The Lyons Share

A completely unperturbed and rather desperate looking injured Herring Gull confronted me on my own door step at lunch time as I crawled to the shops for some chest infection remedies. It had found some old bread  in the wheelie bin, the lid of which was slightly raised due to there being no collection on Monday, and I left it to it after I had taken these shots. The cold weather makes birds do some strange things, none stranger than a story my Mum told me the other day. She took some excess bread across the fields to feed the gulls (as you do) when she was walking the dog (Monty) as there is still a lot of snow in Staffordshire. She was soon surrounded by gulls (mostly Black-headeds up there) but then a Buzzard flew down and scared them all off and started tearing chunks off the bread with its beak and talons! I have never heard of Buzzards eating bread before. Watch out Monty, you might be Buzzard food if things don't warm up!

A lot of people in Brighton get upset with the Herring Gulls tearing black bin bags open in the streets but then do nothing to prevent it happening. Get a bin, problem solved! I love to wake up to the sound of Herring Gulls and like sharing my street with them. We should also remember they are red-listed for long term breeding and wintering declines in the UK. Although the whiny, whistling noise the juveniles make is quite annoying at 4.00 am...