This picture was found at the Tongass National Forest site.
I was just remembering when I was a small girl and we got to go seagull egg hunting. Early spring, that's when it would be. "Before the seagulls grow in the eggs."
Who said we should see who got the biggest egg? Probably Mom. Sometimes she would add to the fun by making a competitive game out of it all. We were on Sheep Island and the sea gulls were flying overhead ---very noisily.
We each walked off looking through the grass.
How old was I? I don't know! Maybe seven or eight?
As you can imagine, this was really fun for kids! It was like the Easter egg hunts that we have for our grandchildren, only the seagulls put the eggs out there to find.
Soon I spied the biggest egg I had ever seen! EVER!
The problem, it was out on a bit of a point with steep sides, and the nest was right at the end. I am so afraid of heights but I had never seen such a big egg! I considered the sides and the narrow patch of grass to navigate along on the top. I decided that I could do it.
So I inched my way out keeping my eyes on the egg. Closer and closer!
When I got out there, I bent over, picked up the egg, turned around carefully and inched my way back. I smiled hopefully and I was excited! I knew Mom would say this egg was the biggest one.
As I began to hurry back to the skiff and Mom and Dad, I heard a pitiful crying and turned around.
The parent seagull had landed and she was standing beside her nest and crying... crying for her baby, I thought.
I stood there with the warm egg in both of my hands, looking at her. She kept crying loudly. Oh my, shall I put her baby back? I considered for a minute or so.
No, I ran away with the egg!
Breathlessly I showed it to Mom. She looked, she compared it to the other eggs. If I remember right, it was pretty darn close, but no cigar! I ran off to hunt again.
Fun times!
7 comments:
For a moment there I thought you were going to put the egg back!
Awwwww.....Poor mama gull. I guess that's how chickens "feel".
Connie
A very cool and unusual story. Livivg in AK is so different than living in a large urban center like we do. (Poor Mama gull!)
aww... poor momma seagull. And it wasn't even the biggest after all that. ha. I can imagine you doing that even now.
My husband talks about hunting seagull eggs when he was a boy. He has some harrowing stories about climbing way up high for them.
He's getting to look forward to your posts. When I told him I had a story about seagull eggs, he said, "from Connie?"
We both enjoyed the photo. The time he spent around Sheep Island he was fishing.
Thanks for your comment today. I'm glad you liked the scripture. I've literally spent many years (all totalled) waiting for mine to come home.
Nancy
That sounds like so much fun! I can't imagine your momma watching ten kids all take off to find eggs!good times
Mom and Dad were smart by the time they had ten. They didn't bring us all at the same time. They would say, You and you and you and you... get ready we are going seagull egg hunting. One sad older one was left with the little ones.
This is such a cute story. I think it's funny the competition to have the biggest egg, over returning the egg to it's mommy. Cracks me up.
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