Well-adjusted means you can make the same mistakes over and over again, and keep smiling - George Bergman
Just yesterday (7th July 2026), at about quarter-to-nine in the morning, there was a great commotion in the skies above our town garden. As a rough estimate, I would say there were 40+ lesser black-backed gulls circling overhead (Video 1). What could have caused such a hullaballoo? Even in land-locked Hereford, we are used to seeing flocks/colonies of gulls circling around a food source; but that clearly was not the situation here. In the evenings, we have seen smaller flocks gathering overhead before heading out to their overnight roosting places. But this was early morning!
It was only when, about 90 minutes later, on my way to the kitchen garden to check on the Hotbin composters that I discovered the probable reason for the earlier brouhaha. There, on the potato patch, was a lesser black-backed gull with a very badly damaged right wing.
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| Photo 1: Lesser Black-backed Gull with 'Broken' Wing (July 2026) |
The bird was relatively calm though it moved away awkwardly if I approached it. Photo 2 shows the damaged right wing very clearly; flight was impossible.
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| Photo 2: Lesser Black-backed Gull with 'Broken' Right Wing (July 2026) |
I assume the earlier cacophony was a 'gull down' response from all the other gulls. The gulls have been breeding here or hereabouts so there are lots of family groups.
Although the gulls, and especially the very noisy lesser black-backed gulls, are a bit of a nuisance we couldn't not help this poor bird. Especially considering we are members of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, the British Trust for Ornithology and the local Herefordshire Ornithological Club!!
Mary supplied some water & food (suet pellets) and I contacted Herefordshire Wildlife Rescue run by a small group of local volunteers. It took a few hours to get a response and they advised capturing the bird and taking it to a local vet. Neither of us were overly confident in taking on this task because these birds can be aggressive and we were concerned about inflicting further damage.
Fast forward to today (8th July), the bird was still alive. It was still mobile and had now moved to the Japanese garden. More food and water. Mary returned from her volunteer work with the Hereford Cathedral Broderers (about 3 pm), We'd not heard anything from the rescue group, so we needed to take more drastic action. A quick phone call to the vet (fortunately, only about 150 yards away) to confirm they would accept the bird if we could deliver it.
I managed to find a large box (full of toilet rolls) which seemed suitable (minus the rolls, of course) and Mary found an old blanket. Off to the Japanese garden where the gull was 'enjoying' some afternoon sunshine. Mary used her blanket like a matador to usher the bird towards the open box held by yours truly. It turned out to be easier than we thought.
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| Photo 3: The Bird Box |
A five-minute walk to the vets, a bit of paperwork to sign over the 'care' of the bird to the vet and we were soon back home. We will never know what happened to the injured gull; if I had to guess it would probably involve humane disposal because we think the injuries are probably too severe.
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