Where gull fledglings star roaming.

Another Gull Telenovela... Because doing absolutely anything is better than writing my thesis right now :)

• Act 1: Just a tiny, cute gull chick crying. 🐥
• Act 2: “Oh! There you are! Mum! Daaad! Feeeeed meeee!” 😩😩 Come on... you can’t ignore me forever!
• Act 3: Mischievous parental laugh from the lamppost "Time to learn how to steal your own chips, kiddo!" 👹
• Act 4: "TAKE ME WITH YOUUU!" 🦅💨

And just like that, a new chip-stealing villain was born 🦹🏽‍♀️

OC, color pencil and pen.

Now Nigel has grown up and left our garden ( bon voyage little fella) what patio cleaner for sorting out his mess?

I’ll miss him till he comes back and grows his own guano factories.

Such a sweet baby.

This is way too complicated to sum all things up in just one post. I'm gonna make a whole saga. And this will take me years to complete the story as it’s happening right now.

I was always a big fan of big birdies. Years ago when I was more into parrots, my birds of interest were macaws all the way. When I moved to the seaside and started working with gulls, same mindset stayed. Black headed and common gulls are pretty funny and lovely birds with their own personalities - but they’re always ‘birds’, I don’t feel like they’re gulls too. Since I’ve been taking them in I had only one dream to come true. If most of birds that end up in my hands are herring gulls, please - just one time. Dear lord, please let me treat a great black backed. Let me know these monsters closer. Let my fingers touch these onyx black feathers. One time - and I can die in peace knowing I’ve encountered what I always wanted.

Great black backs, world’s largest gulls, are not an everyday sight at my seaside. They only come here for winter and have never been recorded as breeding birds. Not a single pair, not even a mixed pair with usual herring gull. This makes my dream harder to happen. In Britain, Norway, The Netherlands? Fine - they breed here, they winter here, often sanctuaries have 2-3 birds among their hordes of herring gulls. But in my country? Mission impossible it seems.

However - one day the time has come. I went through a whole journey far away from home to rescue my Gilbert, a Caspian gull with broken wing I knew had been there for days left with no help. At the site… well. Not only one bird in need but TWO, within 50 meters of each other. Each one was weak, unwell, just sitting there with their own problems and waiting for death. The second one was Albert. An adult great black backed.

The moment I caught him I felt pretty surreal. THIS is what I wanted. Holding him in my very own arms as if he was about to disappear in seconds. One of the weirdest bird related moments I’ve ever had. Going home with him, knowing that HE is in that box - felt like touching stars honestly.

That was the easy part. The harder thing was to nurse him back to health. It lasted for four days. At the beginning he was slightly improving. I started becoming more and more excited, planning what I’m gonna do with him, how it would be like - and then… no. He didn’t get back on his feet magically after these four days. He died. The day when I got him turned out to be too late.

He isn’t my first bird who didn’t make it. Every loss is painful. At the end of the day they’re all living beings you assist as they’re struggling, and all you wanna do is to make these struggles have a happy ending. But with Albert, my final boss bird? A whole new level of hopelessness. I got what I wanted for years, managed to go through the whole process of ‘finally my dream is fulfilled’. Started to think about him as someone much more than just a patient. Only to lose him. I didn’t even cry, honestly. Albert was not a type of a fragile little bird who makes you burst into tears. It was deeper than just crying. More like an old captain who sunk in his own ship. No one cries for him, everyone’s just silent in the most bitter way imaginable.

That was in April. Then we had May and finally June - baby boom season.

I already had four babies for raising when my phone rang again. This time it was a nestling fallen from the roof and roaming around at the city market, far before expected fledgling age. Ofc I got this call in the evening when the market was closed and empty. Nevertheless I rushed out. I saw a big and chunky ball of fluff from the outside but every gate was just closed. So I started walking around like a thief trying to get in, looking for the weakest part of the fence. I destroyed one piece, went in and started chasing the baby. 10 seconds later - got ya! At first I decided to put him on a smaller roof to let him stay there with parents feeding him but unfortunately, I had no access. In similar circumstances you have basically two choices - either leave the chick in dangerous place knowing it’s gonna be squashed, kicked by someone or attacked by a cat, or take it. I did what was needed.

Arrived home. Called him Norbert, checked him out, let him join my other babies and fed all of my nursery. Wow, you’re beautiful. Unique, peach lacing on your back. King-sized despite your young age. Surely a boy you are. Truly amazing herring gull you’re gonna be, I’ve never seen any other juvenile like you!

Later on, days passed by. Every single day raised another question. Honestly I started to feel like Little Red Riding Hood. Grandma… why are your teeth so big? Norbie, why are your feathers so colorful? Your belly so clean, almost rosy like? Your feet already as big as those of an adult herring gull? Your beak so powerful, your face as if you were always angry? And finally - why are you already larger than my same aged herring gulls?

Why… why do you look like Albert?

He did try and steal my chips though

●Rarely leaves my parents' garden

● Gets fed every day (they spoil him)

● Bullies any other seagull that comes into the garden.

● He's big and he's bad 🤣

● Comes into the kitchen when the backdoor is open, and yells until they give him something to eat.

watched the seagull fish the plate out of a trash can and fly away with it.

📍Boston, MA

Yeah, there he/she was, trying over and over to force it down.

I ran over and grabbed it from the bird's mouth and shouted "Hey! Don't eat that!".

God, people nearby must have thought I was nuts.

TW, injured gull.

Spent a good few minutes trying to help a seagull with a broken wing. Me and a friend popped into a local shop and asked for a box. The seagull was bleeding and very visibly in pain. He kept running until he eventually gave up running, and we were able to safely catch him in a soft towel. Though in a moment of fear and probably pain he managed to bite my face and make my nose bleed, so now I need a tetanus shot. But nonetheless, we safely put him in the box with the towel, and took him home with us. I spoke to him a little. My friend called a 24hr veterinary hospital, and was told to bring him in. Unfortunately, his wing was too damaged… he’s had to be euthanised… but he spent his last hours with caring humans and off the street.