Amazement from the ordinary

“Oh, it’s just a gull,” said my husband Steve as he identified the flying bird that had caught his eye out our front window. “Just a gull.” How often I’ve said something dismissive when my hopes of identifying a rare or eye-catching bird were dashed when I realized it was a common or visually dull species. After the day Steve made that comment, we had an experience with gulls that taught me to look more closely at the ordinary. Never again will I say, “Just a gull.”

Last month, on a sunny day when the ice was breaking up on the Fox River, Steve and I decided to grab some take-out lunch and park along the river to eat it and check out the bird life there. With any luck, maybe we’d see one of the bald eagles that spend the winter in our area or observe some goldeneye ducks practicing their synchronous diving. As we munched on our carryout chicken, we saw nothing exciting, just some Canada geese, mallard ducks and, mostly, a group of herring gulls, the most common gull species in North America. Flying, swimming and hanging out closest to us, the gulls were the easiest to observe, so we focused our attention on them. The first thing that caught our eyes was the spectacle of two gulls that had hitched a ride on a small piece of dislodged ice, being carried merrily along by a very swift current. They looked completely at ease, taking in the sights as they floated by. Wheeeee!

The next thing we observed was a hunting display, as two gulls dove for fish. As we watched, I realized I had never observed gulls fishing before, and it was an impressive sight. After flying around scanning the water for prey, they suddenly dropped down to within eight or ten feet above the surface and briefly hovered there, like a helicopter. They then flipped their body to the upside-down position before plunging in head first, like a dive bomber. For a moment, before they arose and took off again, only the tips of their wings were visible above the surface. This short video will give you the idea. We watched one gull make numerous attempts with no success. When it finally cleared the water with a small fish in its mouth, the real fun began.

Gulls are hunters, as we had witnessed, but they are also scavengers and thieves. Anyone who has tried to eat french fries at a gull-inhabited beach might be well aware of that fact. Having seen that gull’s many unsuccessful attempts, I understand the logic in trying to steal prey from another gull. As soon as that gull was airborn with a small, silvery fish dangling from its beak, another gull snatched it out of its mouth and took off. Immediately, two other gulls followed in hot pursuit. The chase was on! At top speed, the thief tried every possible maneuver to lose his pursuers, including sudden 90-degree turns, rapid ascents and downward plunges. Amazingly, the followers matched the leader’s every move, staying right on the thief’s tail. If they had been trying to win an acrobatic flying contest, it couldn’t have been any more amazing. We were unable to see the resolution of the chase, as they made their way too far downriver to view the outcome. But we were more than satisfied, having observed gulls displaying spectacular feats of flight.

Our lively and memorable gull experience that day piqued my interest in these birds. I learned they are far from ordinary. While gulls are not visually striking, with plumage that is some combination of white, black and shades of gray, they have other attibutes of interest. My exploration yielded some fascinating facts about gulls, a few of which I will share. There are some 20 species around the world, some of which spend long periods of time over open water. To hydrate themselves while at sea, they can drink salt water, having an extra gland above their eyes that secretes excess salt. Highly intelligent birds, they have developed clever ways to support their feeding efforts. In addition to dropping clam shells onto hard surfaces to break them open, they entice earthworms above the earth by stamping their feet in a fast rhythm to simulate the sound of rain hitting the ground. Here’s a video of a gull performing its worm-dance routine, and it’s rewarded for its efforts. If you find their thievery disturbing, it’s worth noting that it’s a behavior common to a number of bird species, including our majestic national symbol. Many years ago I watched a bald eagle over a Minnesota lake snatch a just-caught fish in midair from an unsuspecting osprey.

From our observations on that February day and my information gathering, I learned that what is commonplace in numbers or relatively dull in appearance may not be ordinary at all. While they lack the brilliant plumage of orioles or the charming personality of chickadees, they have individual gifts and talents that deserve our admiration and respect. They also reminded me to take the time to watch. I have seen gulls my entire life, but before that day I had never really seen them. What wonderful rewards can be gained by paying close attention to creatures in nature, even to what seems, at first glance, to be ordinary.

“Seagull from Afar,” by Dejan Stojanovic

Lie on the ground and listen to the grass,
Hear the silent signals from outer space,
Dream by making and make by dreaming,
Feel what the trees bathed in sunlight feel,
Gaze far to see the seagull emerging from the sea,
Imagine that today is the birth of the world and greet it,
Greet the old bird.