Friday 23 May 2008

Birder's Bonus 21


Much e-excitement on the campus about the Herring gulls (Larus argentatus) ground-nesting behind some old furniture opposite a car park. This is obviously a bit of a deviation from their normal cliff top breeding locations (where they can avoid terrestrial predators such as fox) and it is likely that these birds are part of the 'over-spill' from the populations nesting on the flat roofs of the University Buildings (Wallace, the Science Tower etc). The birds in the 'RSPB-protected' nest may well run into trouble with local cats and other local wildlife (including Jackdaws). Birds in roof-top locations are often discouraged from nesting by introducing trained birds of prey (e.g. a Harris hawk) or even a robot raptor. It will be interesting, if the 'proud parents' get to the stage of 'diving-bombing' and c***ing over people who stray too near the nest for the bird's comfort.

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