random

[llywela]

These little fellas are the herring gull chicks we've had living on the roof just above my office in work for the past few weeks. We always get gulls nesting on the roof, but they aren't usually so close to the skylight in my room! Haven't been able to open the skylight much since they hatched, since a) the chicks make the most dreadful racket, piping away for their dinner, and b) the parents get all tetchy and start divebombing in panic that we might be about to hurt their babies!


There were three of them originally, but one fell off the roof when it was only a few days old and died. It's a dangerous business, being a baby gull born on the roof of a three storey building! The other two have done well, though - they are about to fledge, which means we get our skylight back just as the rain stops and the sun appears and we might actually need to open it!

Comments

[kelzies.livejournal.com]

Aw, what cuties! That's awful abotu the third baby :( Definitely is dangerous business, being a baby bird. Last year two native noisy miner babies must've fell out of a nearby nest; they made the garden their home... Anyway one evening I went out to see how they were doing and spotted them climbing up the mesh around the neighbour's porch! With much parental encouragement they both made it up to the roof, thank goodness.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Aww, that's a cute story about the miner birds.

Gulls are very protective of their young - if one falls to the ground and can't get back up again, a whole flock will gather to keep watch and try to protect it from harm until it is able to fly.

[leloo.livejournal.com]

How cute are they!!??

[femsc.livejournal.com]

I can't claim to be the biggest fan of gulls, but I agree that baby ones are cute. Trouble is, they grow up to be adult gulls. Still, they're not (yet) as bad as feral urban pigeons.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

I always have mixed feelings about gulls - they can be terribly messy and aggressive, but are fiercely protective of their young, mourn when they lose a chick, and it isn't their fault their breeding grounds are being destroyed, driving them further and further inland. The chicks are very cute - but very noisy. One of them has been having hysterics all afternoon, just outside the skylight - I think the parents are trying to encourage it to fly and fend for itself, but it's too scared!