23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Wildlife
A Gull Resting on Mustang Island Sand

A Ring-billed Gull relaxes on Mustang Island beach on the Texas Gulf Coast. Captured low to the sand, the image emphasizes the bird's scale against the textured foreground and the distant, rolling waves of the ocean.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 01.2025
Date Uploaded: 11.2025
Photo Location: Corpus Christi, Texas, United States of America
Copyright: © Sam Schaub