To be scared of a seagull?

[cariadlet]

It sounds ridiculous, and typing that I decided I must BU.

Every year we have seagulls nesting on our roof. On two previous years one of the chicks has fallen down the chimney and landed in the fireplace. Each time I've grabbed it and put it out in the back garden. Each time the over protective parents have dive bombed me as I've gone out.

The first time it happened the parent seagulls panicked so much that they made distress calls and we had dozens of seagulls circling over our garden. It was like a scene from "The Birds".

Last night or this morning a chick either fell off the roof or tried flying and didn't get very far. It's been wandering around the patio and up and down the side path with one of the parents standing guard (either on the conservatory roof or the shed roof - wherever it gets the best view of the chick).

I know it's stupid, but I feel nervous about just going out into my own garden and am dreading having to walk down the front path when I have to go out later in case the chick is wandered off that way and the adults see me coming out.

This has been just what I needed to stop moaning about having to get up at the crack of dawn to let the swallows out the garage.

A reminder that at least they aren't seagulls.

They are high maintence though.... They tell us of when we switch the radio in the garage off a bed time

Swallow bed time not human bed time.

Join, yes, laughing at my Very Serious 'seagull-related incident' makes you a very bad person.

Honestly, though, I grew up by the sea, though in a quiet place with no seagulls attacking for food - have gulls in busier seaside places always been this aggressive and fearless about stealing food from people's hands? And do they learn it from their parents? I've heard claims that it starts off low-key every season, and gets more and more aggressive as the season continues...

I hang my head in shame, honestly, I'm not sniggering at ALL

I do, in all seriousness, think that people are to blame for seagulls and their aggressive food nicking. I'm trying to find the article I read but I'm sure that they are a sea bird and only our littering has brought them into such direct contact with us.

I lived in Torquay for years,I have not very fond memories of trying to scoff down a subway butty without being attacked left, right and centre by seagulls!

They can live for 40-50 years

40-50 years? Are you kidding? We have millions of the bastards in our south west non seaside town. So many nesting down our street of terraces, that it sounds like Jurassic bloody park out there I hate them.

I hate seagulls. I lived in a seaside town my entire childhood and had no issues with them nesting. I now live in Brighton and the feckers are EVERYWHERE. In my last place we had a neighbour feeding them, so they'd sit on the green outside our share-house daring people to come closer
The place we've been in for two years had a nest on the roof, the summer before last and last summer they took a disliking to DH and would dive-bomb him whenever he went out in the garden. The rest of us were fine, but he couldn't even step out of the back door without them appearing. Our landlords put one of those cages on over winter and whilst our neighbours have them, they haven't nested on our roof this year. They do sit on it but at least they leave us alone for the most part!

Tourists contribute to seagull aggressiveness in a big way. Those of us who have grown up by the coast know what they are like and don't walk around with food on show near them. Tourists don't realise and make easy targets which just encourages them further. Don't get me started on idiots that put their bins out the night before bin day

YANBU, they're a menace. We were having our house painted and they swooped down and stole the painter's lunch! I had to make him something as they stole the lot.

Poor we chick though OP. A sad ending indeed.

They are very scary creatures. Rats with wings my Dad used to call them! Then one split his head open and we were all sure one of them had overheard him say it!!

I think seagulls are bigger now and way more aggressive than when I was a child. One of my elderly relatives was injured by one that swooped down on her, she wasn't even carrying any food at the time. They are amazingly successful at adapting to our modern life and will eat anything. I saw one break open a plastic lunchbox and eat the contents, it's beak was very strong and it just bashed and attacked it til the stuff fell out. I don't think the child could have anticipated that! Plus where are you supposed to eat ice creams when on holiday if not on the seafront or beach?

It's wise to be wary of gulls. They are very aggressive around breeding time. They shit and puke at will with deadly aim if you annoy them by bimbling innocently into their territory. It might also be yours, but they're not much into love thy neighbour.

They'll also dive-bomb with razor-sharp bills if you persist in doing something outrageous like using your front door.

They are brilliant colonisers, like us. Tall buildings are just like cliffs except there's more food rubbish where people are, so why would you live on the remote coast, where you have to hunt for scarce food and the weather's harsher and it's colder?

It's always amazed me just how big and bold some of them are. We were queueing in the car to get onto the ferry at Dover once and the lines were being patrolled by massive birds. They could have easily carried off a chihuahua.

One landed on the bonnet and glared at us. There was a bang and the car shook. I didn't dare get out or do anything provocative like trying to squirt it with the window-washer. It was like being in the lion enclosure at Longleat.

Two of them fought over the corpse of a pigeon in the road near me. They flew off with a wing each and it broke open and the guts just missed me .

