It was raining lightly when I got down to Naskeag Harbor yesterday and saw a happy Herring Gull there who wasn’t bothered at all by the drizzle. He had found a treasure in the form of the front half of a boiled lobster, apparently the jetsam from a recent maritime lobster bake.
The bird was as joyous as a puppy with a new bone, sticking his head and beak inside the red carapace, pulling out strings of meat, and gulping them down voraciously. Other Herring Gulls approached and screamed, but our lucky bird would drag the lobster body 10 or 20 feet away and resume his feast. His feathered brethren never got any. But, that’s hardly the end of the story.
The commotion attracted the above Great Black-Backed Gull – the largest species of seagull in the world, often called “the king of gulls.” The wing spans of these kings can reach five-and-one-half feet. They’re infamous for feeding on the eggs and live young of other gulls and ducks and stealing food from any smaller animal. They’re bullies, but sometimes sophisticated bullies.
The technique used yesterday by this Greater Black-Back was patient intimidation. He swooped down and landed in the shallow water about four feet from our happy Herring Gull. (Sexes assumed.) He floated there a minute and then stood up imperiously and silently, perhaps to show his size advantage.
Then, he slowly took a step or two toward his gulping cousin, stopped, and repeated the move after a pause. Soon, the Herring Gull got rattled and just stood above his lucky find without eating, all the while watching the king silently edging closer and closer.
Soon, the Herring Gull got the message, bowed to the king, and flew off without his treasure. The king took his cousin’s place at the feast and no one bothered him. We hear that the Herring Gull is still suffering from indigestion. (Brooklin, Maine)