Penetrating eyes,
miss nothing.
The most intelligent,
successful birds,
are often resented.
I wonder why?
Are we jealous they are free, and fly?
Cheers to you from the free-flying gulls~
Share this:
Discover more from Cindy Knoke
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
oh wow they’ve never let me get that close and indeed those eyes, They way they look at you as if going “yes??” 😀
I know they are so smart. There is fancy a hotel by the beach where I grew up that kept getting silver napkin rings stolen off the outside tables. Many decades later, they were rennovating the hotel’s bell tower and found a pile of hundreds of napkin rings that gulls had been secreting there over the years. Revenge is sweet,” sayeth the gulls! 😉
lol! the hotel owners certainly didn’t see that coming! XD
No they didn’t!
I saw a video a while back. I believe it was a gull. Waited for the electronic doors to open and would walk in behind a customer at a store and walk back out with a bag of chips. They are smart indeed. The last shot is amazing.
I love seagulls. We get quite a few that migrate up and down the Rio Grande Valley.
It is always fun for me seeing them way inland, like in Idaho and even Wyomming!
Excellent series, I particularly like the portraits!
Seagull eyes mesmorize me~
Great shots! It looks like the bird put red lip stick on. I like the free flying picture.
And red eyeliner! These are all European gulls.
I don’t do birds. They scare me. But, I do recognize the beauty most of them possess.
I respect that and thank you.
Thank you for sharing the pictures. They’re beautiful.
Oh, these are sooooooo wonderful. Just so beautiful. I love seagulls. Your photographs are amazing. Thank you so much.
I love people who loves seagulls! Where I grew up people called them sea-rats, which is unfair to both species.
Beautiful images, that first one is breathtaking in its detail and clarity. I think perhaps folks resent gulls because they mirror us in our less loving examples, i.e., selfish greed, get what we want at all costs, hectoring, pestering, etc. 😉
Yes, probably, plus they are better at all these things then we are! Laughing….
Thank you so much for GREAT pictures of my favorite birds! I love spending time at the beach watching their antics and aeronautical skills!
I love seagull lovers! <3
wow any closer and you would be kissing cousins.. =^_^= very nice!
They swooped so close I could touch them. You can see the dark bread crumbs I was throwing them way up high in one of the photos.
A great collection Cindy!
Alison
They are so much fun to watch, especially out at sea on a boat. The best was in Antartica, with the Albatross following our boat.
The first two photos makes one think these birds are pretty smart.
Leslie
They are so smart. I grew up with them and have lots of stories. We celebrated Easter at the beach when my son was three. A seagull swooped down and stole his wind up baby duckling.
My son said, He’ll bring it back.”
Hours later, as we were packing up to go, the gull swooped down over us on the beach and dropped the mechanical duckling. The motor inside had been methodically pecked out, but the fuzzy duckling was intact.
My son ran over, got the duck and said, “I told you so!”
This is a true story!
That is an amazing story Cindy. What a memorable moment .
Leslie
<3
Lovely photographs as usual, Cindy. 🙂
Lovely thougths as always from you my friend~ <3
Jonathan Livingston Seagull forever!
Hear! Hear! <3
LOVE the close-up!
Ah, so pleased you do & thank you~
Seagulls are all part of the allure of a trip to the beach for me. The sight of them flying as a flock is awesome – their flight patterns and the way they dive for food. Seeing lone gulls appear in my more inland region is always a pleasant surprise too! They’re quite the adventurous explorers aren’t they? Cindy, have you seen this recent news about a gull who took a dive into a vat of curry? Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbJt8X9G09U
Amazing Lynn, we are psychically connected. I don’t have to click on the link. I saw and was amazed by this. Wild animals, including birds, seem to know so clearly, when people help them. It is wonderful to see!
Brilliant close ups Cindy!
I would love them more if they quieter that’s for sure!
I like their calls, but I can understand your feelings.
I am fascinated by those wings. Aren’t they amazing?
Yes, they are translucent in the right light and appear fragile but so well designed. Remarkable, especially considering how they can skim above the surface of the sea and dive and catch fish!
I’m fascinated by gulls (partly because I can’t tell a lot of the species apart and that drives me nuts…LOL!) and love their eyes, too! Your in-flight photos are marvelous…I just adore the way the wings are outstretched and their feet dangling. <3 🙂
It’s very cool isn’t it. They can adapt to all these aerial conditions including me throwing bread vertically up over the back of a boat! Laughing……
Video! We need a video of that! 😄
I can just imagine trying to video while throwing the bread!!! 😉
As always, such amazing photos my friend. 🙂 <3
Aww thank you Natalie & blessings too~ <3
😊❤️
There expressions are so comical in the top two photos. Great shots. Looks difficult to capture them while in flight.
What was really hard was throwing the bread and taking photos at the same time!!! 😉
Ha ha. Yes, more than two hands would have been nice to have, I’m sure. 🙂
Wow! Cheers, dear Cindy!
Visa versa 2 U X 2!
🙂
I love the expressions on the close ups. Beautiful wings, Cindy. 🙂
They have the most intelligent eyes~
I am a big fan of seagulls. They seem to soar and be so beautiful far away. Granted they do sometimes scrabble or scrap, when close up! The book, “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” used to be on my coffee table. Raised on Lake Erie, I also enjoy egrets and heron’s. Smiles and hugs sent your way, Cindy. <3
Yes, the birds! They can show us how to live. Be well Robin and cheers to you~ <3
What gorgeous photos. 🙂
Ahhhh, I am honored. Thank you~
Very beautiful post Cindy 😀
Muchos gracias mi amiga~ <3
De nada, Cindy 🙂
They are awesome and I know fisherman do not like them because they sneak up and steal the bait, naughty and super intelligent.
