Seagulls

It's so bad where I live. You cannot eat outside without fear of them attacking. Even supermarket car parks are full of them. And the local high street is just covered in bird poo and there's the constant noise of them! I also feel sorry for food vans that have tried to get business down the shore as people are scared to buy from them as the seagulls are just waiting to swoop down and steal their food. Can't believe they are protected and nothing can be done when they actually attack people!

I love them. They're just gangsters, they don't give a fuck. We had them nesting every year in an office I used to work at. When the babies were wandering around, the parents would dive-bomb anyone they thought was a threat so we'd get emails warning us. My mate and I never got dive-bombed, I think the gulls knew we were on their side.
Just before I left, there was a baby gull with a wonky wing. We fed him for a few weeks, hoping he'd be ok, but he never managed to fly properly. He'd do a few little hops but never be able to properly take off...or so we thought. I was going outside for a cigarette and someone coming in told me that Gulliver (the baby) had flown off. I thought he was winding me up so ignored him,only to see Gulliver flying back into the car park. I swear he saw me and quickly landed, letting his wing fall awkwardly like it was still hurt. Little bugger, he'd obviously worked out if he acted hurt then he'd be fed and spoilt, so he'd put it on. My buddy still works in that office and she's convinced Gulliver comes back each year.

I really hope reincarnation is a thing because it's my dream to come back as a seagull.

Seaside, chips on demand, ability to fly, can dive bomb folk for a laugh, steal their ice creams then "hahahahaha" at them from the top of a lamp-post before shitting on their car.

I honestly can't wait

Exactly like a paintball! And such a bugger to wash out.

And they produce a huge amount of shit!

I was driving along a dual carriageway once when one shat on my windscreen. It was like someone had chucked a load of paint on it, I couldn't see a thing. I was bloody grateful that it was a dead straight stretch of road and very quiet, it took a couple of hundred yards before I could see properly.

We were eating our lunch outside and one swooped down and took the food right out my sons hand. Scratched his face in the process.

They just aren't scared of people. Just vermin.

Oh, and in Scarborough they sit up on the bridge into town and just shit on everyone and everything that goes past!

I generally like seagulls. Seaside wouldn't be the same without them . The ones in St. Ives are thugs, though. Padstow ones a little more civilised. Truro, they quite gentlemanly.

Me too!!

Seaside town, they nest on on all the houses. Pinching any unprotected food is common in busy areas. They can be very aggressive when defending young (which always fall off the roofs into gardens). We've learnt at times not to go in the garden without an umbrella.

It's very weird being scared to walk through your garden to car because of a bird!

Years ago the DC were crabbing, having spent their pocket money on a pack of bacon to use as bait. Seagull swiped the lot, including the plastic tray, which it dropped mid-flight over the estuary.

The umbrella will be in shreds in 2 minutes flat.

It’s best to keep them in your line of sight at all times, don’t ever turn your back. Better to stand your ground and fight. If you have to, take a swing, it might make them think twice before attacking again. They might have air superiority but can easily be knocked off balance and are less sure of themselves on foot.

If they chase you don’t try to outrun them as they will catch you & bring you down. I’ve seen it many times. Never underestimate these bastards.

One of these?

I was innocently sitting in the main square of my city once, having bought a roll and a bag of crisps for lunch. A seagull arrived beside me and proceeded to peck the crisps open and horsed them down in front of me. I was shook!

DH and I got mugged for our Baboo ice cream cones at West Bay last year so now we bring the dogs with us which seems to help.

It's really common apparently, we went back to the kiosk to buy another and they replaced them on the house.

It's really unnerving to be sitting in a circling swarm of massive gulls while you try to neck an ice cream and hold onto a dog. Thinking about bringing an umbrella next time.

I grew up in Brighton. Herring gulls are gorgeous but also about the size of Volvos.

You learn fairly quickly not to eat food outside. Buying doughnuts in Churchill Square and waving them about? You’ll get divebombed.

Flying vermin.
They dive bomb for food and cause damage shitting over everything.
If it was legal, I'd blast every last one of them off my and my neighbours roofs with a twelve bore.

One of the nastiest things I ever saw was a dead seagull floating on the water in Bristol docks while another seagull tore strips from its breast. Nobody likes a cannibal animal.

Yep, mine will be using a Harris Hawk.

PLEASE tell be he/she 'called' whilst they were in there?!?!?! Talk about a wake up call! 🦅

I suppose these hawkers fly something big like kites or Harris hawks.
I know people with kestrels and merlins and I can’t imagine them letting their beloved birds near a flock of seagulls!

You don't leave the hawks there! :-D
The hawker flies them around to scare the gulls, then takes them home afterwards :-D

As an animal lover - Good! They're a pest