Seagulls – thoughts on . . .

Herring Gull

Seagulls eh ?

What would you do with them ?

Actually, since we don’t eat fish and chips outside our seagulls are no great problem to us, except that that are a bit anti-social in the matter of where and when they relieve themselves – they seem to see motor cars as public toilets, or perhaps brightly coloured cars are just useful in a utilitarian sort of way as targets for bombing practice ? We have two seagulls that use the roof opposite as a rest stop. Sometimes the rest is brief indeed, at others they settle down and have a good snooze. I have checked their activities with the local tide tables but I cannot convince myself that the comings and goings are related in any obvious way to the motions of the tides. No doubt the seagulls might tell you a different story, but since we haven’t learnt how to communicate with them yet that must remain an unknown.

These two seagulls (assuming they ARE the same two seagulls, which seems likely) have come and gone to this roof for the four years that we have lived here. Occasionally a third will join them – or try to join them but will get sent off by one of the pair – I always assume it is the male who does the shooing, but who knows ? And is this intruder a child of the family or some passing lothario picked up on the mudflats of Kirkcudbright Bay out for a quick mating ?

When the brain analyses the information sent by the eyes it obviously checks it against already learnt information. “Bird ? – sparrow, blue tit, chaffinch – must be quite small then” – so when we see our seagulls on the roof we see them as quite modestly sized creatures. But then, one will launch off from the ridge, swoop down over the tiles rapidly gaining speed and zoom past just outside our window – then we are forcibly made to realise that they are not small birds at all and have a very impressive wing span. If one came after my chips I would give him or her the lot.

I know when I’m beat.

About Ian

Retired Clergyman, and former RAF person. Lives in Kirkcudbright, SW Scotland. One wife. Two children, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren scattered across UK, Europe and the USA. Long time member of the European Movement, and latterly of the Scottish National Party. ""Here's to us; who is as good as us? Damn few, and they're all dead"
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