I snapped these Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) photos a month ago at Rockport Beach. Our local beach is actually a man-made peninsula that juts into Aransas Bay, forming a protected area known as Little Bay. Much of the Little Bay side of the peninsula is closed to recreation during breeding season to allow Laughing Gulls, Black Skimmers, terns, egrets, and herons a quiet space to raise their young.

I suppose quiet may be a relative term since the raucous calls of these gulls are loud and pervasive. I caught the earlier part of nesting season back in May. If all goes well for them, in two or three years these young ones will be nesting here also.