Opportunists on the Fast Food Circuit

The nearest branch of my fast food provider of choice at lunchtime (known for its "Famous Chicken 'N Biscuits") serves not only as a magnet for creatures like me, but also for our inland community of gulls.  Year after year, a colony of Ring Billed Gulls takes up seasonal residence around that parking lot in the great American city of Durham.  Evidently it's a pretty good deal.  Restaurants in three directions (offering a melange of Tex-Mex, Japanese, pizza, casual American, and such); good perching locations; and people just dim enough to feed these birds from the remnants of their frightening lunches.   It's a little sad that these gulls have acquired a reputation for being garbage pickers.  They are such fascinating creatures, and smart ones too.  That they have found that niche in a fast food parking lot is, of course, unfortunate.  But one suspects they'd get scowls all around if they took up residence at upscale bistros serving watercress vinaigrette or whatever people eat there.  Like others that delightedly adapted to urban life, gulls are now part of our days.  I'll try to enjoy their presence.