Until I turned around to head back! Eventually driven off by the incoming tide, I decided it was time to scramble back up the cliff to higher ground and a dry vantage point. But when I turned back, the rocks behind me were *covered* with gulls. Gulls bathing in puddles, gulls loafing. Gulls threatening their neighbors to back off and leave space. And gulls fluttering. But the center of the activity, the midst of the surprisingly quiet chaos, was one man. One, solitary human, standing out on the rocks, with a bag of what appeared to be cheetos. This wasn't a standard bag, it was probably 2 feet tall. And this man was not your regular - toss popcorn out the car window - gull feeder. He, and the gulls, clearly had a relationship - a familiarity - a pattern. And I was witnessing their bond, and a unique display of trust.
This amazing person fed the gulls one at a time, and one piece of food at a time. He would look at the nearest gull, make eye contact, and hold the snack of food towards that bird. The indicated bird came over, in an orderly fashion, and accepted the treat. Some birds took the food from his hand. Others hovered overhead, and waited for the snack to be tossed into the air. After the birds took the food - they flew to a nearby rock to eat while the next bird queued up. This was not a gull free for all, not to say there wasn't the occasional misunderstanding or normal gull squabble over possesion of the food - but on the whole, it was an orderly procession.