Seagulls are special birds particularly they are quite a sight to watch when they stand on single leg. You are wondering how do baby seagulls learn to fly. This article is about every aspect of their flying – how soon they fly, how they start flying, what are the first baby steps and some videos showing them fly.
Baby seagulls learn to fly around their forty fifth day of being born. They learn to fly by encouragement by parent birds, short practice jumps, in attempt to find food or due to their survival instinct.
How Do Baby Seagulls Learn To Fly?
Baby seagulls usually leave their nests within a day of being born. Yes, you heard that right! Unlike other birds, baby seagulls learn to become independent quite early after their birth. That said, they stay near their nests for the next 40 days. Baby seagulls usually begin flying around their 45th day, although their parents still feed them for up to four weeks. Some baby seagulls stick with their parents for as long as six months, even if they have left the nest. They insist on being fed by their parents and continue demanding food, although most tend to join other immature gulls.
Interestingly, baby seagulls tend to learn to fly when their parents encourage them to follow them. This usually happens when they are hungry and irritable. It might take a few short practise jumps and attempts before they fully take off, but their instincts are sharp, and when it comes to hunger, they are eager to fly so that they can find food.
Seagull babies are semi precocial. This means that they are covered with down when they are born, their eyes are open, and they can already walk. This alone shows just how independent they are right from their birth. These immature gulls grow rather quickly and are super active. This is also why they sometimes fall from their nests.
The thing that most prompts baby seagulls to fly is hunger and their basic survival instinct. Some seagull parents even starve their young ones of food to encourage them to fly sooner rather than later. This is a defense mechanism employed by seagulls to keep predators at bay because if they have to take care of their young ones and feed them for a prolonged period, this leaves them defenseless and more prone to attacks. This is also why young seagulls are highly intelligent birds, and they learn to fly, swim and look after themselves sooner than other species of birds.
Videos Of How Baby Seagulls Fly Over A Period Of Time
Seagulls are interesting birds, and over time, countless YouTubers, seagull lovers and bird enthusiasts have recorded how baby seagulls learn to fly. Let us check out some of the most popular videos explaining the behavioural patterns of seagull babies in different stages of flying!
Video by channel The Dodo on “Rescue Baby Seagull learns to fly in just 6 weeks”
This is a fascinating video that shows how a rescued baby seagull learned to fly in just six weeks after being rescued. As witnessed in the video, baby seagulls grow rather quickly and have a voracious appetite. In week 4, their wings start growing a little bit, which is a sign that they will start flying soon. Within a couple of weeks, their wings are really impressive and a sight to behold. During this time, the fluffiness that is associated with baby seagulls starts going away, and the feathers start coming in. In week 5, baby seagulls properly begin flapping their wings and show a few signs of taking flight. Although they won’t be able to fly very high at this point, they get there by week 6. As seen in the video, the rescued baby seagull flew away by week 6.
Video by channel “Martin Krhut”
As mentioned above, seagull parents sometimes starve their babies to encourage them to fly. At this point, baby seagulls would usually try to get any food they could find on the ground so as not to take flight. As is evident in the video, the baby seagull is trying to call its parents over and over to feed it, but they won’t come. This kind of tactic is often employed by parent seagulls so that their babies can fly sooner rather than later. This kind of practice is very common in baby seagulls, and it actually works as little gulls learn to fly in no time after being abandoned by their parents. The baby seagull in the video is trying to lift itself up from the grass and flap its wings in an attempt to fly. The baby gull is also seen scanning its surroundings for other birds or people so that it can continue its flying practice. The baby seagull then takes a break for a few hours before reattempting to fly. Ultimately, it flew away in search of food.
How Do Birds Usually Learn To Fly?
Watching birds fly can be an awe-inspiring experience because they fly with elegance and effortless grace. That said, birds are not born with the knowledge of flying, just like human babies do not take birth knowing how to walk. The process of learning to fly generally involves a lot of trial and error, but birds usually rely on their instincts when it comes to flying. Frequent falls and stumbles are quite common, and the process requires some practice. No bird can learn to fly in a day or two.
Sometimes, seagull parents even drop their babies from their nests so that they are forced to find their way back. The only way to make the long journey back to their nest is by learning how to fly. Once these little babies realize that they have fallen from their nests and are responsible for finding their own food, it becomes easier for them to spread their wings and take the next steps. Once they are easily able to spread their wings, they learn to flap them and then flapping changes to flying over a period of time. However, around this time, the manner of their flying is not exactly graceful. They still need to practice quite a bit and learn how to properly take off from the ground and discover the impact of the wind on the flight. That said, it all becomes natural with time.
Food For Thought
If you ever find a fallen baby seagull, the chances are that its parents have dropped the baby from the nest to encourage them to fly. Hence, try not to move them and leave them alone so that they are forced to learn to fly.
