[Tech1] For those who like big birds

[Nick Ware]

There’s a Seagull on the secluded beach we like to go to in Menorca. We’re convinced it’s the same guy every time. We call him Sqwark. He comes right up close and stares us out as we tuck into our picnic lunch. He’s smart enough to recognise a soft touch when he sees one (me), because he’s never tried to snatch anything. I chuck him a piece of whatever it might be and it lands in the sand. He scowls, picks up the scrap, and trots to the water’s edge to rinse the sand off before guzzling it. Clever guy!
Cheers,
Nick.

Nick Ware - From my iPad mini 6

> On 3 Jun 2022, at 11:37, Hugh Snape via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> A superb and, predictably, technically accurate description of the raiding skills and methods of Cornish gulls.
> 
> I can confirm their Devonian rivals are similarly able!
> 
>> On 3 Jun 2022, at 10:49, Chris Woolf via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote:
>> 
>> The common gulls of Looe are famous for their ability to snatch pasties and ice-creams from tourists.
>> 
>> Their aerobatic skill has to be seen and admired. Their preferred approach is a low diving one from the rear right - tourists hold ice-creams in their left hand and away from the body to avoid drips on their clothes. The gulls bank hard as they go over the shoulder, side-slip superbly to cut the speed right down, and grab the ice-cream as one wing stalls. Then a couple of power flaps to reach a decent flying speed again and they are off. It is so fast that few people can react quickly enough to thwart them. They can handle complete cones, and even the weight of a pasty, which is significant.
>> 
>> They use a totally different method for fish and chips - more of the Stuka approach from the above, with wings flapping full vertical stretch in a controlled stall and plenty of scary noise to startle. The tourist instinctively backs their head and torso, leaving the fish and chips fully exposed, and beakful is snatched.
>> 
>> If you manage to grab everything towards you, out of snatch range, 10:1 they will crap on you, also with great accuracy.
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>> Chris
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On 03/06/2022 09:58, John Nottage via Tech1 wrote:
>>> Bad bird sight of the day yesterday: herring gull trying to swallow a juvenile starling, head first. The starling was still struggling! The gull flew off with the starling still flapping fruitlessly...
>>> 
>>> Our garden is currently full of baby starlings: the parents dump them here for easy feeding. The noise level is deafening.
>>> 
>>> John Nottage
>>> 
>>> On 03/06/2022 07:35, Mike Jordan via Tech1 wrote:
>>>> We used to get these around here from the River Brent and the Canal. WE once had some goldfish in our little pond but they soon found those. A neighbour has t keep a cover over his pond. Replaced the goldfish with sticklebacks (abducted from the canal) and that put paid to the herons who don't like spiky things stuck in their throats.
>>>> And all this in Sunny built-up part of Ealing!
>>>> Been replaced by swarms of pigeons and seagulls (I guess when it is rough at sea). No peace.
>>>> 
>>>> Mike
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message----- From: Alan Taylor via Tech1
>>>> Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2022 11:16 PM
>>>> To: tech1
>>>> Subject: [Tech1] For those who like big birds
>>>> 
>>>> We’ve started getting a new visitor at our house.
>>>> 
>>>> This heron comes along, sits on the roof looking around for a while and then goes on its way. I’ve no idea if that’s normal behaviour for a heron, but it’s a new one on me. I’ve only previously seen them in flight, wading in water, or stood at the water’s edge.
>>>> 
>>>> We don’t have a pond at this house and none of the nearest neighbours do, but there is what was once a medieval fishpond about 150 metres away and we sometimes see heron, ducks, geese and swans descending towards that pond.
>>>> 
>>>> Alan
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