Gulls live all over the world and live in magical places where the land meets the sea, but also on the shores of lakes and riverbanks. They are incredibly adaptable species, undemanding and naturally equipped to live in various climates.
No wonder they can be found almost everywhere on our planet. Gulls are a family of many subspecies; there are about forty different types of seagulls, but they all share similar characteristics. All seagulls love the waters of the world, first and foremost.
These amazing shorebirds have long wings, sharp, characteristic beaks and short, square tails. Their feet have skin membranes designed for swimming, but seagulls aren’t actually seabirds. They come in many sizes and color variations depending on a specific subspecies.
As gulls are most often seen in ports and sea coasts, they are associated with sailing, ships, sea travel and the sea in general. Seeing a seagull is a sign of hope for any sailor returning from a long expedition, across miles and miles of endless waterscapes.
Seagulls are amazing birds in nature, in addition to their symbolic value for sailors and people in general.
They are known for being faithful and loyal partners; a pair of seagulls remember forever together. Their union represents unconditional love, mutual respect and loyalty. They are also caring and protective parents.
Both male and female sea gulls take good care of their eggs and their young ones; both seagulls feed and watch over them. Gulls have an amazing social structure and behavior.
Once the chicks come to this world, they attend some kind of “day nursery” from seagulls to small birds. The aviary is constantly neglected and cared for by several older male seagulls.
The little ones play, have fun, fight amongst themselves and learn all the skills necessary for survival. Gulls should not leave this special aviary until they are able to take care of themselves. Gulls are incredibly ingenious birds.
They are able to find food almost anywhere and are notorious for being nitpicky. Also, seagulls are intelligent birds.
For example, they know how to get the juicy, delicious meat out of shells. They also dig food from the ground, hunt rodents and small fish. Seagulls literally clean beaches of all sorts of things that we consider robin, so in some countries they are nationally protected species.
Another surprising fact about seagulls is that these birds are able to drink salt water from the sea; they have a special set of glands that allow them to “process” salt water and discard the salt content by mouth.
Cultural importance of sea gulls
Known as intelligent birds, seagulls have fascinated people for a long time. Not only are they tough, survivable, skillful and ingenious, sea gulls also demonstrate incredible communication skills.
Their vocal and motor skills include a wide variety of complex signals that help seagulls exchange important information with each other.
There are many other reasons people are fascinated by seagulls.
Utah people in the United States have been grateful to sea gulls since the first half of the 19th century. In 1848, Mormon pioneers in Utah faced a devastating invasion of gluttonous locusts.
As we know, locusts in large numbers bring disasters to people’s crops and damage the entire food production chain, leaving the land barren, which then triggers famine and all that goes with it.
Fortunately, there were many sea gulls in Utah. Without knowing it, the seagulls helped people to defeat the merciless invasion of the locusts. In memory of this event, known as the Miracle of the Gulls, the people of Utah built a memorial statue in Salt Lake City.
A similar event took place in California a century later, when seagulls exterminated thousands of locusts that were destroying people’s crops in the area.
People familiar with the advantages of having seagulls near their villages greatly respect and admire seagulls, but so do others, who have no real benefit from seagulls. However, thanks to their fascinating nature, seagulls are symbolically valued around the world.
Seagulls represent a lot of things and we’ll talk about that a little later. There are also countless folk tales and incredible legends about seagulls. An Innu legend tells of a seagull who saved two teddy bears from a scary monster that killed their mother.
Native American tribes have always had a special appreciation for these birds, and gulls were a common clan totem animal. Two good examples of gull clans are the Athna and Chippewa tribes.
Gulls are commonly featured in American Indian tribal art, but are present in other traditions around the world.
In ancient Greece, seagulls were associated with the so-called “white goddess”, Leukothea, a beautiful and beloved nymph.
Of course, we have to mention the importance of seagull symbolism for all seafarers.
Sailors often put on a tattoo depicting a seagull, as a lucky charm.
