This is a great photograph. We know seagulls are particularly competitive and fearless when they want to grab some human food at the seaside. There are many photographs a bit like this one but this is the best in this genre that I have seen. The herring has probably got something like vinegar on it but that probably wouldn’t make any difference to this seagull who is determined to fly away with it. It is hard to fathom how the photograph was taken. I don’t think it was set up so we just have to praise the photographer for spotting that it was about to happen and then capturing the photograph. The quality of the photograph is excellent as well. It did not take any cleaning up by me to make it presentable. I nearly always have to improve the quality of photographs before publishing them on this website.
Personally, I admire seagulls but a lot of people don’t like them and some even harm them deliberately because they find it very irritating that they steal food like this. I would say that they simply have to be more aware of seagulls and protect their food. And don’t complain when they get away with it. Admire them for their audacity and their courage. That is how I view this behaviour. Don’t forget the seagull is taking quite a big risk in doing this so he or she is well motivated perhaps because they are very hungry or they just love those pickled herrings from the local stand at the end of the strand (Irish word for the beach).
The seagull is an aggressive carnivore sometimes. I have seen a photograph of a seagull swallowing a rabbit whole. Can you believe that?
Here are some more pages on seagulls:
