Reading the headlines yesterday revealed a new menace.....Seagulls.
That they are or can be a menace is undeniable for anyone living at the sea side. We are all aware of these large noisy birds during the holiday season when people eating ice creams or Cornish pasties outside find themselves under attack if they are not careful . Mostly the gulls can be warded off fairly easily but some have developed what looks like a killer instinct.
When I first married David the seagull problem was bad. They hovered over the house on occasions, screaming. I had never seen this behaviour before...even though I’d moved from another seaside village....but these big birds really meant business. David warned me to always have my head covered when I went out. And it became obvious that they really were out to get us. Several screaming birds always seemed to be in position ....going into the garden was both noisy and fraught. I had never seen this sort of behaviour before. It was a puzzzle...until the day I found the gun.
There it was in my husbands wardrobe next to a row of suits. I pulled it out and showed it to my beloved with a query as to what he’d got it for. Sheepishly he admitted it.....it was for shooting the seagulls.
I was amazed...my new husband was gentle and kind. Not a killer. But he was...but only with seagulls. Before I met him he admitted one day he had gone out to shoot at the gulls and had almost accidentally shot one. It had fallen at his feet.
I was horrified and asked him what he’d done with it. " Buried it!" In his garden....no wonder it’s relations were gathering.
Once we’d moved from that house the problem went away...the seagulls were no longer a menace. David said he wouldn’t shoot any more.
After his death I found the rifle in his wardrobe....and worried in case he had still been intent on shooting the noisy gulls. I gave it to one of his sons. He doesn’t live by the seaside so the gulls are quite safe. These memories surface every August when we are full of visitors walking around with ice cream or Cornish pasties in hand. I want to warn them of the danger but somehow never get round to it...live and let live....or words to that effect! Unless your a seagull of course.......
1 comment:
Sea Gulls are not only a nuisance at the sea side. We have gulls which gather over the park behind our house and attack smaller birds and wild life. They are the rubbish cleaners of the area, because any dropped food or thrown away take away meals are fair game for them.
They have been known to get a bit hoity toity with small dogs in the park, but leave the bigger ones alone, as they are likely to come off worse.
This all is of course a sign of evolving culture in the gulls. They could go to sea, and probably do, but easier pickings are found among people whose bad habits give them plenty of stuff to eat.
I understand that when they are nesting, they are protective of their chicks, so understandably having one on your roof, the noise, the damage to tiles or slates and the endless dung they drop is bad for human health.
They are protected in their natural environment, but inland, I don't believe that they are. So, David shooting a gull, years ago, would probably fall foul of the authorities, but inland, he'd probably be ok.
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