Laughing Gulls

Most of the gulls in Pamlico Sound are laughing gulls. There are also herring gulls, but they have no sense of humor. They even attack the laughing gulls' nests. Right now the laughing gulls are in their dress whites for mating season: Sleek white bodies, jet black caps and silky gray wings. In Englehard, they raise such a ruckus of laughter at sunset, we have to come out to see what's up. They wheel around the boat laughing uproariously. Maybe it's because they, like us, can't believe their good fortune in getting to be here, at dusk.