It was a good thing these birds have headed south for the winter already because otherwise there would have been a lot of aborted landings with the very strong wind gusts overnight and during this morning.
Aborted Landings
Picture of the Day for September 4, 2020
This seagull looks a bit grumpy, like maybe it heard about the cold and wet week coming up.
Grumpy Seagull
Picture of the Day for October 3, 2019
For a couple of days, this rock would have been swept over with large waves and wouldn’t have been a good spot for the seagull to rest.
Seagull Resting
Picture of the Day for March 3, 2016
If the seagulls where standing around my pond this morning, their feet would be frozen in ice and any sandy beach area would be snow covered. Eventually spring will come and the birds can run up and down the beach ahead of the waves.
Seagulls with Wet Feet
Picture of the Day for October 14, 2015
The only time I see a big body of water is on vacation, so I don’t get to see seagulls that often but I have noticed that if you want to see a lot of them at one time, you need to go to a harbor where fishing boats are as they wait for scraps. They ride the waves when floating on the water, perch on objects on land and even pick up a piece of 2×4 board to drop on my head as they fly over.
Feathers are very important to a bird so they spend lots of time caring for their feathers. Seagulls use their beaks and feet to clean and arrange their feathers as the preen. They have an uropygial gland (or preen gland) which produces an oil that waterproofs as well as conditions and improves flexibility of the feathers.
Seagull Preening
The video shows the seagull preening itself as the waves crash on the rock below.
Picture of the Day for September 20, 2014
During one vacation on the western shore of Lake Superior, probably thirty-five plus years ago already, we encountered a seagull with a bad leg so we would try to make sure ‘Hoppy’ got a treat each day. Last week on the south shore of Lake Superior, I encountered another ‘Hoppy’ and spotted him each day on the beach, especially since he was an outcast and normally on the fringe of the group or by himself.
But I shouldn’t have called him Hoppy since he never hopped, as he just stood on his one good leg or flew, no hopping around. So instead I should have called him ‘Crooked Leg Charlie’.
Crooked Leg Charlie
