Seagulls

[Desperatetime]

They appear to be in the news alot lately giving them a bad press are they really as bad as they are made out to be I've been to the seaside but ever witnessed any of what the press says.

The hawks are trained to return to their owner.

Surely you have heard of this????

They are mental. I've seen them steal all sorts of things including a full meal deal type wrap out of a small child's hand (on a beach) and an entire battered cod from an adult's plate (outdoor seating at a restaurant). My husband calls them "chip hawks".

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

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

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!

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

Yep, mine will be using a Harris Hawk.

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.

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.

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.

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 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!

One of these?

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.

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.

The umbrella will be in shreds in 2 minutes flat.

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.

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!

Me too!!

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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