Some months ago my parents rescued a little seagull from the roof (after a heavy storm). They kept the bird in the balcony for 2 months until it grew big enough so it could fly. It was called Kiki and the gull became for a short while a member of our family. It was kept in the balcony but sometimes it would also “visit” the house when one of us didn’t pay attention and left the balcony door open 😀
(mouse over to play the slideshow)
Some of you would ask: how come there are seagulls in Bucharest? Well, although the sea is pretty far from Bucharest there are lots of gulls due to the fact that the river Dambovita flows through the city. Their presence is felt especially in the evening and in early morning, when they start the “surveillance” in the areas located near the river.
I’ve seen gulls many times. The most astonishing fact was when I traveled to the Greek island of Thassos and the gulls followed the ferry boat from the continental coast to the island and back, while the passengers kept feeding them with bread. This also happened because the distance was relatively short (just half an hour of travel with the ferry), yet it was pretty awesome (maybe I’ll put some pictures related to this in a future post).
However I’ve never seen a young gull until that day. The explanation is pretty simple: the gulls are very protective to their babies. Last year I was “witness” to a fight between a seagull and a crow, which tried to attack the gull’s nest. Finally the crow had to give up as the sea gull was obviously stronger. And this “war” is carried out continually year over year. In spring the gulls are more powerful, while in autumn the crows take the lead.
Now let’s enjoy the pictures. I’ve taken more rounds, first of them right after the bird was brought to our home and the others while it kept growing. Finally it started to learn to fly (once it even escaped the balcony and it was a real adventure to bring it back from the neighbors) and my parents decided it was kept long enough. They went to the park and released Kiki so the young gull can return to its fellows.
Young Kiki (first days)
As he grew older… (almost 3 weeks later)
One month later…
Call of Nature 