Pecking Order

An adult Gull is relaxing and enjoying some morning sunshine.  His perch is an old piling near Ala Spit, off Whidbey Island, Washington.

When joined by a juvenile, the adult assumes a more alert stance.  The juvenile takes a groveling, submissive posture, as if to say, "please, do you mind if I join you."

The adult will have none of it, however, and evicts the juvenile from the piling.  The youngster has learned a coming-of-age lesson about pecking order in the world of gulls.