Yes, exactly! Maybe they are jealous that gulls live freely off the sea~
Lovely verse and photos. Bossy seagulls!
Thank you! They are a force of nature~
Amazing pictures! 🙂
I am very happy you enjoyed!
🙂 🙂
Wow! Great shots! Captures and characterizes them just as they are! 🙌😀
Thanks, it is impossible to imagine the sea without the gulls.
That it is! 😊
I love the seagull!
You and me both, but then, we agree on most things~
You caught a look of a bird with a human expression…
Your clear photos make these birds look almost majestic! Wow
Awww, thank you! Watching them out at sea in a storm demonstrates how masterfull they are.
😉
Coucou Cindy
Thnak you so much for sharing your beautiful collection
Anita
🙂
Thank you much more Anita for appreciating them~
We have black-backed gulls nesting on the roof just opposite us – it is lovely to look at the newly-born chicks and see how they are developing. They are really small and cute at the moment, but will soon be soaring magnificently on the thermals…! 🙂
Funny, since I grew up on the ocean, but I have only rarely seen the chicks, but I have seen them, I was entranced. Cute and quite assertive! 😉
And very noisy!!
Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
It is time for our weekly avian fix from Cindy Knoke who is all at sea.. with this steely eyed companion. Terrific as always.
You are a rare gem Sally. Thank you my friend and be well~ <3
Those who want to fly free in our societies are often disliked, they are not main stream or streamlined.
We arent jealous as a species but ranther fearful of the unknown, it might be dangerous.
I like your birds, they are free and beautifully presented in your fotos, Cindy.
Yes. I think you are on to something. Most humans really are enslaved, to money and the need to make it in order to survive or amass wealth. Wild animals of all sorts are actully far more free than us since they survive on their own in what’s left of the wild. I think we may be both fearful and jealous of this and this could explain part of why some people get pleasure out of killing wild creatures.
Great shots
Mille grazie~
You’re deep in Al Forbes’s territory here. He has a real thing about gulls.
He does! I haven’t seen his photos for awhile. I will go and take a peek.
Have never been a fan of seagulls since being attacked whilst eating a bag of chips whilst on holiday in Torquay.This year, we have seen plenty in the marina, and one was witnessed lifting a moorhen chick out of the water. They are huge birds and so graceful in flight, but oh so noisy!
I remember rescuing a baby bird from a very intent seagull when I was a kid. I also remember seeing boys throw rocks at roosting gulls and the whole flock flying over them and letting loose with oodles of seagull pooh. I was cheering for the seagulls, but they can be quite intimidating, so I hear you.
Stunning photos.
Ahhh, honored Mary.
Imperial !!
Yes, very much so, a most imperious stare!
We love our gulls! They truly are so intelligent, and determined. Yes, their aggression can have horrible consequences, but they are fabulous parents and, round here, our constant neighbours. Pip
They are wonderful and challenging to live with. Thank you for “getting” them. <3
Funny thing: we all love the noise they make, too! Great pictures!
I love their calls. It sounds like freedom to me.
We completely agree! Ours on the chimney had their baby hatch today! Pip
I am jealous! I would love to photograph them~ <3
Beautiful pictures..Cindy
thanks for sharing…:-)
Thank you more for appreciating them~
Fantastic close ups. Yes, these birds ARE smart. Not only do they fly free, they let fly.
A place we once lived, we had hundreds of gulls. On a wonderful summer day, my mother hung out newly laundered, white sheets and pillow cases, but not for long. After the gulls passed over, she had to rinse them down with the water hose and wash them all over again. 😀 😀 😀
Seagull poo is up there on the list of most unpleasant things. I remember eating lunch in elementary school where segull poo in some kid’s hair was an almost daily occurance. I thought it was the worst until I encountered penguins! 😉
Eke. Time to get out those hats that look like umbrellas but fit on the head. 😀 😀 😀
That will work with gulls but not with penguins. Hint: if both like you, they won’t poo on you! 😉
Is it portrait of Jonathan Livingston? 🙂
It certainly could be!
It almost looks like they are wearing lipstick. Years ago (many years) I went on a boat trip through the Finland fjords. I spend hours and hours feeding the seagulls until I was nearly frozen.
It is the most wonderful feeling isn’t it, especially in the far north or south. I did the same in Finland. For awhile, while you are watching and feeding them in the frozen solitude, you feel one with them. It is a special thing.
I couldn’t’ afford a real cruise back then, it was a postal ship, with only a few crazy passengers like me. They are acrobats in the air.
We are thinking of taking a grocery/mail delivery freighter through the south pacific. I bet it’s better than a cruise.
What a Beautiful Bird
Wonderful Capture
Yes we are Jealous
Its Free
We have no Flight
As always in Plight
For you Might
Visit My Site
And say what
Through your thought
Cindy!
My Salutations
Shiva
Beautiful Shiva. Wild creatures represent to us, what we are not, which is free. Thank you my friend for understanding and I will visit you blog my friend~ <3
Maam! Cindy!
Like how YOU capture by your camera.
I am sure YOU shall capture my thoughts.
I told my daughter what you said last time that I am liked by many in the Blog world. She reacted expressing, Wow!
Amen!
Shiva
😃💗👌
Love the photos, especially the gulls!
Most appreciated Lavinia~
“I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull’s way and he whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife, And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.” John Masefield
So perfect and I had never read this before. Thank you Rebecca & cheers to you my friend~ <3
You would love the full poem – Sea Fever. Hugs, my dear friend.
Off to read it now. Thank you for the lead~
I really had to look closely at these photos, Cindy — the detail is outstanding! So much so that at first I thought they must be statues, ha!
I was amazed at how delicate they are. I knew their feathers were hollow, but it amazes me that such precision and power can come from such fragile feathers. Thank you Debbie and cheers to you my friend~ <3