[obol] Regurgitating Gull

[Cindy Ashy]

Mid-day at the Newport South Jetty (high tide - first finger completely
underwater) it looked like most every gull in the neighborhood was gathered at
the gull puddle EXCEPT the one little gull I was looking for. The lighter first
winter Glaucous Gull was in this mix and I watched it regurgitate what may have
been its entire stomach contents given the volume. It almost immediately
started to feed on the regurgitated meal for several minutes. Then, the couple
that feed the gulls every day pulled up and like most of the other gulls, the
Glaucous Gull immediately recognized the car and flew to it. I took this
opportunity to take a closer look and it looked the regurgitated meal may have
been a highly digested starfish, at least in part. After all the bread was gone
and the gulls began to scatter again, the Glaucous Gull did not go back to the
regurgitated meal nor did any of the other gulls (at least as long as I was
there).

I know regurgitation is used for feeding young and offering food to a mate but
I can't think of a reasonable explanation for this. If the gull was sick I
doubt it would have eaten what it just regurgitated. Also, it was not being
harassed by the other gulls...and even the closest nearby gulls didn't seem
interested in "stealing" the meal. Any ideas?

Cindy


 
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