Herring Gull (Larus Argentatus)

Herring Gull - Dawlish, Devon

I confess to not actually being in London this weekend. I am in Devon and the picture of this Herring Gull was taken in Dawlish. I thought I'd blog on this bird as it is frequently seen in London as well as the coast. Do not confuse it with the Yellow-Legged Gull which is virtually identical in every respect apart from, obviously, yellow legs. You may see up to 15 different species of Gull in the UK and to my eye many are very similar. Worldwide there are 50 plus. That's before you factor in Terns, Fulmers and Kittiwakes, of which there are a further 10 or so birds in the UK, which to the untrained eye are very difficult to tell apart from species of gull. Herring Gull's are scavengers and like most scavengers they are intelligent having adapted similar means as the crow for opening hard food. They will drop crustaceans from great height to crack them open. They will often hang around heavily inhabited areas for edible rubbish or scraps from 'kind' people. I like their propensity to often pose quite close to human contact on pillars and general high points as if they were treasured sculptures.