Monday, January 17, 2011

Seagulls and Storms

Living so close to the ocean allows for random meetings with wildlife. We live literally next door to a national park and so we entertain uninvited visitors ranging from raccoons, bunnies, foxes and turtles. One of the most interesting groups are the seagulls.

Every time the weather looks to turn stormy,  seagulls move into the parking lots. You can see a group beginning to gather in this photo.

 

They always head for an open area of a parking lot.  You can walk pretty close to such a gathering, and if you walk slowly enough,  they will not fly off but will walk quickly away from you.  This little guy was not really sure if he wanted his photo taken but he was very certain that he did not want to be airborne.


The thing that really interests me about this behavior is why they decide to ride out a storm in such an open space. Much of the coast where we live has forests quite close to the water.  Why not move there? Many of these birds are not timid around people; they could have some shelter near a building or next to a roof top sign.  Yet they seem to group in the most open space they can find.



I looked for information about this but nothing had the ring of truth. Many people believe that seagulls like shopping malls lots because these are good places to look for food that people have discarded. Sometimes visitors to the coast feed seagulls French fires, and maybe that is why they like parking lots. This would make sense, except in my area, I never see seagulls in groups in the parking lots unless it  feels as if a storm is coming.


Other people write that the blacktop surface generates heat that provides lift. Great idea, but it was a cold January day when I took these photos. The only birds I saw in the air were coming into land to join the group. They were not flying or begging for food; they were grounded and waiting.


Maybe there is a lesson in this.  A lot of times when people hit a stormy patch in their lives well-meaning friends and family are quick to offer advice on how to best weather the storm.  Frankly, it is easy to give advice when you are not the one looking into the headwinds. Sometimes the best you can do is plant your feet firmly and decide to ride it out.  If this little guy can do it, so can the rest of us.