to think this Whitby seagull was just watching and waiting for me to get my seafood before diving in

[cakeorwine]

Day out in Whitby today. Bought a seafood dish - mussels, prawns and cockles. Just walked away eating it and a gull just swept in and stole some.

Watched them later. They were just hanging round on the shack next to the store. Watching. Waiting.

Maybe this guy should have been around

Whitby man in eagle costume deters seagulls from stealing food - BBC News

An Eastbourne seagull swooped from behind and stole a whole slice of lemon drizzle cake from my hand. Cheeky scavenger.

It's easy pickings for them. People are slow, clumsy and unobservant compared to gulls.

If you want to eat food at the seaside, eat it indoors.

I remember sitting in a square in Monaco - the gulls were lurking and one divebombed an unsuspecting lady grabbing a tasty pancake

Was it one of the black winged fuckers? They are actual thugs and much bigger than the ones with grey wings. Watched one swoop down and steal a sausage roll right out of a woman's hand as she was taking a bite once.

Not sure what difference that "eagle man" is supposed to make, unless he really enjoys being dive bombed and shat on?

Yes the gulls can be a pest, but by heck you have to admire their intelligence.
I just wish they didn't screeeaaammm like that - you know, head flung back and "I'm about to burst your eardrums ..."

I once watched one hanging around a fish stall on a market in a city street. It waited until the fishmonger was engrossed in his phone and swooped down, plucked a mackerel from the display and took off to the other side of the street with it. The fishmonger didn't even look up!!

I’m sure they go for particular people - out of me ,DD & DH it’s nearly always me that gets targeted! Bastards!

For those in the NE you may know South Shields main 'shopping' (that's another story) street is horrendous, I think they moved up from the seafront en masse during COVID!? One stole my brother's burger from Burger King right out of his hand as he unwrapped it and then landed on my head (the seagull... well, with the burger too). The horror.

Agreed. Locals say the younger ones grow in stealth and cunning over the course of the tourist season, too. By the autumn half term, they are casually mass-mugging daytrippers for their pasties without breaking a sweat or turning a feather.

I remember the first time I was in St Ives wondering why people by the harbour were eating icecream and chips with their coats held over their heads like a screen. By the end of our second day, a seagull had left me needing two stitches in my finger as I fed a cheese sandwich to my toddler, who was sitting on my lap under a beach umbrella on Porthminster beach.

That was in 2013 and I still have the scar…

One of them pinched my backpack!!

What beats me is that the things are legally protected ... I mean, just why??

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to see massed corpses all along seafronts, but it's hardly as if there's any shortage of them is it?

🤣🤣🤣

Time to introduce real eagles instead of men dressed as eagles

I dunno like, what if the eagles get a taste for chips?

We trash their habitats,they steal our food. Seems fair.

Southend seagulls form gangs and swoop en masse - saw a gang knock a bloke's fish n chips out of his hands and before he could finish swearing, they'd eaten the whole lot.

I was parking and literally had to wait and beep one out of the way. On my return a massive bird poo was all over my car. Karma!

We ate lunch in a park in Monaco with a seagull watching us from about 4 feet away. I was impressed with how restrained the seagull was, didn’t make a move until we had left and only got crumbs.

I thought Monaco had trained their seagulls to be more respectful but maybe we were just lucky. It was a lovely baguette and I wasn’t giving it up for anyone🤣

Hope you enjoyed Whitby despite the seagull OP, it’s one of my favorite places😎

If it were a Llandudno seagull you'd have been lucky to escape with your life.

That happened to a pal and I, except we hadn't even left
The blasted thing was sitting on top of the car when we came back, so of course we shooed it (no response) waved our arms a bit (no response) then shouted at it

It was the last one which finally produced a reaction ... it did the thing of throwing back its head and screaming, glared, tuned its back on us and shat all over the roof

This thread is making me giggle

I had a Whitby seagull land on my head, grab my solero and take off, in about 1.5 seconds
Did not giggle
Tho DH, DS and assorted passers-by did 🙄

It was lightning quick.

I wonder if its offspring were watching..... and learning

Have you not seen the mind the seagulls signs in Whitby? They’re like an Alfred Hitchcock film

Feathered CFs.