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Seagulls – The Intelligent and Hungry Beast of the Coast

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‘Seagulls’ or ‘Gulls’

are seabirds, there are a variety of species under the name gull. If you’re doing English Courses in Brighton the species you will may have met already are the Common gull, Herring Gull, Black Backed Gull and Glaucous Gull. Gulls are typically medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They typically have harsh wailing or squawking calls, stout, longish bills, and webbed feet.

 

Seagull EC Brighton
Seagull Screaming

 

Most gulls, particularly Larus species, are ground-nesting carnivores, which take live food or scavenge opportunistically. Live food often includes crabs and small fish. Gulls have unhinging jaws which allow them to consume large prey. Apart from the kittiwakes, gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea. The large species take up to four years to attain full adult plumage, but two years is typical for small gulls. Large white-headed gulls are typically long-lived birds, with a maximum age of 49 years recorded for the herring gull.

 

Warning

Reports of seagull attacks are on the rise across the country and local pest controllers are increasingly being called out to deal with birds swooping on members of the public. Pensioners have been hospitalised, blood gushing from cut heads. Others have been knocked to the ground, breaking bones. Small dogs have bled to death, children’s lips been sliced open, and an elderly man died of a heart attack following a particularly vicious assault in his back garden

 

Seagull Attack EC Brighton
Seagull Attack

 

It is highly recommended to not feed seagulls. Feeding them increases their associations of humans to food sources, as well as increasing their sense of entitlement to peoples food. At least don’t feed them human foods like chips and bread. Seagulls principally eat fish (raw not deep fried) and a healthy diet for the birds does not contain much else.

All species of gull are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985. This makes it illegal to intentionally or, in Scotland and Northern Ireland, recklessly injure or kill any gull or damage or destroy an active nest or its contents.

 

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