Asphalt Beaches
Gulls and Parking Lots
At this time of year, natural beaches frequented by gulls, become covered in deep snow, and are less accessible to various species of gull accustomed to loafing there. Parking lots in shopping plazas seem to have become substitutes for natural areas, and it is rare to visit the parking area of a large shopping plaza and not find gulls. No doubt the unrelieved flatness of the area is attractive and the fact that the asphalt retains heat probably also contributes to its appeal.
This lone American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus was the sole representative of its species, among the more numerous Ring-billed Gulls Larus delawarensis.
Many friendly humans stop by to deliver food and no doubt this contributes to the desirability of parking lots also.
