Mike King: Birding. Gulls. Baby Gulls.

A few weeks back, in a typical rambling post discussing birds in the area, I asked readers for suggestions about what birds they would care to know a little bit more about. Sifting through the avalanche of responses (OK, maybe three or four) I’ve decided to go with one our most common genera of birds: the gull. 

Before going into too many factoids, let it be known that today, during a break in the Battle of the Tribute Bands extravaganza at Rainbow Harbor, was the first time I ever saw seagull chicks. And you can too! There is a nest perched atop one of the dock pillars over at the Catalina Landing staging zone, and it can be clearly seen from the bike/walking trail which passes through the area. The nest belongs to a Western Gull and her two fluffy, fuzzy gray babies, which are now roughly one third their adult size. I urge you to bike over there and check them out immediately. (See my crummy photos accompanying this post for a teaser). The Western Gull, distinguished by a thick yellow bill with a red spot near the end, is the only gull to breed locally, notably on cliffs in the Channel Islands, but also on the California mainland, and our own Catalina Landing nesting site is a poignant reminder that there just aren’t that many wild sites left around here on the coast. But it’s so great that a placid little perch can still be found amidst our urban sprawl. 

I’ve decided to cut this short. I’ll have some more information on gulls in the next day or two. In the meantime, go check out those chicks before they take off. And I apologize for going a little non sequitur on you, but getting back to the Battle of the Tribute Bands, I saw portions of only two of the tribute band sets: those of the AC/DC and Who tribute bands. From what I saw and heard, I’d vote for the AC/DC guys. The bagpipes sealed the deal.