It’s a quirky neighbourhood, this. At daybreak we’re often rudely awakened with a loud knocking on our patio glass doors: with a “ke-kah-ka-ee-ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha….” a cry so raucously loud, it sounds quite gutteral with glottal stop intonation. It’s “Nelson” attacking his reflection. As you will note that beck is thick and sturdy, and he attacks with gusto.
At times, when we spend periods away from home, we return to discover unexpected gifts – the regurgitated shells from molluscs foraged in the tidal zone (most often Top shells (Diloma sinensis).
One morning, i discovered the delicate vertebrae bones of a small snake laying discarded in a discreet pile. Scavengers that they are, snakes in their diet should not have come as a surprise. But now i tend to keep a wary eye out for his antics as he swoops in flying low, not totally trusting what the next deposit may entail.
Nature on the Edge 
A very interesting neighbor, to say the least! 🙂
🙂 yes these individualistic characters add to the ‘theatre’ here!
I’m amazed that they can swallow and then regurgitate such scratchy stuff!
Alison
Our neighbours are not so thoughtful! 😉
This is a delightful tale beautifully presented – and very interesting too! Our Hadedas simply serenade us very early in the morning and sometimes in the middle of the night.
Goodness, Hadedas can make a hell of a racket. That lends the term ‘serenading’ a colourful terminology 🙂 And in the middle of the night! What are they up to, one wonders?
They are excellent ‘guard birds’ – it’s not easy to move about stealthily when they are perched in a tree at night (:
That’s a wonderful security feature 🙂
Wow! That’s so fascinating! A complete vertebrae of a snake. 🙂
Isn’t it a super keepsake 🙂 I was very happy with the bleached white effect.
It looks real close to our Pacific gull a beautiful bird!!
Interesting comment – what a successful species with worldwide distribution 🙂
The snake skeleton is excellent! And he is not unlike our Herring Gull.
Was chuffed to find the snake bones 🙂 Interesting to hear that the Herring Gull looks similar. Had a comment from Therese over at “Treesshrubs” in OZ also likening the Kelp to a Pacific Gull. Successful species with variation on worldwide distribution.
What a rewarding find! I do love beachcombing for this very reason. Nature is always spitting up something worth finding.
Yes, nature is so rewarding. Just love sleuthing for answers too.
Gulls certainly make interesting neighbours! I love the eclectic gifts yours leaves – do you think he’s ‘courting’ his reflection? My daughter has Herring Gulls that nest on her roof and I’ve watched males bring all kinds of things and presented them to his mate, usually hard things like beach pebbles and the like, and also bits of bone. Nothing as exotic as a snake skeleton though, very impressive!
What a wonderful notion of ‘courting’ with gifts. I hadn’t considered this aspect! He’s certainly attracted to his reflection, but is fiercely territorial. There’s another habit going on as well, that of dropping shells to crack them open on hard surfaces. Looks a bit like a banqueting hall with bits and pieces all strewn around. I’m intrigued now, will have to observe more carefully to note the timing and ‘delivery’ of the shell gifts.