herring gull

Tag

By Gull Flotilla

Jordan Lake is a winter home for a huge number of gulls. Most of the birds here are ring-billed gulls. Next in number are the Bonaparte’s gulls. There are a few herring gulls in the mixture and a few lesser black-backed gulls. The birds spend the night floating mid-lake – it is safer there away from predators on the shore and their numbers help keep everybody safer from the bald eagles.

By Jordan Lake: Black Friday the Gull Way
Jordan Lake: Black Friday the Gull Way…
Gulls often try to steal each other’s fish and this can lead to some spectacular aerobatics. There are 2 sequences. Keep your eye on the fish … that is what each gull is doing too. In the 1st sequence the gull with the fish is an immature ring-billed gull. The huge dark brown gull that eventually shows up is an immature herring gull. In the second part, the gull with the fish is a ring-billed gull and the fish, ah, well, sometimes the fish gets a second chance.

By Ace and the Thief
Ace the osprey had caught a small fish.
He then changed directions in the air to head back to his nest.
An immature herring gull wanted the fish.
Ace tried to hold on to the fish so he could feed his mate Amelia………
to see the full sequence of the struggle, please go to https://flic.kr/p/E3nQ88
WALK8648 03-06-16 @ 18-32-49 Haw River 03-06-16 @ 18-32-49 Haw

By silent escape

At this point in the herring gull melee, the fish was the only one with his mouth closed and silent.
The lowest herring gull, on the left, is the one who caught the fish and then dropped it.
Ultimately, the fish won this round, after actually bouncing off the surface of the river and then diving for safety.WALK5861 01-16-16 @ 15-16-46 Haw fish escape