Ten thousand gulls?

Surely he exaggerates!

The north arm of Wascana Lake is approximately 1/8th of a mile (660 feet) across from north to
south, and is east to west almost 3/8ths of a mile (1,980 feet) from Willow Island to Albert Street Bridge
(the causeway).
The gulls covered the Lake from its north shore and Willow Island to a line near the south shore,
and was a little distance from the causeway:the raft they formed was even wider toward the island.
The approximate size of the raft of gulls was at least 500 feet by 1,400 feet, or 700,000 square feet.
If each gull sitting in the water occupied one square foot, which it could, there would have been
700,000 gulls. However, though no space between the gulls in the raft was apparent, it seems unlikely
they would have been so densely packed.
If each gull instead occupied one square yard, one could estimate their numbers by dividing the
square footage of the raft by nine to estimate the number of sea gulls at 77,777. Such a density is actu-
ally quite feasible.
If the gulls had each occupied three square yards, one would divide again by nine to estimate
their numbers at 8,642. But the gulls were certainly much closer together than nine feet:space between
them was not apparent.
Therefore, a literary estimate of ten thousand gulls — indicating a very large number — is likely
the lowest estimate one could reasonably make. The actual number could easily be doubled, or even
tripled, and confirms that this congregation of sea gulls on Wascana Lake was extraordinary.
It will have to be left to a Royal Commission and an Order in Council to determine the exact
number of gulls that night. After debate in the Legislature, a new Department could be organized, new
jobs created, committees formed, numbers converted to metric, statistics evaluated, and a new tax levied
to help the Province grow some more.