[obol] Gull Near Miss

[Cindy Ashy]

I visited the Newport South Jetty again today late afternoon. There was a woman
parked in a very narrow area on the side of the road between the first and
second fingers. She was throwing large quantities of food out to a flock of at
least 100 gulls, which were densely congregated in the road.

I stopped and told her about the gull that had been killed yesterday and why it
wasn't a good idea to attract them into the middle of the road with food. She
was very responsive, said she was an "animal lover" and that she wouldn't do
that again...and seemed very sincere about it.

She persuaded most of the gulls to get off the road but some stayed and while I
was still talking with her a vehicle came through very fast....one of the gulls
flew up and and its feet got hit by the top of the windsheld but it seemed to
fly OK and land OK. The woman was very distraught and I really doubt she'll
ever feed the gulls on the road again.

When she said she feeds the gulls because she wanted them to have enough food,
I did take the opportunity to point out all the natural foods available to them
although I didn't press her too hard on this issue.

I do plan to contact the park managers and see if they can work with the local
law enforcement to crack down on speeders...perhaps more signage, perhaps with
an explanation instead of just more speed limit signs....I may pass this along
to some local press as well.

Cindy Ashy


 
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