My Favorite Summer Entertainment

It has excitement, screams, and nature all rolled into one.

Lori Kalli

6/10/20261 min read

It’s almost summer, and things are starting to pick up here at the Jersey Shore. Folks come from far and wide to spend their vacations by the ocean, and I have to admit, it’s an exciting time of year. After being cooped up inside all winter, I’m more than ready for warm sunshine, cool ocean breezes, and a front-row seat to one of my favorite forms of entertainment.

Tourists versus seagulls.

Now, those of us who live at the shore know exactly what to expect from those feathered little bandits.

Don’t get me wrong, I love seagulls. They’re beautiful as they glide on ocean winds and scamper along the sand, dancing just ahead of the waves. But they also happen to be opportunists with wings.

Watching unsuspecting tourists discover this fact is quite entertaining.

It usually starts with someone tossing a chip into the air. One gull swoops down and snatches it. The tourist smiles and thinks, “Well, isn’t that cute?”

That’s when trouble begins.

Within seconds, ten or twenty gulls appear out of nowhere. I’m convinced they have a secret communication system. One minute there’s a single bird. The next minute, it looks like an airborne invasion.

The gulls dive. The tourist panics. The bag of chips goes flying.

The air fills with squawking and screaming.

Well, mostly screaming. And it’s not coming from the birds.

What a hoot.

So if you happen to visit the Jersey Shore this summer and come face-to-face with one of our wonderful seagulls, take a little advice from me. Admire them. Photograph them. Wave politely if you must.

But whatever you do, don’t feed them unless you enjoy sprinting up the beach with a flock of hungry gulls chasing you and plotting how to steal your lunch.

Trust me. The gulls always win.