As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Friday 28 March 2014

Bird-X Examines What’s Making Seagulls Angry


Whether it's hype or not, the public will likely be more fearful of these common birds due to recent publicity, Bird-X reports.
| March 26, 2014

Laridaphobia (the intense fear of seagulls) may become a common term soon enough, as the number of seagull attacks reported in the news rises worldwide. But has anything really changed? Bird-X, Inc. investigates. 

In mid-March 2014, a woman in the UK reports a seagull attack that occurred during her lunch break. After falling down as the result of being spooked by a large aggressive seagull (source), she’s turned to suing her company’s landlord for not controlling the building’s bird population. In Mrs. Kelly’s case, the birds were nesting on the roof of her office building – a situation that could have been prevented with proper bird control.

Also in March 2014, a beach in Orange County, California announced its plans to use a live hawk to chase away seagulls and pigeons, and in February 2014, a beach on the Coast of East Devon, UK made the same announcement – citing that a trained falconer will simultaneously entertain tourists (source). 

In January 2014, the Pope famously released peace doves at the Vatican – we will spare the gritty images, but a seagull immediately attacked one of the helpless doves once it was released (source). This seagull was only acting on natural instinct, but it certainly didn’t do its species any good in the eyes of the public worldwide.


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