During an evening stroll along the beach at Anna Marie Island on Florida's Gulf Coast, we happened upon a large flock of seagulls. There were at least three different species with distinctive bills, feather color patterns, and sizes. It was fascinating to watch their behavior. A woman happened along with some bread to feed them and she was able to get them hovering in the air above us. This was literally just feet above our heads and there were many birds. I was amazed how well they could stay in once place for short periods before having to fly forward, up or sideways. Even so, it was difficult to catch them on camera. One of the things I noted when looking at the resulting photos was the ways in which they curve and shape their wings. When we see birds in flight, we (or at least those of us not knowledgeable about birds) thing of them soaring, or "flapping" their wings, but these photos showed me many new factors of bird flight.
It was beautiful to watch them in the sunset, whether on the beach or in the air. We also saw many sandpipers, two pelicans taking breathless simultaneous dives into the water, and a school of dolphins offshore.
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