Lady Feeding Gulls, Cocoa Beach Dawn

unflappable lady hand feeds seagulls

MichaelStephenWills

When Pam read my post “Black Skimmers Feeding” she asked, “Where is the photo of resting Skimmers?”

To answer her question, I looked through Cocoa Beach photographs and discovered I did NOT capture the Skimmers resting.  Instead, here are a related species, the Royal Tern (scientific name: Thalasseus maximus), whose behavior is similar in that it exclusively feeds from the water. There was a wind that morning and these individuals face into it.  These birds are, from a human point of view, well behaved, unlike the opportunistic gull.

Royal Terns at rest – CLICK ME for more Florida photography.

I searched around the web for identification of this gull without success.

Scavenging Gull – CLICK ME for more Florida photography.

It dines on a dead fish washed up by the surf.  In my previous posting I used the word “grifting” to describe gull behavior, again this is from the human point of view.  Gulls are notorious for stealing food from unwary beach goers, brazening walking over to unguarded chips (any kind), for instance, grabbing them and flying off.  If the chip stash is large, this sets off a nasty feeding frenzy when tens of gulls swoop in and grab.

Here is a series of photographs, demonstrating this behavior.

Click this link or any image in this article for my Fine Art Gallery from Florida.

The dawn flowed over Cocoa Beach as a lady attracted a crowd of hungry gulls, reminiscent of scenes from Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”

Lady and Gulls – CLICK ME for more Florida photography.

She is obviously an experienced gull feeder, unflappable with a steady hand.

Lady and Gulls – CLICK ME for more Florida photography.

She had come to the shore at dawn for a photo shoot.  Her male companion (husband?) was there with a camera.

Lady and Gulls – CLICK ME for more Florida photography.

Pam and I were there for the dawn, me with the Sony camera.
Lady and Gulls – CLICK ME for more Florida photography.

At first, I stood there amazed at the spectacle.  She was in such control of the situation, not a victim, more like a lion tamer.

Then, Pam said, “You have to get this.”  And I did.

22 thoughts on “Lady Feeding Gulls, Cocoa Beach Dawn”

  1. The first bird is so lovely! Wow at the pictures of the lady feeding the gulls. They can get in quite the frenzy. I wonder if she feeds them often and they know they’ll all get their turn.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. The photos of the woman are quite wonderful. Her serenity contrasts beautifully with the frantic gull-flapping.

    The gulls will steal from other birds, too. They follow our brown pelicans, trying to snatch the fish the pelicans catch right out of their pouch. I can’t remember seeing one succeed, but they continue trying.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Pingback: French Tourists at Kennedy Space Center – Michael Stephen Wills Photography
  13. Pingback: Endless Searching – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Comments are closed.