The herring gulls have started to congregate in the Grand Marais harbor before heading south for warmer climates. I watched them for a couple of mornings this week. I don’t know where they come from or where they go but it’s pretty impressive to see so many in one time.

My guess is there are approximately 10,000 gulls around Grand Marais right now. They fill the sky when they all take flight. In the attached photo taken at sunrise, some of the gulls are lifting off as Harley Toftey harvests herring from his nets.