I know that a number of people view seabirds as vermin, but the whole issue is one that is created by poor judgement and bad official management of town waste, in that the numbers were encouraged by the use of plastic bags in lieu of metal dustbins. They never were a problem before. The issue is encouraged even now by poor management and poor approach by the public. Just keeping the town clean and tidy will go a long way towards easing numbers down. Irrespective of anything else, a herring gull is a beautiful bird.
I agree but if we had a rat problem because of bad waste management there would be something done about it. At least rats don t actually take food out of unsuspecting human/children s hands.
You could be right mate but as I said above, they aren t as much of a public niusance as seagulls. I have had numerous arguments with visitors, especially in St.Ives about public feeding of the seagulls. It doesn t help matters when an uneducated visitor stands in St.Ives harbour with a bag of chips and 20 - 30 seagulls around them. The gulls get excited and the next thing you know is they are stealing a child s ice cream. Never seen a rat do that!
Rats are beautiful animals, but, they are quite timid in this region; in London a person is seldom further than 5 feet from one. The drama with a rat (or mouse) though is that if there are a male and female, within the year that could easily become a thousand. As I said elsewhere on site, I have never had a kamekazi seagull ... it is a matter of stern management, I have found. The minute a pasty, chips or ice cream is waved around that is an invitation for these wonderful survivors to leap into the fray, and serious damage can be inflicted. Healthy respect is something that should come with experience.
Incidentally, definition : vermin = mammals and birds injurious to game, crops etc.
I think I may have inadvertently sparked off something here, I was referring the lovely to the way that Treeve has magnificently captured the way the birds are in mid flight/just landing/taking off captured the water droplets from the gulls feet....and the glistening of the water... ::6:
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