Things I Saw - Part the Ninth

Seagulls. In the middle of Ohio at a service plaza. An Internet search says that these are "Ring-billed Gulls", the most common kind of gull in Ohio. They were all over the truck parking side of this plaza.

I see them so much, living in Chicago, that I often don't even notice them.  We're in the middle of Ohio here and the parking lot is filled with gulls. My sister calls them "dumpster chickens" because they are opportunistic feeders. They tend to congregate in areas where there is a ready food source, such as a service plaza where there are three different kinds of fast food as well as two convenience stores. Oooh, you dropped your bag of Cheetos. You'll instantly make two dozen friends.

When I was growing up in Iowa, a seagull elicited a mad frenzy of bird watching. I guess, it still does with me since I'm blogging about it. If you saw one, it was because the bird hitched a ride on one of the barges that plied the Mississippi River. You can see them along the river but rarely far inland unless there is a steady food source and open fresh water. And, most likely, the one you see cruising the Target parking lot is a Ring-billed Gull.

I watched this crew, standing like sentries just waiting. A couple of truckers walked toward their truck which was parked to the right off this photo. One of the guys had potato chips and tossed a couple in the direction of the gulls. They charged those chips like they hadn't eaten in weeks. The birds that got the chips tried to take off with them but were nearly overwhelmed by others seeking to snatch them away. You know they aren't starving, but I wonder if they know what is their natural food anymore or if Doritos, bread crumbs and french fries have supplanted that.

Beverage:  Huckleberry tea

Deb