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Where have all the seagulls gone?

(30 Posts)
trisher Thu 14-May-20 09:01:32

My DS mentioned that his seaside town has few seagulls now. They are usually noisy and troublesome but they have gone. I then realised that the school field near me has lost its usual little flock. We put it down to the lack of people eating take aways and dropping food- there are a lot of take-away food places near me. But one thing I don't know is where have the seagulls gone? A waste tip is my best guess, but has anyone seen more seagulls?

EllanVannin Thu 14-May-20 19:58:04

They've been here flying over the Mersey and dive-bombing over houses near me.

Fennel Thu 14-May-20 19:31:46

As I said earlier we have many here, and I love to see them swoop about in the winds above our houses. But they've not yet come down to compete with the many pigeons and a few cheeky magpies who dominate.

jacq10 Thu 14-May-20 17:27:37

My next door neighbour also feeds them grandMattie. I know what time she has breakfast as they swoop then and also her evening meal. Unfortunately their flight path is across my drive and I frequently (once or twice a week) have to take the hose out to wash away the poo. DH was also going to take one of the notices from the town centre saying "Please do not feed the seagulls" and pin it to the fence but I have never fallen out with a neighbour and won't do with her. She doesn't mix much with anybody but I heard she had a big run-in with one of the younger neighbours a few years ago as her new baby's extensive washing was getting soiled on the line on a daily basis but it didn't do any good.

BlueBelle Thu 14-May-20 17:14:44

Plenty here on the Suffolk coast and a beautiful colony of Kittiwakes which are endangered
Seagulls are a fantastic bird so majestic and always look so clean, with bright white Plumage
I always know i m home when I see them they sit on my fence perhaps their inland cousins have come back where they belong
They are only a nuisance because we have taken their fish away and replaced it with chips and crap

Fennel Thu 14-May-20 16:52:33

ps I should have said onshore winds which can move them up the Tyne from the sea.
I wonder if birds have a good sense of smell?

trisher Thu 14-May-20 16:49:49

I suppose if no one's going to the sea side and there are no chips to pinch they have to find food anywhere. I wonder if they will return when things open up.

Fennel Thu 14-May-20 16:42:59

They've come here too Trisher. (Gateshead). Either the offshore winds blow them in, or they got fed up over the winter with the lack of discarded human's food on the coast.
There's plenty of 'food' here - they pick up the plastic packages too.

SueDonim Thu 14-May-20 14:38:38

Seagulls have been in the fields round here while farmers have been ploughing. Ploughing is pretty much over now, though, no I’m not sure where they’ll move on to.

Redtop, your poor doggy! grin Years ago when we had a dog, she spotted a mouse when we were out on a walk. It disappeared into a hole in the hedge bank and that was that. However, she returned to that spot and looked for the mouse every single time we revisited that area, even though we didn’t go there very often. How do dogs remember?

BBbevan Thu 14-May-20 13:15:10

They are all down here. As are the magpies, rooks and crows

Sar53 Thu 14-May-20 12:07:35

We live very near the Thames Estuary and they are still here, a lot of them tap dancing on our flat roof at 5 in the morning !!! I have been woken up many times this week.

May7 Thu 14-May-20 12:04:11

Yes they are here too. I love to watch them gliding. I like all birds, whatever their apparent misdemeanors. They do seem to be laughing at us though grin

TerriBull Thu 14-May-20 11:17:36

There are usually quite a few on the Thames where I live, although lately we have been walking in Bushy Park not along the river. Now I come to think of it they aren't as prolific in the park ponds, where quite a few species of waterfowl have hatched young. I have seen them at all of late a Good thing!

My late parents retired to the Sussex coast and my mum was always complaining they grew to the size of chickens, probably an exaggeration, but were nevertheless a damn nuisance. As others have stated, lost their source of food, probably finding dive bombing in on hapless chip munchers is fast becoming a thing of the past for them! maybe as a consequence they won't be supersized for the foreseeable future!

Callistemon Thu 14-May-20 10:48:04

Redtop I shouldn't be laughing but I am!
Poor dog. That would have made a great video clip.

Callistemon Thu 14-May-20 10:47:07

They're here. Someone nearby feeds them and they do their business on our car after their dinner.
Actually, I do remember when they used to frequent the rubbish tips years ago before we recycled our food more. Perhaps they still do?

trisher Thu 14-May-20 10:19:31

Aw your poor dog Redtopl! grin

Redtop1 Thu 14-May-20 10:11:13

There seem to be less in our area.

A couple of days ago my two dogs were in the garden enjoying their beef rib bones and one dog decided to come in and have a drink of water. He was just about to return to his bone and I was looking out of the kitchen window when a large seagull swooped into the garden and took his beef rib bone. It was quite a sight this seagull with large bone in it’s mouth, he had to land on the fence before he took flight again, so I don’t know how far the seagull got with it. I had visions of someone being hit by a flying bone.

The poor dog spent ages scouring the garden looking for his bone, my other dog was totally oblivious of the seagull visitor as he was concentrating on his fixated on his bone.

grandMattie Thu 14-May-20 09:27:43

They must have come here. Our neighbour but one FEEDS them! Grrr ?

Redhead56 Thu 14-May-20 09:25:50

We live outskirts of Liverpool in a leafy area they are always around but not really a nuisance. Lately though they are landing on the ground and fighting over something they have found. They don't usually land in the road or our gardens just fly above and land on the meadow in the park on our doorstep. We only have one takeaway half a mile away but it's been closed since the virus started. Maybe they have come in land more to have a better chance of finding food.

GrannyGravy13 Thu 14-May-20 09:25:42

The school field next door but one to us is full of the flying nasties !! ????

We have the Thames Estuary at the end of our road, usually they only come here when the sea/wind is rough/strong.

Froglady Thu 14-May-20 09:25:29

A lot of them are in Blackburn in Lancashire as we have people who will put food down on the ground to feed the pigeons, birds of the crow family, seagulls and rats. I wish people could see the link between putting food on the ground and the amount of rats around. And they drive to the area round where I live to do this, not even in their own back yard.

JenniferEccles Thu 14-May-20 09:17:29

Culled hopefully.

Missfoodlove Thu 14-May-20 09:15:18

We have the bloody things too!
They’ve lost their food source in the local seaside towns and have come to adorn out rooftops.

trisher Thu 14-May-20 09:14:56

Wheniwasyourage I think he's very pleased to be rid of them. He did say it was being able to hear the birds singing that first alerted him because it was usually drowned out by seagull screams. So I think you can keep them!! grin
tanith that's interesting there is a golf course about a mile away from me.I might go and see if it's full of them. But just realised golf has started again so maybe they will be on the move.

bikergran Thu 14-May-20 09:14:33

Snatched my snack right out of my hand the other year at Whitby! tut! shock

glammanana Thu 14-May-20 09:11:59

Trisher They are all by my house here by the promenade on The Wirral, they strut their stuff down on the green dips some are so big they are quite scary really,last week I saw 4 of them perched on the roof of the house opposite they where very vocal to say the least I haven't noticed any decrease in their numbers.