Every year the seagulls start to reproduce on the rooftops across my home, and every year I get to watch closely the growth of a new generation of gulls, which is always a delight to watch. I get to see go from a tiny little ball of grey fluff, to take their attempts in flying.
These photos were taken last Sunday, 7th June 2020.
I don´t know how exactly old the babies are, probably more than a week. They usually only show up in June, when they are more or less strong enough to start moving. I have seen couples mating around May. They are very curious around this time, I can sometimes see them exploring the limits of their nest.
I managed to capture these images during feeding time. One of the Parents brought them a fish, which is probably a little too big for them. It let them take a couple of nibbles, before then swallow the entire thing itself.
After that, it proceed to climb highest part of the roof with the babies trailing behind, and then it left them with the other parent.
I suspect they spend most of their time on the other side, which provides better protection against the wind and temperature. I hope to be able to see more of them in the following weeks. Seagulls take more or less a month to be fully grown and independent. Once they are able to fly and find food for themselves, they leave the nest still with grey feathers. I have seen this adolescent gulls hanging in groups with others of their kind all over town.
Still, they only reach sexual maturity after 3 years, life span is typically 20 years at least.
I hope you enjoy my informative post and get to see a different side of these birds that most people aren´t aware of.
