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Black-headed Gulls? (1 Viewer)

Pam_m

Well-known member
Hi folks,

I saw these Gulls flying low over my garden and my neighbours gardens this afternoon. I imagine that my neighbour had put out some bread on the lawn as the gulls do not normally fly so close to the house.
I wish they had come down into my garden, it would have been a good species for my BTO count! I toyed with the idea of putting out some bread but firstly I did not have any stale or soaked bread, and secondly if they had left it I would have had to clear it up as we have visits from a hedgehog!

I am not very good at all with Gull ID's but I have checked in the field guide and have decided they are Black-headed Gulls! Can anyone please confirm if I am correct.

Thanks!
 

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Hi Pam,

Yes, BHGs. At this time of year (Winter plumage) look for the dark spot behind the eye. Good shots, well done.

Bill
 
Those black heads are full of character!

Spent sunday afternoon hand feeding the bhg's tea cakes on the north norfolk coast,more like gannets some of em!

Matt
 
Thanks Bill, it was the dark spot that helped when I was looking in my field guide! :t:

Matt I have some bread soaking as I type in case they return!!! Sounds fun hand feeding, but I think I will throw mine on the lawn! o:)
 
Hi Pam,

It's probably not something to try in your garden but if you ever find them in an open area try throwing the bits of bread high in the air, they will quite likely catch them. Great fun.

Bill
 
bill moss said:
...if you ever find them in an open area try throwing the bits of bread high in the air, they will quite likely catch them. Great fun.

Chips work well too on a seafront......but learn from MY mistake LOL Don't throw one to them as you start to eat as you'll soon have dozens of the wee beauties crowding around you and, like me, you'll end up so guilty that they will end up with most of the chips! ;) Suppose it's good for the figure though! LOL

What always amazes me is the fact that you can only have one or two around you but the second you begin to share food it's like a radar goes off and you have DOZENS of them descending upon you - I loved to do this to see how quickly birds that were miles away ( well, hundreds of yards anyway LOL ) would realise there was easy pickings in the offing and would make a beeline for us!

I'm not allowed now though......hubby says he wants to have at least half his chips before he gets mobbed and ends up giving the rest to the birds :-O
 
Hi Bill And Gill (that has a nice ring to it),

I will give it a go with the bread or chips, but as you say Bill perhaps not in the garden, don't want them tangling in the washing now do we!! :flyaway:
 
Hi Pam,
Years ago my brother spent the winter working in Rhyl, to keep our costs down we decided to hire a flat and look after ourselve. The point I'm slowly getting to is that we made our own sandwiches, but each night we were starving, even when we made more sandwiches than we should have needed. The reason of course was the gulls, and as Bill says they can be marvellously acrobatic when you chuck bread into the air. The moral is always feed the gulls after you have had your share.
George
 
I don't want to be a party pooper, but I know a lot of seaside councils discourage people from feeding the gulls for the very reasons that Gill and George give. They are amazingly greedy and can prove to be a real nuisance at some resorts.
 
Kits said:
I don't want to be a party pooper, but I know a lot of seaside councils discourage people from feeding the gulls
Yes at our local Welsh resorts.........Llandudno and Conwy there are signs everywhere saying not to feed the Gulls!!.....a shame but a sign of the times maybe??
Once on the Isle of Man ferry the Gulls were a great attraction as they'd all gather at the back of the boat and as chips/bread were thrown into the air the draft blew them back towards the acrobatic waiting gulls.....great entertainment till some fool flicked a lit cigarette end up too which was also promptly eaten by the greedy Gull.....needless to say I had to be gagged (they were all leather clad long haired TT bikers) for my own safety!! An incident I've never forgotten......I often wonder what happened to the poor Gull??
Sorry for wittering on...................
Best wishes,
 
George Garner said:
Hi Pam,
Years ago my brother spent the winter working in Rhyl, to keep our costs down we decided to hire a flat and look after ourselve. The point I'm slowly getting to is that we made our own sandwiches, but each night we were starving, even when we made more sandwiches than we should have needed. The reason of course was the gulls, and as Bill says they can be marvellously acrobatic when you chuck bread into the air. The moral is always feed the gulls after you have had your share.
George


Were they sardine sandwiches George? :-O It must have been a lot of fun watching their acrobatics!!!
 
Kits said:
I don't want to be a party pooper, but I know a lot of seaside councils discourage people from feeding the gulls for the very reasons that Gill and George give. They are amazingly greedy and can prove to be a real nuisance at some resorts.


No way are you a party pooper Kits! o:)

As you say a lot of seaside councils have notices discouraging/banning feeding the gulls, I believe this has been for a number of years now at some resorts.

I am just waiting for them to return around my garden and I will launch some bread or scones with a home made catapult to attract their attention!!! :-O
 
Pam_m said:
I will launch some bread or scones with a home made catapult to attract their attention!!! :-O

ROTFL !!! :clap:

I love that vision, Pam! Please get it recorded on camera so we can see !! :bounce:
 
Going without your own dinner or being swamped aren't the only problems the gulls bring with them. When we lived in Bristol, the local news programme featured an item about a car park attendant who had to wear a crash helmet cos he kept getting 'dive-bombed' by an irate gull who was protecting it's nest. They can be quite vicious if provoked! Feeders beware!! ;)
 
Cathy H said:
Going without your own dinner or being swamped aren't the only problems the gulls bring with them. When we lived in Bristol, the local news programme featured an item about a car park attendant who had to wear a crash helmet cos he kept getting 'dive-bombed' by an irate gull who was protecting it's nest. They can be quite vicious if provoked! Feeders beware!! ;)
I shall wear a crash helmet Cathy when I am launching the bread and scones! :bounce:
 
Love your gull photographs, Pam.

LOL @ the feeding stories! We have mostly Ring-billed gulls here and sometimes we go down the road to a park and feed them bread too. They are very pushy when it comes to getting fed each one wanting to be fed first.

Across the street is a grocery store (how convenient) and we can buy more bread if they are really begging. One day my husband Mike went to the store to get more bread while the children and I stayed to continue feeding the birds. He came back, all smiles, with a few loaves of bread plus some fresh fish.

The birds instantly fell madly in love with this fishy guy! ;) He was tossing fish into the air or at birds on the ground. They are very good at catching!

The food was gone. No more bread. No more fish. The birds reluctantly started to leave. Now what do *we* do? Mike has dead fish all over his hands! Eeeeeeewwwww! :'D

What else ~could~ he do? Wiped his hand off in his jeans! Yes. That made it all better! LOL! ;)

Will get him a catapult for Christmas!

Lydia
 
Hi Pam & All,
This cheeky chap followed me to the picnic area a few weeks ago.
They are greedy, but quite handsome!

Great pics Pam.
 

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Gulls Can Behave
I took these pictures on Mull a couple of years ago, when I admit to feeding them to get a closer shot.
George
 

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