Maine Seagulls: Are They Our First Warning for Impending Storms?

Generally, Mainers have a love/hate relationship with seagulls.

I remember when I first moved to Portland right after high school, my mom thought it was so cool that I could live somewhere that I could hear seagulls all the time. I honestly didn't think much of it. But she thought it was such a relaxing, almost meditative sound. I thought it sounded like a bunch of cats clamoring for tuna.

On the other hand, I've seen the dirty side of seagulls. I've seen them eating out of dumpsters. I've seen them crap on a tourist's head (that wasn't so bad). I even watched a seagull eat a cigarette butt. However, it would seem they do have a use to humans far beyond watching their zany hijinks.

Seagulls can actually help predict the weather.

If you are out and about and you know bad weather may be approaching, watch the seagulls flight patterns. If seagulls are flying low, the Old Farmer's Almanac says that seagulls have very predictable patterns when bad weather is near. If a storm is coming they'll often fly further inland, or keep close to the water's surface in low pressure.

To be fair, most birds have an innate reaction to weather and will display unusual behavior. For instance, fowl like turkeys, will often roost when rain is imminent. If you're walking in the woods and birds are quiet, it could mean rain. By the same token, if it's been raining and it's all of a sudden alive with bird sounds, the rain is likely to stop.

Can seagulls really predict earthquakes?!

The safe answer is, maybe? According to an article from Sciencing.com, seagulls can detect what are called infrasounds. These are low pulses beyond the range of human hearing. Often, earthquakes and big storms can emit these infrasounds ahead of the potential disaster. Seagulls are able to detect these sounds.

Now, the USGS makes sure to point out that, though seagulls may be able to detect these infrasounds, they are not an accurate tool for predicting a potential quake. Although in China they still compile data that could support it. Either way, maybe it's a better idea to watch those nasty seagulls than we thought.

Speaking of bad weather, a lot of people are still grappling of the aftermath of our last big storm. Scope these photos of the damage.