New Freedom for Released Western Gulls

August 21, 2009: Along with sick and injured birds, International Bird Rescue Research Center takes in abandoned baby birds. In this video, seven young gulls are released into the bay in Berkeley, California. These juveniles are gray with black beaks. When they reach adulthood, they will be white with dark gray wings and a yellow beak. They are the same size as adults, but they have a trilling-like call. They passed their release test: their weight is good, they can fly, and they can catch and eat their food.

One adult was released with these youngsters, and he quickly flew away, while the others stayed together. Their release was joyful! The kayaking class on the beach prevented me from releasing them there, so I released them by the large rocks at the edge of the bay. The gulls knew exactly what to do: they jumped on the rocks and headed for the water. One little guy tried to head to the parking lot, but I encouraged him to follow the others, which he did.

In the last clip, two curious adult gulls joined the group. Some of the young gulls started to beg for food, following the adults around and twittering. The adults would have none of this, and one of them (perhaps tired of the game) chased one of the youngsters, nipping at him. He finally swam to a safe distance, and all was relatively calm again.

Unfortunately, my little camera does not have an optical zoom. The sun was very bright, and I could not see anything in the cameras small screen. I had no idea what I was filming, but after about 20 minutes, I came up with three minutes of passable video.

Please donate to IBRRC, so we can continue to rescue and feed wild birds:

http://www.ibrrc.org/

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• western
• gull
• IBRRC
• baby
• chick
• bird
• release
• nature
• habitat
• bay
• Goéland
• d'Audubon
• Gaviota
• occidental

[MyWildlifeVideos]

Eight gulls in three carriers, all very vocal. The trip from Fairfield to Berkeley certainly wasn't a quiet one! When we arrived, someone thought I was going to release cats. I stayed for about half an hour after the release.  All were fine and seemed to enjoy their new freedom.

[anmoose]

Excellent footage! As they look around and say, "Oh look! What is all of this? And what do we do with it?"

It looks like they were very happy with the new adventure, but I can imagine the uproar on the trip out there. Excedrin headache number 429...