Wednesday, December 06, 2017

Great Black-backed Gull

The Great Black-Backed Gull (Laurus marinus) is a common sight on Ocracoke's beach, especially during the winter months. According to local bird-watcher, Peter Vankevich, this is the largest gull in the world, with a wingspan of up to five feet.

Photo by Peter Vankevich













You can read more about this beautiful seagull in Peter's article in the Ocracoke Observer.

This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is my analysis of a sentence penned by surveyor Jonathan Price in 1795. The sentence reads, "Occacock was heretofore, and still retains the name of, an island. It is now a peninsula; a heap of sand having gradually filled up the space which divided it from the bank."  You can read my analysis here: https://www.villagecraftsmen.com/description-occacock-1795/.  

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous7:59 AM

    It is neat to see those. They look so huge compared to the more common gulls on the island. As a child, I loved the look and sound of the seagulls, because it meant we were back on the island. Then, when I was about 10 years old, gulls starting showing up and staying year round in the parking lots of grocery stores in our town. Pretty interesting, considering I grew up in the mountains of SW Virginia. We were told that they "blew in with a strong wind" and stayed because the parking lots resembled beaches. I don't know if there is any truth to that, but I know they hung around for years afterwards. They weren't quite as charming in the mountains as they were on the coast!

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