Sandra Hardy, age 12, of Milford, Conn., for her question:

Where do sea gulls go at night?

If you have taken a long ocean voyage you know that gulls fly far, far from land. Can these birds fly night and day or do they have to find some rocky isle on which to roost? Perhaps you can discover the answer if you watch them. And you do not have to be in mid.‑ocean to do this, for there are always far more gulls around the shores.

Find a group of busy, screaming gulls near the ocean. Watch the orator carefully. Sooner or later you will spot a gull bobbing up and down on the waves. He is swimming like  duck.

So a gull does not have to find land before he can rest. He can sit down on the water and rest whenever he chooses. However, he prefers to rest on land because he is safer there. At night, contain off‑shore islands are crowded with dozing sea gulls.