The Farne Islands are the perfect location for any birder or wildlife-enthusiast. You can have close encounters left, right and centre and come away with photographs to be proud of. We paid a visit to Inner Farne last year and enjoyed getting close to Shags, Puffins, Kittiwakes and many other wonderful sea birds. Whilst we love nature, we have to accept that some sides of it aren’t so glorious. It’s a fact that we’re all aware of but it can sometimes be a little difficult to accept and we find ourselves rooting for one species or another.
Whilst photographing Puffins flying in with their catch, I witnessed a young Gull chick venturing from the undergrowth onto the boardwalk. I watched as it headed over to the other side; seemingly curious as to what the world had to offer.
It certainly produced a tale worth repeating.
Within moments a Black-Headed Gull had launched onto the young bird’s back and began an attack. Bewildered, the young bird tried to escape.
It wasn’t long before people began to notice and took to shouting at the adult bird to let go. As the young bird managed to escape, it started to take on a gauntlet of one Gull after another. A Herring Gull launched the next attack with more vigour. It pinned the bird to the ground, whilst pecking at feathers.
It held the young bird by the head, seemingly in control of the situation. However, this chick was not to be under-estimated!
Whilst the Herring Gull thought it had a hold of the bird, it wriggled and scrambled to find its way to freedom. Using the foliage as cover, it ran into one more trap before getting away to live for another day.
Looking rather more disgruntled than it did at the beginning of its first venture out, this young Gull made it through the first test of life.
This behaviour is not unusual and often it ends badly for young birds. It is thought that as adult Gulls are so territorial, this is reason enough for them to attack wandering and curious young birds. Another reason for this attack could simply be down to the adults quest for food. We have witnessed Herring Gulls eating a dead chick previously and this situation is well-recorded.
Whilst nature may be brutal, it certainly puts birds to the test from an early age; ensuring that only the very strongest survive. Perhaps this young chick has the genes it needs to be a survivor. We hope so.