Decorating With Nautical Birds

Apr 7th 2015

Seabird Lore

Seabirds and sailors are intertwined in fact and folklore so we thought it might be fun to look at a few facts and stories concerning them.

Fishermen looking for good fishing grounds often watch for flocks of seabirds that are feeding at sea. The seabirds eat the same bait fish that draw in the big predatory fish that the fishermen are after.

Large flocks of fairy terns are most often found close to shore, so a ship’s crew knows that they are close to land when they spot large flocks of these birds.

In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the narrator shot an albatross from the ship; killing an albatross was considered extremely unlucky. When the ship began suffering from worsening weather conditions, his fellow sailors made him wear the dead bird around his neck in penance for his deed. To this day, an “albatross around the neck” means an overwhelming burden or bad luck.

And finally, the Tsimshian people of Alaska have a charming legend to explain why so many Alaskan gulls have black wing tips. Raven was cooking a bunch of small fish he had caught over a fire when a flock of gulls showed up and ate all his fish. He was so angry that he threw the gulls into the fire where their wing tips were scorched; that‘s why they still have black wing tips today!

Add some nautical bird decor to your home and you’ll always feel a bit of the romance of the sea. Pelicans, gulls, herons, flamingoes or penguins; sitting, standing or flying across your wall - we have flocks of seabirds with which to decorate your home and give it some nautical flair.