No doubt you have seen seagulls along the sea shores and wharfs. Also, one might notice them quite far inland as a storm approaches off the coast. But, this year, I noticed a ‘flock’ of seagulls that have taken to a church roof top some 80 miles inland from the Oregon Coast. Sometimes the gulls can be quite a nuisance but they also perform valuable cleanup functions.
Sometimes in the morning or late afternoon, I have seen several dozen gulls sitting atop the roof’s pitch. Evenly spaced and motionless, I thought that would be an interesting picture. Of course, I rarely had my camera. This past week, I’ve had the camera, but the gulls were never assembled as before. So, yesterday I figured I would snap what was there.
Why did they choose this roof top I wondered? Well, as I approached the area I saw the gulls swarming a parking lot of a 7-11 Store. Dozens of gulls , flying low, descended upon the lot as a store employee doled out handful after handful of crackers to the gulls. Apparently a consistent source of food? Maybe this would explain why the gulls occupied a singular roof top 80 miles from sea since last Summer?
Most of the gulls were missing at this time. I figured I would take the pic anyway and explain the story regardless.
Worldwide seagulls are not necessarily always near the sea. Even the State Bird of Utah is the Seagull…how did they know to venture from the West Coast to Salt Lake for all that fine dining in 1848?.
Update: So, a few days later I was driving by and there was the ‘flock’ of gulls on the same roof ridge. I grabbed a shot of the several dozen seagulls.
I have mostly thought of seagulls as a nuisance at the beach…I once had a gull grab my pliers off a dock railing, fly away and drop them into the drink. But, with just a little research it is evident seagulls are not held in high esteem. High uric acid fecal matter corrodes surfaces and does considerable damage to roofs.
