Fast in their bond, and on watch together above the tides lapping at the foot of their perch. Is the small collection of dried grasses and sticks to their sides a work in progress for new baby gulls to come, or have the chicks already outgrown their nest and set out on their own? Will this pairing last another season to care for and defend the next clutch together?
Whatever the future may hold for these two and their offspring, their present seaside homestead combines both rugged beauty and safety from most would-be egg snatchers. The unforgiving weather and terrain of the North Atlantic already keep the variety of predators low. The few foxes in this region are unlikely to brave the turbulence of the the water below or be able to scramble up the vertical wall. Any Greenland shark able to leap high enough to make lunch from this roost will have well earned their meal from such impressive acrobatics.
Hawks and humans remain the most potent threats, one as predator the other as desecrator. Thankfully, the latter does not have to be, nor is it always, the case.