Always with us Larus argentatus

You are never lonely by the seaside. There is always a gull to keep you company. They get a bad press, and have been called trash bird, dump gull, terror, menace. Few species have such a poor and perhaps undeserved reputation. For many people the Herring Gull is a nuisance, a pest, or a threat but in reality they are true marvels of evolution. On Saturday sitting outside at a cafe in Teignmouth my toasted teacake was served with a large plastic cover over it. The idea was to take a bite and then put the teacake back under cover. They left me alone. They prefer chips.
They are on the red list of endangered species, with numbers dropping by 3% a year. The challenge is how to best look after a declining species that is so readily brought into conflict with people.

Bird of the day - this one