For the Birds...

This weather is for the birds. Seven degrees? Really?

It doesn't seem to affect the seagulls, however. They remain vigilant on their perches on rooftops all over town. Which leads me to wonder: What makes clinging to the pinnacle of a roof so attractive anyway?

Unlike the famous fiddler who balanced precariously on the roof in his small town of Anatevka, birds gather on rooftops for a number of reasons, none of which have anything to do with tradition.

Safety is paramount, so they pick high, convenient places where they are least in danger from predators. Power lines serve that purpose best, but even though rooftops are a riskier alternative, the gulls in Montauk seem to prefer them. Or, perhaps, when a business has named itself after your inclination to sit on top of its building, they just feel obligated.

According to my modest amount of research, in addition to finding safe harbor, the gulls also gather to check out food sources, socialize and groom one another. In other words, they're pretty much like us, getting together to gossip, find good places to eat and watch out for one another.

At Gosman's...a little off-we-go-into-the-wild-blue-yonder...

...before returning to the perch

So, if part of the reason they're perched up there is to swap news and catch up on neighborhood gossip, why, I wondered, do they all face the same direction, which would seem counter-intuitive to an exchange of views? Scientists believe it's all about the direction of the wind, since birds have an easier time taking off and landing when facing into the wind. Plus, they say, any other direction would ruffle their feathers.

Well, that would explain it. No one likes to have their feathers ruffled.

What happens when birds can't read.

A loner