I was chased off our school grounds after the morning school run by a flock of seagulls a couple fo summers ago. I don't know why they picked me particularly - they didn't take any notice of any of the other mums but all dive-bombled me. I wasn't carrying food or anything. Still, at least I provided the mprning's entertainment as I ran down the drive screeching like a lunatic! DH has also been kicked in the head by one particularly nasty one that used to attack people at the entrance to our local park.

Get yourself one of these for sneaking out undetected!

I like that hat spiderlight. We had more problems a few years ago when we had no bins, just black bags. They were ripped open all over the pavements with massive seagulls standing guard over whatever they found. I used to step into the road with dd and pushchair because I preferred being run over to being attacked!

YA so NBY!!

I am a bit phobic about all birds but especially scared of seagulls. I thought I was just being a wimp but having read all the responses here I can see I am not and that this is a pretty common and sensible thing to be wary of.

I think there should be some penalties imposed for people who encourage them by feeding them. A few years ago we went to the Scilly Isles and there were signs up asking people not to do this and I saw locals chasing them off if they came too close. I have never been injured by one but when DD was a toddler we were on Jersey trying to have a picnic on a beach. Further along there were some total idiots people who were feeding gulls. We kept chasing away the one that came near us, however, at one point I turned away for about two seconds to put something in a bag and a bastard herring gull ran forward and snatched the biscuit out of her hand.

Honestly OP I don't think I could bear to live by the sea simply because of the seagull situation. It even makes me a bit wary about holidaying by the coast these days.

This site www.gullstop.co.uk/ has some products that might help.

Aren't we, as people, the cause of seagulls being inland? I'm sure I read somewhere that they'd naturally be out at sea most of the time and only our filthy litter dropping society has encouraged them inland for easy meals.

That might be partly the cause but I think I read that the decline in the fishing industry also has something to do with it. In the past the flocks of gulls would follow the boats for discarded buts of fish. Now that that food source is more scarce they come inland hunting.

I know they had quite a lot of injuries further down the coast in past years because tourists would feed the gulls and chicks. The real problems started at the end of the summer when there were less tourists because the nearly fully grown chicks assumed that's how you get food and attacked every human in sight when their usual meals were no longer forthcoming...

Herring gulls (presumably you mean them) are a protected species as their numbers are actually declining rapidly due to over fishing. They are congregating near towns and cities to try and find food. As a protected species it's an offence to harm them or disturb their nesting sites. It's nothing to do with the decline of the fishing industry and everything to do with the decline of fish.

Sorry OP, as I know they can be aggressive. But they're just protecting their young, like we do.

Humans are making the problem worse by their messy habits and fast food culture.

Regarding who they attack, there was a recent study in St Ives and it was found that they target the vulnerable: people in wheelchairs eating pasties, kids in buggies and so on. Pretty alarming and irritating when it happens.

OP we have exactly the same problem as you and have had babies fall into the chimney a few times and one once ended up in the living room (bifold doors were open and the massive chick somehow fell on bird-phobic DH's head ) as well, several have fallen into the garden meaning none of us dare venture out there until the foxes follow their natural instincts.

Also, Rattie - like yours, my DH was stalked by them one whole hot and sunny summer too, he used to go out in hats/hoods and eventually even carry an umbrella over his head down the street - got some every funny looks and we all found it very amusing until we had to walk somewhere with him. They are horrible.

Yanbu, not at all.
I live on the coast and it's a huge problem in my previous street. Bloody things nest there every year.
I've been dive bombed while sunbathing in the garden minding my own business. And my ex PIL got a nasty shock when two of the friggers scared them off the garden table when they were outside eating lunch.

Even the cat has been attacked - albeit his own fault because he took the opportunity to test his hunting skills when a baby seagull was practising it's flying, he ended up with a big split above his eye from the mama gull and a costly vet bill

I've learned that they don't like it when you swing arms around when they get too close and that they are afraid of carrier bags.

I'm currently fighting with magpies - I hate them as much as seagulls but for different reasons. Next door have loads of trees and there's alot of small birds nests with babies - the magpies keep going in and taking the babies off to eat, they fight over the little birds, often right in front of my window - it's awful :( I rescued a a bird from the pond a few days ago and put it on the side to dry off - fucking magpies got it before it could get airborne again.

Herring gulls are horrible birds and I wouldn't care if they were wiped out really.

There was a chick in my neighbour's garden last year and some other seagulls killed it and ate :(

I've also broken up a fight on the street between two gills fighting over food - the one that was trying to grab it was pecking the other one's eye. They don't have any redeeming features as far as I can see

Toughasoldboots, if you lived in my street I guarantee you'd hate both before the week is out.

We have seagulls too and yes they are scary. We had spikes put on our chimney to stop them nesting this worked for several years but last year the seagulls returned . Had more spikes put up this year but the seagulls just built a nest on top of them,any ideas of getting rid of them would be appreciated. Theyre noisy messy and aggressive I hate seagulls!