Herring gull mobbing buzzard

The herring gull chicks have taken to wandering around on the roof tops and some have even taken to the air. The adults are much less tolerant of potential intruders including the occasional buzzard that glides over our garden.

Several gulls wheel around with raucous cries while one herring gull repeatedly mobs the buzzard until it has been chased out of range.

Urban herring gulls nesting

I have been watching again with great interest, they really are fascinating birds and a great opportunity to witness bird behaviour.

While they can cause a nuisance - it is human activity that the gulls have adapted to. Firstly UK herring gulls numbers have decreased in the wild due to human activity and providing (even if unintentionally) our waste and uneaten food for gulls to scavenge on. In the marine environment the gulls part scavenging nature is an important role.