I took this photograph this afternoon on the High Street in Old Town Hastings from outside the entrance to the Swan Inn Memorial Garden (it was destroyed by a German bomb in World War Two) looking up toward St Clements Church.
This baby Herring Gull fall off a neighbouring roof today and ended up sitting on the grass outside. This photograph was taken before she was taken to the RSPCA's nearby Mallydams rescue centre.
Here they are! Five baby Herring Gulls looking at their reflection in a window imagining what 500 baby Herring Gulls would look like.
Suddenly you wake up one day to discover there are five — not three — baby Herring Gulls! I took this photograph early this morning. It’s possible that there were always five but we only saw a maximum of three at any one time. It’s also possible the two newcomers, who are slightly smaller, slid down from an adjoining roof. In short, we’ll never know.
More babies are also spotted on other neighbouring roofs. We’re rapidly going into that point in time when the wings of the baby gulls are growing stronger but they’re still not able to fly. I have yet to succeed in capturing a publishable photograph of a baby gull flapping her wings like crazy and getting one or two inches off the ground but no more.
Sadly, as their curiosity grows and their ability to fly increases baby gulls end up on the ground either because they fell off or they tried to fly. Last night we rescued two baby gulls on the ground in our street and took them to the nearby RSPCA Mallydams Wood Wildlife Centre. We were told that they should survive and be returned to the wild. There’s also the National Gull Rescue and Protection group that also deserves our support.
Although it seems there are less gulls around than previous years, which is a comment I’ve heard made by others who have lived in the Old Town longer than me, they generate an enormous amount of noise with their screeching and squawking. They’re always noisy but they’re particularly so as their babies approach the time when they leave their nesting areas. I’ve grown to like the sound and miss it when I’m elsewhere and no gulls exist.
Took this photograph this morning. The three chicks continue to survive. Here are two of them taking their first lessons in flying.
Here's a close-up of the family taken yesterday.
Mother Herring Gull watches over her young as two huddle together in the warm sun and one goes for a walkabout. The babies are little grey balls of fluff with black polka-dots. Their high-pitched chirping becomes part of the sound of the Old Town at this time of the year.
One of the things that Hastings Old Town is renowned for — and I like — is its population of Herring Gulls. Historically, the Old Town has been for centuries a centre for fishing. In fact, Hastings has the largest beach-based fishing fleet in England. The fishing industry helps to account for the large population of gulls. They are large and very noisy birds who gracefully fly above the Old Town as well as low (eye-level) along the High Street seemingly looking for someone to christen. I will take periodically photographs of this family gulls and post them here so that we can monitor their growth and development together. Last year, most likely the same parents raised four babies on the same roof; however, sadly, not all of them survived.
In the top left hand corner is High Wycombe and top right hand corner a glimpse of the sea.
Now that the weather is reasonable for a couple of days, activity at the Fernbank Allotment increases with planting, weeding and watering.
Strawberries, onions, leeks, potatoes, rhubarb, asparagus, various beans and gooseberry bushes, apple and pear trees and cut flowers and herbs are all now underway. Plans are being made to plant in the coming month or two for such winter crops as cabbage and brussel sprouts.
The photo shows various beds created from the sloping turfy terrain. The grass was cut over the weekend. The grass is left uncut around the fruit trees. The compost heap is on the middle left. A group of us tried to help a sick fox who was spending time at the allotment; however, he’s not been seen since to feed him the food with the medicine in it.
For previous reports on the allotment, please go here.
Kim Stallwood is an independent scholar and author on animal rights. His forthcoming book, Animal Dharma, explores what it means to care deeply about animals. Starting in 1976 he has held leadership positions with some of the world’s foremost organisations in the UK and US, including CIWF, BUAV, PETA, The Animals’ Agenda, Animals and Society Institute and Minding Animals International. A vegetarian since 1974 when as a student he worked in a chicken slaughterhouse. A vegan since 1976. His evil twin is the Grumpy Vegan.
Animal Dharma explores what it means to care deeply about animals and discovers how we can live peacefully with ourselves and others by proposing four key values: truth, compassion, nonviolence and interbeing.