Laughing Flycatcher

Nearly 40 years of birding and I’ve never seen this. It’s not as if this Laughing Gull only briefly alighted on the wire here in High Island, Texas. It stayed put for at least 20 minutes while I was watching shorebirds. Every so often you might find a shorebird — maybe an Upland Sandpiper, a Wilson’s Snipe or even a Willet — on a wire. But a gull? Check out those feet. They’re not exactly designed for this. But, hey, perhaps we’re seeing some gull evolution in action here. After all, we find gulls everywhere from out at sea to our favorite fast-food joints. So why not the high-wire act? I also spent some time in the good company of Black Skimmers and Royal Terns.