:usaflag: Stealth Seagull

[Cupajo]

On a hunt in the water years ago I was waist deep and slowly moving ahead swinging my detector coil in long slow arcs when I saw a long series off small splashes from right in front of me and away from me for twenty feet or so.

At the same moment I saw a seagull flying away in the same direction and immediately knew I had been used as a target!

I took my earphones off and checked my cap and found positive proof that I was a target and that the fowl creature:veryangry: was a damned good shot too!!

I swear I heard a raucous laugh coming from the devils beak!!

This AM I had my usual coffee at the beach and thought I would pick up the few items of trash I saw out on the sand left by various human "sea gulls"!

Taking a plastic five gallon pail and a pair or mechanical grabbers I picked up a pail full of debris in a short tour of the beach and after properly disposing of the stuff I climbed in my van and started for home to check my calls and organize my day.

While driving the short distance I glanced to the left at an intersection to be sure I could safely turn left and I saw that my brand new (bought yesterday) fleece jacket had been christened by a seagull on the left sleeve!

I never saw a flying gull or even suspected I had been a target again!

The only thing I can surmise is that they are now flying in "stealth mode"!!

If I ever get my hands on that damned bird it will be laughing out of the other side of its beak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CJ

 

[Micheal_R]

n/t

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

of your shirt or jacket, it will never happen again. The birds think that the two red circles are "eyes" watching them and it scares them. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)

 

[Cupajo]

Hi Fred,

I'm afraid I would scare away what little good luck I've been having!

Maybe the birds have been dropping a bit of luck on me too?

CJ

 

[Cupajo]

Hi Mikie,

I am not much for worrying about anything.

When asked about how he had so many tragedies in his life and he was still so up-beat all the time, he replied that he never worried!!

He went on to say that two out of the three things you may worry about never happen and the third, when it does happen, is never as bad as you thought it would be!

As for the birds, when you are in their world you takes your chances!

I told a young fellow the above tale an hour ago and he told me how his father had a bird make a direct hit on his ice cream cone!!

I asked him if perhaps mother nature was telling him to lay off the ice cream?!!
CJ

CK

 

[TexasCharley]

I've never been targeted by a seagull, but I once caught one on a rod & reel. I was baitcasting off the docks at what was then Mathews' in Port Aransas, Texas, using an old baitcasting rod & reel. We used dead shrimp as bait, a pretty fair sinker, & no float. Mostly what we caught were hardhead catfish, with the occasional edible fish.

Anyway, I was merrily casting away. I'd pulled in & released maybe a half-dozen hardheads when a gull swooped down & caught my dead-shrimp bait in mid-air. The hook hung in thing's beak so it couldn't let go. I had to fight that gull to reel it in & then we had a real fight on our hands trying to let that idiot bird loose. The thing kept trying to peck us & beat us with its wings. We finally got it under contol & got the hook out of its beak, so we turned it loose. It sat on the dock for maybe a minute, then took off. I think seagulls have avoided me ever since, & this was about 1950.

 

[Cupajo]

Hi Charley,

Hard head cats were called "t_rd rustlers" locally when I was a teen!

Bait stealer's for sure.

A month or so ago I was making my early morning tour of the beach scanning the weeds washed ashore the night before for monofilament and fish-hooks.

I mentioned this to a couple of early morning lady beach strollers and as they moved ahead of me one of them asked, "Is this what you are looking for?"

I glanced to where she was pointing and saw a wad of mono and a dog fish maybe 13" long in the tangle and upon picking the dead thing up I discovered it has a hook in its mouth and there was another dangling free along with the rest of a bottom fishing rig complete with a 3 Oz sinker.

Either it had been lost or cut off by some fisherman and had washed ashore.

It was still fresh (no odor) so it hadn't been dead long.

I removed the hook and dropped the tangle in the plastic pail I carry and tossed the fish into the water.

The splash had barely happened when a large seagull swooped down and swallowed the fish whole!!

There was about 2" of tail sticking out of its beak and with one more gulp it disappeared!

I had no idea gulls could do that!!

A friend told me yesterday he had seen one swallow a large blue fish carcase after some one filleted the fish and tossed the remnants overboard!

Kind of like a snake swallowing I guess.

Regards,

CJ

 

[TexasCharley]

Gulls will apparently eat anything that doesn't eat them first--& they turn up in the strangest places! I was in Laramie, Wyoming a few years back & the place was crawling with seagulls!