A large flock of red-breasted mergansers have been fishing on Sarasota Bay near our condo. One or two ring-billed gulls usually join them.
Of course, the gulls are not merely offering their companionship. Rather, they hope to steal fish that the mergansers bring to the surface. I have witnessed similar gull thievery involving pelicans, terns and cormorants, among other seabirds. One must respect their ingenuity.
We humans tend to despise such behavior but nature is not fair. Indeed, many species, including our own, often feed on the accomplishments of others.
