Michael O’Brien and I were leading a group of birders near the Cape May ferry terminal, and as we topped the little dune between the parking area and the bay, a flock of gulls came into view. As more of our group crested the rise and could see the gulls (and the gulls could see us), the flock began to get nervous. Each bird’s head was up, and a few took several steps away.
This was a School of Birding workshop on gulls, and we wanted to study the flock, so Michael said, “Let’s just wait here a minute and let them get used to us.” Shortly the gulls went back to doing what gulls do, preening and sleeping, and we were able to bring the whole group over the dune. We next closed the distance to the flock by walking slowly towards them, but at an angle. I joked that everyone with baseball caps on should turn them around to face backwards, so that the gulls would think we were looking the other way and not at them.
There is an art to getting close to birds. We certainly can and should take steps to make it difficult for birds to see or hear us when afield, and expect more on that concept in future columns, but most of the time if we can see a bird, the bird knows we are there. That doesn’t mean they won’t let us get closer, because birds after all have the trump card and they know it - they can always fly away! Consider the following photo sequence.
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Here’s a Laughing Gull feeding on the flats exposed by low tide at Norbury’s Landing. It is about 30 yards away, and hasn’t really noticed me yet. That’s not say it doesn’t know I’m there, only that it doesn’t care - it has not identified me as a threat. |
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I begin to close the distance with a direct approach, and the gull notices me and reacts right away by walking away from me. I stop and pretend to ignore the gull. |
Now about 40 yards away, the gull resumes feeding and I wait, scanning some nearby flocks of Sanderlings and peep, and giving it some time to feel comfortable. That’s a Sanderling sleeping in the background to the left of the gull. When the gull began walking away, the Sanderling did not untuck its bill but reacted to the gull’s reaction by opening one eye and keeping it open for the following photos, watching the proceedings to determine whether it, too, ought to move away. How the Sanderling knew what the gull was doing with its eyes closed is a mystery - perhaps it heard or felt the rapid steps on the flat? One reason birds form flocks is to take advantage of many watchful eyes, and birds often flush in reaction to other birds taking wing.
After roughly two minutes, I resume my approach on the gull, moving slowly, not making eye contact, and angling towards it rather than walking directly towards it. A direct approach and eye contact would tell the gull I am interested, and since birds see humans as predators, they don’t want us to be interested in them. The gull is now 15 yards away.
If you have a pet dog or cat, try this experiment on it while it is lying quietly on the floor. First, walk past it. Chances are you will get no reaction. Next, purposefully stalk towards it, and check the response.
You can tell a bird doesn’t mind your presence if it goes about its business normally. The gull here has turned its head away from me as it feeds, which means it’s not even keeping an eye on me. Different birds have different “approach distances,” that is, the distance they will allow you to approach before they fly or walk away. Gulls, of course, are quite tame. How close a bird lets you get depends on several factors: the species, the location, how easily it can get away, how tired it is, how good the feeding is, whether it has a nest or young nearby (if it does and you know it, do NOT approach), and especially, how you behave.
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I turn to face the gull directly and take two steps towards it while the big beady eye of my camera is trained on it. What happens? I get an opportunity to study its flight pattern. Intentionally flushing birds should be avoided, of course - they have enough to worry about. Approach carefully, watch for a while, and then move on to enjoy the next great sighting! |