{"id":6999,"date":"2024-11-07T21:55:04","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T21:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/?p=6999"},"modified":"2024-11-07T21:58:50","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T21:58:50","slug":"a-season-in-the-life-of-a-california-gull","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/2024\/11\/07\/a-season-in-the-life-of-a-california-gull\/","title":{"rendered":"A Season in the Life of a California Gull"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I open my eyes to the sun rising over the mountains. I look around my home, the sparsely vegetated bit of land that I grew up in. I\u2019m a few months into my fourth year, and I\u2019m told it is a big year. I start my day like I always do, with an entry in my very private, very special diary. When I remember to write in it, that is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 29th<\/sup> 2040<\/strong>
Dear diary,
Yesterday was a doozy of a day. I flew around the beach and scavenged for food, like I usually do. I feel so guilty, all I had was a sandwich, fries and literal trash from a dumpster. I need to get better at eating a balanced diet, but I just can\u2019t help myself! Some human man I stole the sandwich from shouted profanities at me, which I\u2019m used to, but then he said something bone-chilling: \u201cStupid Herring gull!\u201d.
Sir.
You MUST be joking.
I understand having black, mirrored wingtips might be slightly confusing, especially to a simple creature such as yourself. I also get that it’s confusing that we breed in the same colonies (Moynihan, 1956). But HERRING GULL? Did you even *see* my yellow legs? My extremely dark iris with the red eye rings? Most especially, I have a red AND black spot on my bill, not just a plain boring red one. And my mantle is sooooo much darker than a Herring\u2019s. I am so very obviously a California Gull<\/strong> (Larus californicus<\/em>), sir. And that\u2019s why you get your fries stolen too.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Humans aren\u2019t my only problems right now. My friends in my colony are also being annoying. I turned four and all of a sudden, they are all telling me I need to find a good mate and have babies (Smith and Diem, 1972). I don\u2019t think I\u2019m ready, but everyone else is doing it at this age so I guess I\u2019ll hop on the bandwagon. But I\u2019m waiting for the perfect fellow. Someone who will look for a nice breeding spot with me, help me build a nest (Conover and Miller, 1980), and I wouldn\u2019t mind if they were easy on the eyes too.
Well. I guess I should get my day started. That sandwich was really good\u2026 I wonder if Mr. Herring Gull is back. I\u2019ll remember that face till the day I die (or until someone else wrongs me).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 12th<\/sup>, 2040<\/strong>
Dear diary,
Sorry it\u2019s been so long since my last entry, but I met someone. He tossed his head back and I instantly fell in love (All About Birds). I responded to his head toss with a begging call, and it was ON. He and I walked around scraping the ground for a while, looking for a place to nest (All About Birds). We walked for a bit when we finally came across a small patch of land near the coast that was perfect for both of us, and our soon-to-be little ones. Callum (my fella) and I started gathering sticks, bones, feathers, and anything sturdy we could find to start building our nest (Behle and Goates, 1957). He and I also exchanged several “choking displays” (see video). Building the nest will take about a week\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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