The protection for seagulls is federal in nature and the fine for just harassing one is steep to say the least.
There was a story here in Oregon about a young state patrol officer who was watching some people digging clams.
He was at an elevated site over looking some sand flats when a car drove up and parked under a bridge.
This guy got out of the front seat and walked to the trunk of the car where he unzipped what appeared to be a gun case.
He pulled out a shotgun and then rummaged around and came up with some shells and preceded to load several rounds into the weapon.
The officer thought this was odd as no hunting seasons were in effect at the time.
The fellow walked under the bridge which caused him to be out of the officers sight and also caused the officer to move his position to keep the man in sight when and if he came out the other side.
The officer had just got into position to observe the behavior of the person when the fellow appeared, coming out from under the bridge.
He only walked a few yards when several seagulls flew off of some old timbers from an old bridge and the man promptly shot one.
Having seen the whole affair the officer was thinking of the story he was going to be able to tell and that a little interaction with a few federal officers might not be such a bad thing, not to mention the fine he might get to write up.
He threw his vehicle into gear and made his way down to the main road where he hit the lights and siren.
When he got to the pull off where the man had left the road to park he called for back up, blocked the exit and made his way on foot to try and intercept the seagull shooter.
By this time the fellow had returned to his car and had already cased the shotgun and was in the act of closing the trunk.
The officer having firm probable cause, asked the man to please step away from the trunk and step to the front of the car.
The man complied and the officer walked over to the car and looked into the trunk. When he did he saw two gulls in the trunk not just one as the fellow had shot one after the officer had left the overlook.
He informed the man that seagulls were protected and that he was under arrest.
The man allowed that he knew that gulls were protected but that he had to feed his family with something and that the gulls were numerous and easy to shoot and that he could often get several with just one shell.
The officer exclaimed, You really eat these things.
The man says "oh yeah", in fact since he had been laid off from his job when the local mill shut down and the fact that someone had given him the shotgun and a couple boxes of shells, it was one of the main staples in keeping his wife and kids fed.
The officer just couldn't resist asking what a seagull might taste like.
The fellow promptly replied, "kind of like a cross between a Spotted Owl and a Bald Eagle"
Got Ya.
