I've been utilizing my vantage point of being on the water to observe three types of birds that are expert fishers. One of the bird-types is what I would call the traditional seagull. I'm certain that there are many sub-species of gulls but for purposes of this posting, I'll simply refer to them as seagulls. There is another bird that closely resembles the iconic seagull but even after thirty or more minutes of web surfing, I was unable to find a picture of said bird, so I'll refer to it only as a "gull". The other fishing bird, here in the channel, is the hard-to-miss pelican. Captain SO and I have had many uninterrupted moments for bird-watching opportunities and I have concluded that these three types of birds are not dissimilar to three personality types of humans.
The traditional seagull is a bully. It is known to be a smart and conniving bird but after watching it fish and move about in its colony, I would conclude that each seagull survives only because it is capable of throwing its weight around, scaring the weaker of its cronies into submission. Seagulls are not only very large fishers, but very exceptionally noisy ones and they are not shy about either throwing their weight around nor making their likes and dislikes known for miles around.
Know anyone like that?
The "gull" is a more highly skilled fisher and relies on speed, cunning, and skill with which to keep its belly full. It is the Emeril Lagasse of the three birds. It fishes with a flight plan in mind, coasting on the wind, keeping its eyes glued to the water until it spies a suitable, unsuspecting fish and, BAM!, it zooms to the water and captures the fish - all within a split second. It's efficiency is remarkable and commendable yet somewhat disturbing in its clinical efficiency. Yes, the "gull" does communicate but not as much as the seagull. The "gull" seems to rely on skill and agility with which to feed itself. It does not seem to need to bully other "gulls" in order to fill its belly.
Know anyone like that?
Then there is the pelican. Unlike gulls, that hunt noisily from the air, the gentle-giant pelicans fish from the water's surface, moving slowly and deliberately. Here, at least, they appear to fish in pairs, not needing to compete with other birds in order to feed themselves. The pelican may move slowly, appearing to be half asleep while fishing, but make no mistake, its pedantic movements belie its fishing prowess. Just as soon as you think the great bird(s) cannot possibly be capable of catching its breakfast, lunch or dinner, its giant shovel-like mouth opens and its head disappears briefly below the water, all the while soundless and appearing effortless in its movements.
There is nothing flashy, obnoxious nor noisy about the pelican. It moves slowly but with great focus and, in the end, great success. The pelican is much more relaxing to watch and be around.
Know anyone like that?
We all can identify humans who fit into the three bird-descriptive categories. I'm afraid that I could be any one of the three types of fishers but I know the one I'd prefer to be most of the time.
Slow, steady, dependable and quiet.
Ancora imparo
