From Birds and Blooms · Kaitlin Stainbrook · · 2m
Why Gulls Love the Grocery Store Parking Lot
Asphalt, fries and free bread explain why so-called seagulls hang out nowhere near the sea.
In brief
Asphalt, fries and free bread explain why so-called seagulls hang out nowhere near the sea. Gulls gather in parking lots because people feed them, on purpose and by accident. Take away the food and the flock moves on. Originally reported by Birds and Blooms.
Seabirds far from the sea
Gulls count as seabirds, yet you see them on rooftops, in landfills and around city parks. Asphalt has no fish, but it has other things worth eating.
“Open asphalt and garbage dumps may not have fresh fish available, but they offer other enticing menu options.”
There is no seagull
The name is a catch-all. These birds belong to the Laridae family, and there are more than 50 gull species.
“"Seagulls" are what these birds are commonly called, but technically, there's no such thing!”
Meet the two usual suspects
Most parking lot crowds are ring-billed gulls or American herring gulls. They look alike until you check the details.
Check the bill and legs
Ring-billed gulls have a black vertical band across the middle of the beak and yellow legs. American herring gulls have a clean bill and pale pink legs.
They eat whatever is easy
Gulls are opportunistic scavengers. The menu runs from crabs, mollusks and earthworms to carrion, other seabirds' eggs, and dropped French fries.
“That means they'll typically eat whatever is most easily available.”
People are the real draw
A 2015 study by Dan Clark's team in Human-Wildlife Interactions found gulls skipping dumpsters entirely. They flew to specific lots and waited for pedestrians to hand over bread.
“The researchers expected to track gulls to trash cans and dumpsters but were surprised to find gulls going to specific parking lots and waiting to be fed.”
A parking lot is a beach
Both are wide open ground where a bird can spot a predator coming from far off. Most gull species nest on the ground, and urban gulls have switched to flat rooftops.
Skip the bread
Human food is not nutritionally right for gulls, and handouts change their natural diet and behavior. They are perfectly capable of finding their own meals.
“The more people give them free meals, the more gulls' natural diet and behavior change because of human interference.”
Feed these birds instead
Put your effort into backyard birds that need the help in winter. Suet and a heated bird bath do more good than a bag of bread in a parking lot.
The bottom line
Gulls gather in parking lots because people feed them, on purpose and by accident. Take away the food and the flock moves on.
