Bird of the week – Kelp gull
Its Zulu name is ngababa, which is the same as the white stork or heron.
THE kelp gull is found all along the South African and Namibian coastline.
Its call is a plaintive screaming ‘meew’ and staccato ‘ko- ko- ko- ko- ko’.
This bird’s habitat includes estuaries, coastal beaches, off -shore waters and rubbish dumps, and it is rarely found inland.
Solitary or gregarious, the kelp gull forages on beaches, over water or on dumps, walking or flying. It follows ships for up to 200km from land for scraps.
Its flight is slow and leisurely, with much gliding. The bird drops molluscs from the air onto rocks to break them and feeds on fish, offal, sand mussels, limpets, insects, birds eggs and their young.
It breeds from September until March. Its nest is a scrape in the ground, built up with grass, twigs, feathers and seaweed.
The female lays one to three eggs, but only one or two are reared by both parents.
The eggs are pale olive green, turquoise or ochre brown, spotted and blotched with brown, black or grey. Incubation lasts 26 to 28 days and the young fly at six to seven weeks and are independent by eight weeks.
Its Zulu name is ngababa, which is the same as the white stork or heron.
