I was searching through the gull flock that was poking around on the mud flats, looking for any unusual birds, when this third-summer Herring gull suddenly lurched forward, splashing through the mud and almost falling into a watery hole. When it stood erect I saw why – it had caught itself a crab.

Of course, all the other gulls then wanted a piece, and the crab catcher was forced to fly around the small bay a few times to get them off its tail. Luckily, most of the other gulls were younger and less experienced than it was, so it was able to settle and pull its catch in to bite-sized chunks – though not without very close scrutiny from the hopeful and hungry!