Guess who’s back? Monday evening at the beach I was sad that I still hadn’t seen my gull friend with the mangled foot. But Friday night I spotted him! He was up to his old tricks and promptly stole a foot-long hot dog from a woman sitting at one of the picnic tables. After devouring it on a rock nearby he flew away without evening stopping by to say hello.
But tonight (Saturday) he made up for it, flying right to the white post in front of us. He talked to us for quite a while as you can see from these pictures. Not sure what he’s got stuck on his beak — maybe a feather from another gull? Maybe he was complaining about it — he sure had a lot to say about something or other.
It was nice to see him looking so self-assured and sprightly. š
We didn’t stay long. There was no sea breeze for some reason. Barely any waves. It was hazy and muggy and none of the sailboats had their sails up. The ocean has many moods.
What fun! How many years have you been seeing him? (her?) That’s great that he’s back. I wonder where he goes when he’s not on the CT shore.
I wonder where he spends the winter, too. Some gulls stick around then but I’ve never seen him. Perhaps he goes wherever people are still eating hot dogs outside. š The first time I saw him was in August 2011, so that’s 6 years now… My first pictures of him are in this post:
https://www.ingebrita.net/2011/08/in-the-offing/
How wonderful! What a joyful moment for you!!!
It’s such an honor to be remembered and recognized by a wild creature!!!
How lovely that he came back!
It was so good to see him! š
The Captain returneth! (Although he did not get that moniker until 2020 as I recall.) He sure does look lively and I love how he is posing for you so perfectly Barbara. I think all critters can tell when they are the center of attention and just like a person they enjoy basking in the limelight. We had a hotdog-stealing seagull at Bishop Park. I may have mentioned him to you. I Googled for the story but it was not online – it had to have been 20+ years ago and made the local paper. They have grills at that park and people grill there on weekends mostly and the seagulls know this and one seagull in particular liked living on the edge and swooped right down – how he didn’t burn his mouth I don’t know!
Yup, he was nameless for many years. š I think when you and I became friends I saw how you named the squirrels you befriended and was finally motivated to settle on a name for my gull soul mate. It always amazed me how he liked posing for my camera even though we never fed him. He wasn’t a beggar the way some gulls are. He would just snatch a hotdog without asking every now and then. But mostly he did his own fishing and once I watched him catch and eat a large crab. I also wonder how they don’t burn their mouths when taking a hotdog right off the grill…
I’m glad you decided to name him Barbara and I was a good influence on you. š I get a kick out of naming the critters I can identify. A fellow blogger is a wildlife photographer and he takes photos of eagles and bears mostly, but other birds too. The eagles may look the same to me, but he knows them by their territories and they know him and come out to his boat to greet him. He has lived there for over 30 years and he has interacted with these eagles that long. Likewise for his bears – some of the female cubs he knew when they were cubs and now have cubs of their own and they trust him so he can get semi-close to take their pictures. It is heartwarming to see it. He names all the bears – some have some way to identify them, like a scar of something he notices about their fur, etc. I like that the Captain likes you for you and is not begging like the other gulls. I can’t imagine how the gull didn’t burn himself, unless the beak does not feel the heat?
Sorry I’m so long responding to your comment, Linda. I’ve been under the weather and have gotten behind. Like you, I love how wildlife photographers build relationships with the animals and birds they find and am thrilled to have had a small taste of that magic with my gull and to know about you with your squirrel. š
I hope you are feeling better now Barbara. I am behind several days again and I’ve been trying to get more sleep which may be healthy, but also wreaks havoc with keeping up on WP. It is great when you can bond with a wild animal or bird and they lose their inhibitions around you. š
Thank you for your well wishes, Linda. š It’s a lot of work taking care of these weary old bodies!