Landfill: Notes on Gull Watching and Trash Picking in the Anthropocene

In an eclectic book taking in memoir, literary analysis, philosophical rumination, and scientific discourse, British naturalist Dee offers an homage to gulls. He discusses viewing them in the U.K. and South Africa while quoting, at length and almost randomly, the thoughts of various British ornithologists specializing in gulls. He also offers critiques of various literary works that feature these birds, including both Samuel Beckett’s bleak play Endgame and Richard Bach’s kitschy novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull. While intriguing, the disparate parts don’t quite come together. A theme consistent throughout, however, is Dee’s contention that gulls have changed their behavior in response to both climate change and urbanization, moving inland in many cases, and living lives much more entwined with humans. As this has occurred, humans have begun to see gulls as pests, and even to fear their presence. Dee is best at discussing scientific conundrums, such as the genetic advances that have led to taxonomists splitting long-recognized species into newly separate categories that appear, to birders in the field, to be the same. While there’s much to savor, Dee’s scope is so broad that few readers will find their attention held throughout. [em](Mar.) [/em]