The surprising tenderness of gulls
When people think of romance, gulls probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind.
If one was inclined to think of birds at all, you might imagine a pair of aptly named lovebirds, the clacking courtship dances of albatrosses, or the marital rock gifts of penguins. But gulls (yes, those same gulls that steal your snacks at the beach) have a sweet side worthy of any love ballad.
An adult Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) stands guard over its nest, incubating two well camouflaged eggs.
Gulls nest together in breeding colonies. Typically nesting on offshore islands, these colonies can get quite large, with some numbering as many as 20,000 birds (I have worked on and personally witnessed a colony of 17,000 birds that Alfred Hitchcock couldn’t adequately capture in his wildest dreams). On these colonies, gulls build nests and raise young as a pair. They take advantage of the summer season and its bounty to raise their chicks, with most chicks fledged and gone by early August. Both parents will incubate and care for the chicks together as a team, foraging and guarding the nest in turn.
In early spring, however, is when this love story really shows.
View from Southeast Farallon Island, a rocky under-sea mountaintop that juts out of the ocean about 30-miles from San Francisco. This island is home to numerous seabirds, including 17,000 nesting gulls.
Spring in a seabird colony is one of my favorite seasons. All of the birds are reconvening after months apart, the sea breeze has a little less bite, and all are making repairs to old nests or constructing new ones among the berms and fields. It is a regular cacophony of spring activity.
Though the birds get defensive when their chicks are born, a seabird colony is an amiable place while the young are still growing inside the eggs. Though one can hardly fault them for their aggression considering their young are highly mobile, have no sense of self-preservation, and only weigh 50 grams (that’s about two AA batteries). With three of these little ones, one can easily see why any parent would be stressed.
While the chicks are still in the egg, the parents have a much more laid-back attitude. During these early days, little moments of fondness between couples may be more easily observed.
A baby Western Gull (Larus occidentallis), rests inside an old cinder block near its nest.
Pairs of gulls are easy to spot, as they come together with a tender ritual. Two birds approach each other, giving a little imperceptible bow, before exchanging fish and other food items in greeting. Touching beaks together and standing close as they partake in the shared meal (a behavior known as “courtship feeding”).
They have been apart for most of a winter, and theirs is a bond that can span decades.
Gulls reach adulthood at about three years of age and can live anywhere from 20-40 years (the oldest recorded gull at 49 years of age). These birds mate for life (in both same sex and opposite sex pairs), returning to the same colony year after year. More often than not, even returning to the same nesting site.
What’s more, these birds usually return to the same colony where they were born (a trait known by scientists as “site fidelity”). Making for generations of families sharing the same windswept islands.
A mated pair of Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis) engages in a behavior known as “courtship feeding”, in which the two tenderly touch beaks and share a meal together after time spent apart.
Most humans do not interact with them on said islands, which is for the best as they are very fragile places already endangered by human disturbance and climate change, but that doesn’t mean you can’t see these special moments yourself. Gulls exist all around us, with 28 different species in North America alone.
So next time you are at the beach (or parking lot), pay attention to their interactions. You may just catch a glimpse of one of nature’s sweetest everyday love stories.
