To think if you don't like seagulls don't move to the coast

[WishILivedOnAFarm]

I know i am not BU, I am just venting.

Last summer a family member of DHs's moved to their 'dream house' which is on the coast and under a minute walk to the beach. They can see the sea from almost every room. Wonderful. Gorgeous place. Large detached gardens. Idyllic. We went for their housewarming and the husband was moaning hard about the 'bloody seagulls' which are everywhere and 'fly over the house'. At one point (admittedly he was well into a bottle by then) he went out with a towel and started flapping hysterically at the seagulls flying over. Since then every time we see them or have a conversation with them on the family whatsapp etc he moans almost constantly about the seagulls and how they are doing his head in. He ranted on at our family Christmas dinner etc. We are having lunch there tomorrow and I feel like saying the above- did you not think seagulls would be at the sea? What did you expect? I know they are loud and can be noisy but the fixation on the fact they 'fly over the house' is a bit baffling.

I will confess to being a bit biased on this- I'd love to live where they do. And I don't like this family member much anyway- he's always been a bit of an arrogant 'I know best' sort.

Pigeons are hilarious. We have a pair nesting outside our sitting room window. Every time they look in the window they remember we are there and freak out.

This has been going on for about 5 years.

I think a lot of people don't realise how annoying they are until they move to the sea.

In summer, they pretty much make noise all night.

And they're fucking massive. We've got a fledgling on our roof at the moment, and it honestly sounds like some 16 stone roofer is walking around up there.

My son lives by the sea. There’s his long 100ft garden, a parking area, then a small cliff down to the sea. I love the seagulls! I love the noise they make, I love watching them fly. Far more annoying is the pigeons attracted to his next door neighbours bird feeders. They make a hell of a mess and tend to hang out in the roof making more mess. The seagulls don’t tend to do that.
But absolutely- you don’t move next to a farm and complain about the smell (and noise; those cows are LOUD), you don’t move to a city and complain about the cars; you don’t move near an airport and complain about plane noise; and you don’t move by the sea and complain about the seagulls

Seagulls are at least 100 miles inland, apparently.

This is brilliant!

God i hate seagulls. I grew up inland and we had seagulls in our city. At the moment we live in a costal city and have the buggers nesting near us. For me, they are a part of life.

If you haven't been subjected to the fuckers, I can see how someone might not realise how much of a pain they can be. Although their size and aggression do vary. The OP's family member may be very unlucky.

Still love them. They nested on our roof in Fowey for 6 years and Truro for 10 years and how they protected their offspring was magnificent.

I live by the sea and hate the beady eyed fuckers. I was pushing my newborn in a pram with my toddler daughter and we were attacked, one of them gashed my toddler’s hand with its beak and the other was flapping and trying to get into the bassinet.

I know somebody who was under siege as he ate chips so he threw them under a passing van. The feathery villains went after them. 😬

how they protected their offspring was magnificent.

Not when they dive bomb you, children and/or dogs. Also attack by shitting on you is not pleasant.

I had to move away from the seaside in Kent and I really miss the seagulls and the beautiful but noisy parakeets .
What an idiot your relative is!

Just witnessed over the last two months the nesting, birth, and raising of first the nestling and then the fledgling by two very attentive parents on the chimney across the road from us. What a delight! The fledgling who is now a juvenile flies over our houses in circles, feeds on the garage roofs, and generally mews around. Such a pleasure to watch and I think the parents are better parents than a lot of humans. They are now teaching juvenile how to swoop and wheel over the houses. Magic.