Subject: [Tweeters] Predatory gull (following the note on a predatory crow)
Date: Mar 3 12:56:33 2016
From: James McGough - mcgoughj at gmail.com


Years ago, while eating lunch outside at Occidental Square in Seattle's Pioneer District, I watched other diners throwing crumbs to the local rock doves. Eventually a few gulls (don't remember any species clues) showed up, watching the action from the fringes of the avian crowd. Suddenly one of the gulls leaned over and attacked one of the doves. They tussled for a short period, but the gull was clearly in charge, and soon carried its prey to a branch of one of the London Plane trees lining the square, where it started dismembering it.

Just as suddenly, there was a great commotion from crows, seemingly materializing from nowhere. Maybe a dozen or so crows hopped agitatedly in the branches of the Plane Trees near the scene, cawing loudly and stridently.

A half an hour later, when I had finished my sandwich and had to go back to work, the commotion was still going on, diminished somewhat. The bird neighborhood seemed fully aware of what had happened, but the humans (who arguably played a role in this drama by feeding the doves) were oblivious.

Jim McG
Seattle