Christine's walking & birds blog

Two days ago I was putting stuff in my car, aware of a large sparrow family active in the rowan tree and on the lawn below, when something white caught my eye and I straightened up, ready to shout at a certain white cat that hunts with annoying persistence in our garden (I'm not a cat lover). But on this occasion it was a herring gull. It grabbed one of the sparrows and took off, flying over me and out of sight.

We can see a nest with two chicks from our back window, although I'm not sure that's where this particular gull was heading.

It's well-known that herring gulls nest on rooftops, but I've always supposed that the parents still hunt for food on the sea and shore (or scavenge from people); I hadn't expected to see one predating a small bird in the garden. Last year, we watched this nest as a single chick grew and finally fledged, glad that the gulls had chosen a house rather than a bungalow as this puts a bit of distance between the birds and the residents. However - when I went out the back to hang up washing, there was a herring gull on the neighbours' roof, making a real din. Before I could think what this might mean, I felt a sudden rush and heard a whoosh as a second gull buzzed me - fortunately, without making contact. Greger came out and spotted the chick on our roof - from where the parent had launched its attack. The juvenile loitered for a while, and was later seen on the pavement outside before disappearing again. A few days later, I saw a dead juvenile herring gull on the side of the road as I drove to Tesco - maybe the same one, maybe not. It would be better if they gravitated on fledging towards the harbour, which I suppose many do; and oddly enough, when an adult is present on the nest we're watching, it's almost always facing the other way - out to sea.