On my way back from Newport the other day I was entranced by hundreds of birds flocking overhead. I initially thought they were sparrows, but when I stopped by the side of the road, I realize they were too big.
Closer examination proved them to be Laughing Gulls. They were swooping and swarming and having a grand old time.
I heard them laughing.
I couldn’t hear anything else.
I sat there for 10 minutes, just watching them fly and the sun go down, then I drove home.
The next morning at Quonnie there were 300 some odd gulls on the point as I walked out. They took off all at once (talk about a racket!) and started flying the same way the gulls had the previous evening.
I wondered if they were the same birds.
I wondered if they followed me.
I decided that they are gathering, in a similar way that the swallows are.
At the same time they are providing me with a extra measure of delight. I grown to love these birds through my time with them at Quonnie. I know every iteration plumage and love watching them stop at the water’s edge. Dancing like there is no tomorrow.
Alas, shortly there will be no tomorrow for me with the gulls. At least not this year, migration is almost here and I will miss the usuals.
Zen birding lesson of the day: Appreciate what you have today, it may be gone tomorrow.


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