Ring-billed Gulls like parking lots, perhaps because parking lots are large and uniformly flat, much like the surface of a body of water. These birds were observed in the parking lot of Super Target in Richardson, Texas.
This congregation gulls was mostly just hanging out, but there were a few things of note going on in this group. First there was a lot of preening. These gulls were working their feathers over quite thoroughly.
In another part of the parking lot there were gulls taking turns drinking from a a small puddle.
Finally, one individual gull discovered the remnant of a plastic ballpoint pen. He carried it around the parking lot like it was some kind of treasure. He would toss it away and then retrieve it. He taunted other gulls with it. It was very interesting behavior to observe.
| County | – | Dallas |
|
| City | – | Richardson | |
| Date | – | Feb 22, 2012 | |
| Time of Day | – | Morning | |
| Temperature | – | Cool (50-69°F/10-21°C) | |
| Weather | – | Clear | |
| Habitat | – | Commercial-Retail | |
| Type of Behavior | – | Congregating | |
| Gender | – | Mixed | |
| Maturity | – | Mixed | |
| Observer | – | Chris Jackson |
Great pictures and interesting behavior!