Friday, August 26, 2011

The Birds

It's a constant. You've done your 7th inning stretch and then they start swooping in. First it's one or two circling the top of the park and then by the middle of the 8th inning it's flocks of those scavengers just parking themselves at the top of the stadium. They're aimlessy looking down at the loyal orange and black....waiting for us to gather our belongings and head home. Their timing is impeccable.  I've always wondered if they send one feathered friend out to the stadium to survey the game... see if the Giant's are up, tied or losing, see if its a crowd worth flying in for, what inning the team is in, then go back to the dumps (where I'm pretty sure that crowd of gulls are from, well that or Pier 39) have a round table discussion, vote on who's going, then fly back. 

I know...I have an active imagination, but it's sorta funny to think about. I mean how DO they know? Well, looking up some seagull facts I learned that they are highly intelligent. In fact, the trustworthy Wikipedia site states that seagulls "are resourceful, inquisitive and intelligent birds, demonstrating complex methods of communication and a highly developed social structure. For example, many gull colonies display mobbing behaviour, attacking and harassing would-be predators and other intruders."

Upon further Seagull research, a little article written in San Francisco's 7X7 Magazine earlier this year explains "that the 7th inning stretch is what cues the gulls to prepare for a feast.  The commotion of 40,000 people simultaneously standing and singing is the tip off. Gulls are very good at recognizing predictors for when food is going to become available. They have learned that the 7th inning stretch means that people will soon be clearing out of the stadium, leaving behind a plethora of half eaten, (and luckily in our ballpark) gourmet food." 

This 2011 season  I've noticed that these flying pirates are not too afraid of humans. They really don't care if you're still in your seat after the last out of the game. They will start pacing up and down the stairs and aisles in search of food scraps. At some point, they're going to just go for it, right? You're chomping down on your Sheboygan, savoring the carefully chosen toppings hugging your dog and here it comes, a big ol' 21 inch gull stealing your last bite and possibly taking some of your face with it. Oy.

So what are the Giants doing about this if anything? As of late July, early August they were looking into a Falcon domination if you will. According to a few news reports the Giants were going to bring a falcon to nest around the ballpark. Apparently this will intimidate the gulls from hanging around the park. At the time of this blog, I have no idea if they hired that Falcon yet, but by the looks of last night's game it didn't seem so.

SO my orange and black faithful, the next time you're at the park remember;  Heads up, Sheboygans down until Falcon domination is officially confirmed.


Random thought: wouldn't it be great if the actual Giant's team had a Falcon that would dominate all the scavenger teams that have been picking us apart? Then I wouldn't have to write about the seagull problem and more about our AWESOME team........ :/





GO GIANTS!