NOTE: This is the fifth entry in a series of entries sent from the road. I guess you could call this my “Wandering Naturalist Series.” My punctuality will depend completely on internet access along the way and the amount of daylight. I have no doubt that nature will provide ample material
Though the morning itself was peaceful enough, the long sandy beach at Scusset, MA was a beehive of activity. Shorebirds and gulls of all make and size were frantically feeding on the sea gifts that arrived with each coating of frothy surf. The tide was just coming in after its long nightly retreat out into Massachusetts Bay. Black and white Sanderlings, the smallest and most active of the bunch, were keeping just ahead of the wave lines. They probed the wet sand with their black bills in a continuous effort to pull small crustaceans from the surf zone. A dozen Knots mimicked the movements of their smaller cousins but did so in a slower and distinctly more refined manner (befitting their larger size).
Gulls dominated the beachfront. A pair of small Laughing Gulls surveyed the scene from higher on the beach with apparent disinterest. They were garbed in their dull winter colors and were not in a laughing mode this morning. Huge Black-backed Gulls lorded over every form of fowl, but the Herring Gulls outnumbered the lot. Without the need of a thousand words to describe it, you can watch a bit of the action here (Scusset Beach Scene).
With all this going on, you wouldnt think that the lowly Herring Gulls would be the thing to capture my attention. After all, these birds are equally as common along our Great Lakes shorelines as they are along the wide ocean beaches, so their appeal would seem even more diminished given their exotic company. They were exhibiting an interesting behavior that Ive never seen before, however. Perhaps you caught it at the end of the previous scene. Did you see one of them engage in a bit of fancy footwork just before the sequence ended?
Herrings (like the one pictured above) are easily distinguished by their pink feet and the red spot found on their lower mandible, so you should be able to spot them in the video. This time of year the mature birds are heavily speckled and the immature birds are quite dark and mottled. Every time the surf broke and began its backward slide, the Herring Gulls would begin to rapidly pump their feet as if running in place. Take a better look here and tell me what comes to your mind (Dancing Gull).
Unfortunately, the only thing that came to my mind when viewing this was the dance style that typified that miserable early 80s movie Flashdance. The part that popped into my head was the Maniac sound track: shes a maniac, maniac on the floor and shes dancing like shes never danced before. More contemporary thinkers might have visions of Riverdance, but either way the step is eye catching.
While you could say that Jennifer Beal and Michael Flatterly (or what ever his name is) are dancing for their food, the gulls were literally dancing on their food. By pumping their feet, the gulls could liquiefy the sand in order to dislodge their prey in this case I believe the intended quarry were sand crabs. Tiny crustaceans that filter organisms from the water, sand crabs only expose themselves briefly as the waves rush past. By locating the spot and churning up the sand around it, the gulls are able to flush out the buried crabs and eat them for breakfast. Youll notice that something pops out from under Jennifers er, I mean the gulls feet and is hastily snatched up by the performer.
Neither of the previously mentioned movie/dance titles fits this gull behavior since it is not flashy nor is it performed on a river. This is an ancient step delivered to the beat of the rolling surf. Lets call it Surfdance and see if it catches on.
Once Upon A Michigan 