Do not feed the gulls

Many of the seaside towns and villages around the British Isles have signs that say "Please do not feed the gulls". This is sound advice: herring gulls (Larus argentatus) in particular, but also lesser black-backed gulls, will happily finish off most of the items of food that reckless tourists offer them. And it's probably this deliberate ignoring of the signs that has turned these gulls into brazen thieves that will snatch food from the hands of unsuspecting. We saw some of this going on during a recent visit to the south coast, though none that I could photograph. Instead, I took this shot of a placid herring gull against a sympathetically coloured background.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Young herring gull

Young gulls can be difficult to identify - they are nearly all white with brown flecks over much of their bodies. If you have one of each common species all together (unlikely) you can usually make an identification by size. I took into account the size of this young bird and, with other features concluded it is a 1st winter herring gull. It was standing on some rocks in the River Monnow at Monmouth, one of several youngsters more interested in being fed scraps by people on the bridge than scavenging in the shallows of the river.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P900

Herring gulls and scallop shells

This pair of herring gulls in the harbour at Lyme Regis seemed to be examining these scallop shells more in hope than expectation. All the shells had been opened and all seemed to have been there for a long time. What struck me most about this encounter was the combination of colours - the soft grey and white of the birds, and the white brown, orange and almost yellow of the shells all set against the lurid green of the algae/weed.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2