Ring-billed Gull

During our last visits to the Billy Frank Jr Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Erika and I noticed Ring-billed Gulls’ diving for prey. These photos are from 8 November 2021. I’m sure we’ve seen this behavior before, but not to the extent observed this year. Its almost like the gulls took a correspondence course on diving like a tern, The gulls hover, turn, and power dive, flying into the water. I’d give them a B in their course—they are not as elegant as a tern diving, and they didn't submerge completely under water. But the gulls do get the job done, since they appeared to be successfully catching small fish, Ring-billed Gulls usually stroll for their prey on dry land or swim when they are in the water. Pollet et al. (2020) apparently do not mention, in Birds of the World, diving in these gull.