A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SEAGULL
If you live by the sea or a larger body of water, and especially if you live where there's buildings that don't proof their roofs against nesting, you will learn to live with the very social Sea Gull. Maybe a surprise to learn, but there is not just one type of sea gull....there's a ton! There's 50 varieties of Gulls....and some varieties live up to 49 years. Belonging to the bird family "Laridae", and with no natural predators they are the boss of the where they live. Most importantly they are the boss of what they eat...which is, as anyone can witness, mostly everything!
Why are sea gulls so annoying? They can be quite loud once they start having a party! Especially in the city, where outdoor eating is abundant.
It seems that when annoying seagulls are jabbing at your chip bag on the beach if you leave it unattended, in the end they suffer more then you. The diet of seagulls in city scapes, knowing that they will eat any human food and swarm garbage collection areas, is apparently harming them more than one could imagine. Creating environments to build aggression in parents raising their young, stealing food and fighting for territory is escalated in urban areas.
Baby Seagulls near me on the West coast are hilarious to watch grow up. The seagulls like to roost on the neighboring building undisturbed near the vents, and so the babies were born there right in line with my bedroom window. They were the cutest little grey fuzz balls at first, but quickly grew.
The baby gulls grew so fast it seemed daily they were bigger as they chased their parents around the roof. There was no where for them to go, as obviously they had yet learned to fly. The funniest part is when they were as big as their parents and still chased them around the roof to be fed! Finally, as they practiced with their wings on the roof top hopping up and down, one eventually found it's way to the park below. I am not sure if it was meant to be there, but it hovered around the garbage bins and walked along the road oblivious of the cars. I figured it couldn't get back up to its nest, and unfortunately this gull was found hit by a car shortly after.
Another funny thing to watch the baby gulls do was drink out of the gutter after it rained....they had it all figured out up there on their rooftop condo!
I am used to it now, but the noise the gulls make at night in the early evening is tremendously loud and piercing. This is a sound that comforts me, as I know I am home. However, it sounds as if they are having a party, and inviting every other gull nearby as they swoop in and pop around the rooftops. It is definitely louder than in the Spring before the chicks were born, and it's hard to tell if it is territory negotiation or just teens talking back!
Just as nature intends, the gulls are my alarm in the morning, and make it very very hard to sleep in. They remind me to get going, as the early birds get the worms!