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Seagull Rant... (1 Viewer)

BeccasBirds

Registered User
I live in land (Bristol area) and yet we still seem to have a crazy amount of seagulls around. Aside from the fact that they nose dive the crowds of tourists in the summertime, steal peoples food, pick open the bins and poo EVERYWHERE, I still see people feeding them!!!

I swear they get bigger and bigger every year!

I love birds, but the seagulls in my city seem more like pterodactyls at the moment! :brains:

Rant over. Let me know your seagull mishaps too please or any specific bird pet peeves! :t:
 
They are not "seagulls".
They will be Herring Gulls, Lesser Black-backs..... identifiable species.
Calling them "Seagulls" is one of my pet bird peeves.

Another is people.
If people didn't eat in the street and randomly throw their waste and rubbish on the ground then these birds would have to forage elsewhere - they have learned that food can be 'stolen' from people and so take the opportunity when it presents itself.

Bird-proof waste bins have, I believe, been trialled in some places but they will inevitably fail where people can't be bothered to use them properly.
I personally have never been pestered or dive-bombed by gulls in any urban/tourist areas, but then I never eat in the street, apart from an occasional ice cream...

The problem is not the birds but the people. Don't persecute the gulls for the sins of the people. :C
 
About a hundred Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls visible daily from my office in central Bristol currently. I rarely see them being fed. I do not see them dive-bombing anyone or stealing food. They do not appear to be any bigger than when I moved here 25 years ago.
 
I see people feeding them all the time!

It is a shame because people are feeding them chips and leftovers that can't be good for them and some can become rather agressive in their persuit of food!

I am sure that there were warnings last year about feeding them...

But then again maybe I should just suck it up 8-P3:)
 
I remember on the Scillies one year, I was standing at a bench with one foot up on it, just relaxing, gazing out to sea with a sandwich in my hand, not for long, a Herring Gull took it clean out of my hand, never saw it coming..........
 
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Polperro Cornwall on a family holiday some years ago walking along the harbour wall ice cream in hand. Herring gull swooped in from behind snatched wife's cornet straight out of her hand. I am sure it was a well practiced manouvre as it came in from behind, never saw it until the ice cream was but a memory. no chance of evasive action.
 
I see people feeding them all the time!

It is a shame because people are feeding them chips and leftovers that can't be good for them and some can become rather agressive in their persuit of food!

I am sure that there were warnings last year about feeding them...

But then again maybe I should just suck it up 8-P3:)

People are far more careful around me than to discard their chips. :-O

I do occasionally see the gulls eating pigeons though.

All the best

Paul
 

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People are far more careful around me than to discard their chips. :-O

I do occasionally see the gulls eating pigeons though.

All the best

Paul

This individual gull looks as though it might be scavenging a road casualty, but on the Serpentine in London there's a couple of LBB Gulls which specialise in catching + feeding on Feral Pigeons. One male has at least one a day, dragging it into the water, drowning it + feeding.
 
This individual gull looks as though it might be scavenging a road casualty, but on the Serpentine in London there's a couple of LBB Gulls which specialise in catching + feeding on Feral Pigeons. One male has at least one a day, dragging it into the water, drowning it + feeding.
I've seen Herring Gulls kill and eat Woodpigeons - they slowly walk towards them until they find an unsuspecting bird, then from a metre or so away, run in and grab it. Most attacks unsuccessful, but some succeed.
 

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I've seen Herring Gulls kill and eat Woodpigeons - they slowly walk towards them until they find an unsuspecting bird, then from a metre or so away, run in and grab it. Most attacks unsuccessful, but some succeed.

Interesting. They don't seem to do that down here. Probably many more Herring Gulls than LBB in Hyde Park, but only latter species seem to kill, though just a couple of individuals, one which specialises in it.
 
I've seen Herring Gulls kill and eat Woodpigeons - they slowly walk towards them until they find an unsuspecting bird, then from a metre or so away, run in and grab it. Most attacks unsuccessful, but some succeed.
I've watched them do this in Green Park, London. A stab to the head seems to be enough to stun them. They're then "in for the kill" like a budgie on crack cocaine.

LGM
 
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