Lunch was almost toast
YOU often hear about gulls swooping and stealing people’s ice creams or pasties if they live in Cornwall.
I was still surprised to be the victim of an attempted mugging myself while walking along a popular shopping street in Liverpool.
I had nipped out of a meeting to buy a hat in a half-price sale at a trendy clothing shop and I decided to grab a cheese on toast from a food emporium on the way.
My mum would not have been proud of me eating while I was wandering past the shops but there were plenty of others doing the same.
However, I must have looked like easy pickings for a young herring gull.
All I know is that, as I walked and chomped, something heavy landed on the back of my head, pushing me forward a few extra steps.
I saw a wing on either side of my head and then the bird flew off and landed on an advertising hoarding.
Being a Wiganer, my first instinct had been to protect my food with a swift movement of my left hand over the cheese on toast.
It worked but I did get the feeling that my assailant wasn’t very experienced.
I was told it appeared to ‘belly flop’ onto my head.
It eyed me as I walked into the clothing shop and was still waiting to look at my purchase, now protecting my head, as I walked past.
Of course, this type of activity is not uncommon on coasts and in areas where herring gulls nest on the roofs of houses.
I remember the racket when we lived in Barrow-in-Furness, but most coastal towns have their rooftop guests nowadays.
It is actually pretty good news that these birds are finding places to nest because numbers fell by more than 35 per cent between 2000 and 2010.
In this region there has been a steady increase.
If they are not attacking your dinner, herring gulls are quite magnificent birds with wingspans up to 1.5 metres.
They are quite heavy birds, especially when they land on your head!
They can weigh more than a kilogram.
While younger birds are difficult to tell from other gulls, herring gull adults are silvery grey above and white below, with pink legs.
They have a white head and black wing tips with white spots. They have a yellow bill with a red spot near the tip.
If you are attacked by a gull, remember it is only after your dinner and it’s probably better to let it have it – these are big birds.
As my gull failed to grab my food and only damaged my pride, I am happy to say that it did not ruin my belief that these birds are part of our wonderful natural world.
And if it had happened to someone else I would have laughed!
To become a member of the Trust go to the website at www. lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129. For more information about Cheshire Wildlife Trust call 01948 820728 or go to cheshirewildlifetrust. org.uk.