovely photograph of a chick. I would vote on som were in-between a 3x4 and 16x9 framing. I think some shot need to breath.
Peter
