Why are seagulls such a pain?!

[Fillyfrog]

I actually think seagulls are the bane of most seaside resorts. We went to Llandudno in north Wales today, it's such a lovely place and been a favourite for many years. But today the seagulls were so awful, I saw countless people getting their food stolen from them to the point where instead of risking to eat our picnic on the front we ate it in the car! Some of the gulls are absolutely massive, I saw one steal a full ice cream from a toddler in her pram and I feel like it must have hurt, she was beside herself. They seemed worse than any other time I've been there.

Why do they do this? Do they not have enough food to eat? I know tourists must drop litter and food etc and I often think of seagulls like, eating some chips someone's dropped on the floor but when did it evolve to swooping in for people's sandwiches?! I can't imagine living somewhere seasidey with them there all the time 🙈

(light hearted thread)

Ah- I got found out!

I got mugged for the contents of a sandwich in St Ives. I was left just holding the bread. Twatted me round the head with a wing for good measure. Bastards.

I watched them afterwards mugging people. They're very clever.

They would spot someone with food and hover just behind them, getting closer and closer, then BAM! Down over the shoulder, wing to the face, make off with the baked goods. The really clever ones worked in tandem, one in front to spook the person onto flailing with the food, one behind to grab it.

Because people feed them and they are quite intelligent do they learn to approach people for food.

I've seen posh seagulls descend on a leftover sharing plate of hummus. Revolting sight but weirdly fascinating watching them manage to scoop up beakfuls of it.

They have no right to steal food I have purchased out of the hands of my child, or from my hands. Hateful bastards.

Lol @GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut one took my nephew's hot dog in similar fashion. Not the boring bread bit, just the actual sausage. Poor wee mite.

But you know, if we want them to stop it we have to stop leaving food lying around. They're not "stealing" any more than they would be "stealing" when plucking a fish from the sea. They're just eating.

Oh that made me smile. I remember when I was pregnant a good 18 years ago and living a flat in a seaside town and I’d organised to get a satellite dish installed on the roof. The young guy turned up to fit it, I was a week overdue at the time, he went up into the skylight and there was a seagull nesting right next to it, she nearly took his face off. He looked back and said he couldn’t get up there and I was not having it… massive, hormonal etc, the poor guy was stuck on the ladder not knowing what to do! The seagull won!

😂

I agree!

They’re at the top of the food chain with no natural predators. What cat could kill a fully grown seagull?
I’ve seen crows attack and kill young peregrine falcons because they don’t want them to grow up and be a threat.
Birds are not all fluffy and sweet. Geese, swans and even robins will go for you!

I’m not far from Llandudno. They are known for being particularly CFs in Llandudno Tbf.

years ago I went with my French exchange girl and we got burgers from Burger King and one swooped down and took her entire paper bag.

They are absolute cunts. Beady eyed chip stealing bastards.

We have loads of them where i live (8k INLAND in dublin). Old people on my road who don't want to pay for their brown bins throw food out for them. So we have savage seagulls eating leftover shepherds pies etc and then foxes scavenging at night for whatever is left

Me too have been attacked at Llandudno, just brought a bag off chips, about to put one in my mouth and suddenly one scooped down from behind and nabbed it, bloody terrified me, while my DP just couldn't stop laughing

Had to sneak my chips into hotel so could enjoy them in peace, their very brave and cheeky. But what's the answer? Sad you can't enjoy fish & chips or ice cream at the seaside anymore on a sunny day

We have had a reluctant-to-fly juvenile one strutting up and down the street all Billy Big Beak for a few days. The local cats have retreated.

Well-known mural in Aberdeen - scurry is a Doric word for seagull.

Humans fault with feeding them and dropping litter - you can’t blame them probably got babies in nest crying to be fed!

A few years ago people thought it would be cute to share their food with them, so they'd throw them the odd chip down onto the floor. Seagulls learnt that people feed them. Doesn't take long for that to become 'oh look that chap/woman/child has food in their hands - come on boys, lunch is served'

And then people wonder why seagulls steal their food.

Pigeons behave in the same way in some places too.

The new 'cute' is to go to the woods/park with a bag of nuts for the squirrels and to sit and see how close you can get a squirrel to come to you to take a nut. Squirrels are so well-trained now that every time I walk into the local park they run up to me, and I'm not even shaking a bag enticingly at them!
In the next five to ten years, parents will be up in arms about the squirrels mugging their children in their buggies for their lunch/snacks/ice cream.
One day humans will realize what absolute twats we are, these are wild animals we are teaching to become dependent on us.

I'm actually rather fond of them and have rescued a fair few injured baby seagulls over the years. When I lived at my old place they would nest on the roof next door. One would always come and stand in the communal car park when I was there and after a while would come down as soon as I called it. Eventually once the babies were hatched and able to fly down it would come down with the babies and just potter around the car park with them. The adult seagull would never go for me and quite often just flew back up onto the roof watching the babies from up there. The following year the seagulls were back again and as soon as made the calling noise I'd made the previous year flew straight down to me. Apparently seagulls have a good memory at recognising people. I've since moved out of my flat to the other end of town but whenever I'm down that end I still find myself looking up into the roof to see if they've returned again.

Oh Dear

Off to Llandudno in August.
Perhaps I should take some sort of head covering,

I live in a small seaside town and I love our seagulls.

If you don't like them, don't visit seaside locations.

They probably find you equally annoying...

This also

Vicious evil bastards need to be destroyed.

I live in a seagull area and if you have a nest nearby their screeching is torture this time of the year.

They do work in tandem - one distracts you and the other one swoops in. They are cleverer than you think! And they don't want your veg oh no - meat and fish and chips and crisps and ice cream for them. They should bugger off to a sea cliff and get their own fucking fish.

There used to be a famous ice cream parlour on the front in St Ives (Moo maids - the best ice cream, since moved away from the front). They had a little covered bit where you could eat your ice cream. My OH and I used to sit back with ours watching those rookies who confidently used to walk out into the open with their delicious ice cream and within seconds two seagulls would attack like fighter pilots. Their aim was true and the sense of shock in the air was palpable at the loss of the ice cream. These birds were lethal.

I never usually see much seagull action on the south coast. I have eaten chips on the pier at Brighton before and the seagulls were not bothered- but they were shit chips. However today I was there. Someone was eating a sausage roll in a bag, a seagull swooped and got it. This wasn't even on the front, it was in one of the shopping streets. Bold buggers.

Shitehawks

absolute nonsense - they have as much right to be there as you do