Gulls! Gulls! Gulls! How the seaside birds took over urban Britain

In the last 30 years, gulls have come among us as never before. But is their moment coming to an end as we tackle our waste problem?When was the last day you didn't see a gull? Throughout Britain we ordinarily cross paths with these birds more often than with any other wild creature. They are hard to avoid. In the last 30 years - the lifespan of a large gull - they have come among us as never before. Though still popularly regarded as seagulls, many have moved inland, far from the seaside or saltwater. They have adapted to life in many places we have made, and they have thrived.Cities and their hinterlands where we jettison our rubbish now sustain far more gulls than the birds' former more traditional marine habitats. Indeed, in a paradox that might define the Anthropocene era, surviving coastal birds are now regarded as threatened with local extinction, while the same gull species in urban areas are so prevalent they are thought of as pests. Continue reading...