For all sailors, from admirals to the boys on the ship, seagulls represent freedom, hope, safe travel and a safe return home. Seeing a seagull means you are close to shore, close to any shore that can offer help if needed, or close to a shore in your homeland.
Even in the toughest marine veterans, the sight of seagulls can trigger an avalanche of the most fragile and pure emotions, of incredible joy and relief after a long voyage.
Seagull Symbolism
Seagull symbolizes optimism, positivity, freedom and hope. At the same time, it represents bonds, loyalty and warmth. Gulls are linked to the coast; however, they never seem restricted and restricted. They fly freely and take good care of themselves.
Gulls are capable, skillful and ingenious birds, so they symbolize both self-sufficiency and confidence. They are sociable and represent the importance of unity and community.
Seagulls represent light spirit, optimism and energy. They are, in a way, sailors of fate. Seagulls represent our ability to adapt to life’s situations and follow our destiny without fighting it.
This is a free spirit; to be able to accept things you cannot change, but to make the best of what the world has to offer. Gulls also represent toughness, strength and flexibility. They encourage us to endure and overcome all difficult times and enjoy happy ones.
These birds symbolize calm, fearlessness and harmony. As you know, seagulls share habitat with humans, but actually they don’t have much direct interaction with us.
However, they are not afraid of humans or other living beings; they act calmly and continue to do their business.
As gulls are associated with good omens for sailors, they symbolize good omens in general; seeing a seagull means you’re about to get some good news.
Seagulls represent the hope of better times and are considered lucky and lucky. They represent freedom of mind and open-mindedness, but also selflessness and altruism.
They embody the idea of a perfect balance between personal needs and compassion, risky adventure and safe return, openness to new ideas, no disrespect for the little things we already have.
Seagulls logically symbolize the power of the sea, sea travel and travel in general.
Furthermore, on a more abstract level, they represent the human soul and its spiritual journey.
Seagulls symbolize spiritual development and the incredible ability of our soul and mind to travel through real and spiritual landscapes in search of a higher divine purpose.
Seagull Totem and Spiritual Powers
The seagull is a wonderful totem that offers calm and constant guidance throughout life. Seagull Totem teaches us that life is about finding the perfect balance between having really good, fun times and being responsible. Seagull people are therefore some of the most emotionally stable and calm individuals.
They are caring, loving, and kind, but they also know when to be tough, determined, and unappetizing. Gull folk have a warm heart and armor of robbery. The seagull people are adventurous and inventive. They love to take risks and step into new projects that are surprising, exciting and inspiring.
However, they always try to make sense of what they are about to do. They believe you should be cautious and considerate, but not obsessive about planning and organizing.
You cannot take control of everything, all the time. You must be flexible and ready to change; every seagull person would tell you that.
These optimistic individuals have a lot of energy and their spirits are always high.
They are not prone to sadness and depression; when times are tough, they keep fighting. They maintain their position but are not stubborn. They have good intuition and are able to feel and decide when they’ve had enough.
Seagull people are not easily discouraged; they know whether to step back and take some time to gather their strength and move on.
These amazing people are easy to get along with; they have advice for everyone and many inspiring stories to tell.
They are modest people and not demanding in terms of material goods. They are communicative and talkative and have a strong sense of the importance of maintaining good relationships with other people. They are usually involved in some kind of charity work or something.
Seagull people love to help others and are very supportive of their loved ones. Seagull people never give up hope that life can get better and truly value what they have. Seagull people don’t take life for granted.
This is probably the best lesson they have learned from their incredible animal spirit.
For the seagull people, each person has its value, everything has its place, and each situation has its time.
Life is what you make it, so don’t be afraid to live it. Furthermore, the seagull people are among the most intelligent and resourceful. They could make a life out of nothing because they have as much faith in life as it is.
They would never give up and will gladly encourage others not to give up.
Seagull people can seem easy to go and relax and they are; however, they are not lacking in responsibility and are not thoughtless or reckless.
They are also very compassionate and would never harm another person unless they were deeply hurt or provoked for no proper reason.
