Piper and I saw these three seagulls gathered very close together around a rock that broke the surface of the bay.
Upon seeing us, they broke the band up just a little bit, but still remained pretty tight.
Being a curious soul, I looked up the collective noun for a group of seagulls, and the most common one seems to be "colony", which fits, but there were two others I found much more apt and entertaining.
One was a "scavenge", which is perfect for these birds, since they will do exactly that with any available food source. In fact, I think they were working on scavenging a dead fish just below the surface of the water.
The other apt collective noun was "squabble". If you've ever seen them arguing about who gets the potato chip or bread crust someone dropped on the beach, you'll know this, too, is absolutely perfect.
These three weren't squabbling, but they were scavenging, and it was fun to watch some of their antics as we ambled along the road.
2 comments:
So interesting ! I love their noisy squabbily sounds. Their calls from atop the light poles in the big parking lots gives a seaside flavor to an otherwise boring task. Naturally, closing my eyes and relaxing is required before I can 'savor the flavor' of the experience. I have to take my thrills where I can find them, even if they are only in my head. :^)
Hugs from BetsyLee
I totally get letting the call of the gulls carry you away, BetsyLee. I often think of the Lord of the Rings and how the Legolas is warned by Galadriel of sea-longing and the song he sings about it after he first sees the sea and hears the gulls.
"To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying,
The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.
West, west away, the round sun is falling.
Grey ship, grey ship, do you hear them calling..."
Hugs right back!
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