Start seeing seagulls

So, I'm on my way home the other day. I've got two young children in the car, plus a husband newly discharged from his outpatient surgery that day. I see a girl (maybe 11-ish) running on the side of the road, and I see a seagull. It happened fast so I'm not sure if the girl was chasing the seagull, or if the seagull happened to fly by her as she ran. And I don't know why the seagull was flying 2 feet above the ground. But it was. And it flew right on in front of me. I mean, right in front of me. I didn't even hit the brakes because it would have made no difference, and so I chose the "keep on going" route. Had I been alone, I probably would have attempted to hit the brakes but, eh, I know it wouldn't have mattered. So. Seagulls are no small bird. I mean, they aren't a turkey, but they sure ain't no chickadee either. And so. CLUNK.

Not sure what I feel worse for - the seagull itself, or the girl who witnessed the whole thing. Andy said maybe it was already in tough shape for some reason, since it was flying so low in the first place. I mean, Duluth is on a BIG lake, so seagulls are everywhere. But they don't routinely fly low to the ground in the middle of a busy street which is mostly lined by buildings on both sides. Who knows. I never will...but I can imagine up scenarios that make me feel a teeny bit better. Another plus is that surprisingly there was no damage to the van. We thought there may be since it was a pretty decent clunk we heard.

Anyways. I would like to apologize to the seagull, wherever he is. Luckily there are a bazillion more where he came from. I would feel worse if I hit, say, a dodo bird. Especially since they have been extinct since the 17th century (thanks Wikipedia).