Picture Of The Week 04-04-30-07

Where: Virginia Beach, VA • Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR)

Notes: On this trip to Back Bay NWR, I found myself spending a lot of my time trying to get a really good shot of this uncommon species. At first, I had little cooperation from this skittish two foot long seagull, but eventually persistence paid off. I finally had one of these elegant birds, with an almost five foot wing span, let me approach it to within twenty feet, the perfect distance for my 400 mm lens. This medium-large sized gull was standing in the shallows of the surf, where the water rushes back into the ocean after each wave. It would watch for air bubbles rising up from the soft wet sand and then, it would rake its beak at that spot and come up with a Mole Crab (Emerita talpoida). The seagull would then carry its catch up on the beach to safely eat it where the sand was too firm for the crab to dig in and escape.

Several other species of seagulls, Ring-billed Gull and Laughing Gull, have changed their feeding habits because humans have made other food sources available to them including, feeding then scraps or bread at the beach and leaving open trash containers farther inland. In most coastal regions, the public is urged NOT TO FEED THE GULLS. It was a joy to see this beautiful seabird feeding on its natural food along the Atlantic Coast where it is spreading its territory.