Gull-able

An article poses the question as to whether (sea) gulls are getting more aggressive, with stories of their carrying away chihuahuas, attacking other pets, keeping people 'marooned' in their houses for days and nicking 'their' ice-cream cornets (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/24/it-carried-our-dog-away-are-the-uks-seagulls-getting-more-aggressive). Councils are also reportedly spending masses of cash to deter these birds. The first thing to note is that Herring and Black-headed gulls are not limited to the sea but an association was evident as these ground-nesting birds have tended to rear their chicks on cliff locations that are not easily reached by predators such as foxes. We humans have now constructed lots of flat-topped buildings (often in city centres) which the birds see as prime chick-rearing real-estate (pseudo-cliffs). So we have, more-or-less, invited gulls to spend more time in proximity to people. These birds are opportunistic feeders with no sense of ownership which makes 'our' rubbish, pets and food fair game to them (the taking of these items is not personal). It is also pointed out in the article that some of the cases of 'aggression' directed by gulls to humans are really attempts to protect their eggs and chicks (in deed, they tend to occur at times of the year when reproduction is underway). The short answer seems to be that gulls are not getting more aggressive but the opportunities for gull-human interactions are making conflicts more likely. Lucky we are not getting more Greater black-backed gulls taking up urban life!