letting nature back in

Impromptu stops to take in local sea views have provided some bright interludes in our cold and often wet winter. Here are some photos from one of the bright days when I remembered to take my camera along.

What would the seaside be like without seagulls? So far in the Overstrand region of the Western Cape, we have seen Hartlaub’s gull (Chroicocephalus hartlaubii) pictured above, which is endemic to the west coast of South Africa and Namibia, and the better known and much larger kelp gull (Larus dominicanus) with a range that extends across much of the southern hemisphere. In addition to the coastal areas of southern Africa and Madagascar kelp gulls occur in parts of South America, the Antarctic Peninsula, sub-Antarctic islands, New Zealand and Australia.

Kelp gulls are gregarious often roosting and foraging in groups. But on this occasion, we saw a lone pair looking out over the waves at an ocean view site popular with humans too. Kelp gulls form monogamous breeding pairs and although they can be solitary nesters, more usually they nest communally, on the offshore islands and at specific sites along the west and southern coasts, all areas near coastal kelp forests, hence their name. On the eastern coast kelp gulls visit as non-breeding migrants.

Male and female kelp gulls are similar in appearance, with the larger males weighing 1000 g (35 oz) on average and the female, 820 g (29 oz). The wingspan is 128-142 cm (50-56 inches). Two of the five sub-species of kelp gulls occur in southern Africa.

Above is the same kelp gull when it came in to land, tail flared like a parachute and yellow feet pointing downwards ready for the landing.

This pair of kelp gulls treated us to the sight of several take-offs and landings as they each interrupted their sea gazing with the occasional short circular flight.

Kelp gulls are generalist foragers and scavengers. Their large size and powerful bill enable them to have a varied diet that includes crustaceans, molluscs, fish and a wide range of marine and terrestrial invertebrates. When foraging large mussels they are known to fly up high above rocks and then deliberately drop a mussel so as to smash it and open the shell.

Kelp gulls actively hunt and forage at sea, along the shoreline and also inland, where their prey includes reptiles, small mammals, birds and eggs. They frequently rob food from other seabirds. They scavenge food from fishing harbours, rubbish dumps and scraps washed up on beaches.

While we were scanning the bay on the lookout for whales, this Hartlaub’s gull landed a few meters from us. Perhaps it was hoping for a handout, but it seemed quite content to also spend some time taking in the view. The Hartlaubs’s gull is significantly smaller than the kelp gull with a wingspan of about 38 cm (15 cm). The male weighs in at only 290 g (10 oz), and the female 265 g (9 oz) on average. Adult Hartlaub’s gulls are sometimes killed by kelp gulls although they are not eaten.

I caught this snap of the Hartlaub’s gull also taking off for a recce flight. In addition to being smaller it is noticeably less powerfully built than the Kelp gull and it has a less powerful bill. It feeds predominantly on fish, molluscs and invertebrates, especially invertebrates associated with kelp. Reflecting this food preference, the natural distribution of Hartlaub’s gulls is largely associated with two species of kelp that grow in coastal waters. Like other species of gulls, it also scavenges waste.

In non-breeding Hartlaub’s gulls, such as this one, the head is entirely white, but in the breeding season the adults may have a pale lavender-grey hood or at least a slight circle edging the scarcely discernible hood. After flying off the gull landed again though on a different rocky perch, apparently gazing into the middle distance.

In fact, we did see whales that day, but not close enough for my camera to photograph. A few days later in another part of the bay I managed to photograph the tail of a southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) as it was repeatedly tail-slapping the surface when just beyond the breakers.

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I hope to be posting more seaside photographs soon. I also hope to be posting more regularly as we get more on top of home maintenance and renovation issues, and as the weather warms up it will make it more possible to sit at my laptop and not be too cold. And most significantly, I am about to have cataract surgery (first one tomorrow!) that should not only make photography more viable as my sight improves, but also enable me to read more comfortably and catch up on badly neglected blog reading. So here’s to being more connected!

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Sources:

Chittenden, Hugh, Davies, Greg & Weiersbye, Ingrid. 2016. Roberts Bird Guide: Illustrating nearly 1,000 Species in Southern Africa (2^nd edition). Cape Town: Jacana;  Roberts VII Multimedia Birds of Southern Africa: PC Edition.  1997-2016 Southern African Birding. For details go to http://www.sabirding.co.za/roberts7/portal.html

Posted by Carol