Birds that Live Near the Ocean

Some birds really love to make their home near the coast line. Who could blame them? If I could fly at will, I would love to be near the ocean too.

Having gone deep sea fishing a couple summers back, I recall how smart some birds were, to be following our boat in hopes of catching little scraps as the fishermen were cleaning their fishes. Those seagulls make some great scavengers. They are always on the alert for something new to eat.

Another time, my two year old son was having lunch at the beach, and a seagull quietly sneaked up and stole his sandwich.  My little boy has just turned away for only a second! The cutest thing about this, was when my son said, "Mom, he didn't even say please!!" I always get a chuckle when recalling that memory. :)

Since seagulls are by far the bird I have most often seen at the ocean, I am going to spend some time here on them in particular. Did you know that seagulls can drink both salt and fresh water? They have special glands, above their eyes, that help to flush out the salt. The salt is flushed out through small openings in their bills. So they can survive better in places where fresh water is scarce. They can live from 5-15 years approximately, though there are instances of some living up to 25 years. Their eggs take about 26 days to hatch from the time they are laid. You will rarely see a young gull, for their parents are very protective and will continue to feed them for quite a while where they are. Upon reaching a more juvenile age, you will see smaller mottled colored gulls flying with their parent. They are just a bit smaller, though not much.

Some other birds to keep a look out for, while along coastlines are loons, grebes, penguins, albatross, petrels, frigate birds, boobies (like the Nazca booby), and gannets. There are also flycatchers, ibis, herons, egrets, sandpipers and oystercatchers. (There are more, and many different types of the above mentioned birds.) Living in the United States, I am content seeing birds I can, and hope to catch glimpses of the some of the rest in zoos and on animal shows/documentaries.