Avian lazarus

Whilst the plight of the solo Herring Gull chick had seemed desperate and then all was calm by his reappearance, things have got even more crazy as the second chick has popped up and they are both patrolling the roof of the bingo hall flexing their wings. They have obviously abandoned the nest which is visible from the office and found a more suitable location which is out of sight and it is only when they fancy a wander than we see them. The magpie seems to have given up for now and it is just down to the occasional pigeon to bother the chicks in search of food.

Big Old Badger continues to visit at 10pm on the dot and this week has been tucking into slightly soft strawberries and leftover pizza (which he prizes by scurrying off into the bush to devour in safety).

Steaming tension

Tuesday 9am and the Herring Gull chick is nowhere to be seen.
Tuesday 12:00pm and still no sign of the chick.
The tension is mounting like watching a bowl of porridge fresh from 3 minutes in the microwave as it slowly cools.
3pm....nothing
4.45pm.....and there he is waddling out to meet mum with some chips.

Springtime rooftop drama

On the roof of the Bingo Hall opposite the office two Herring Gull chicks have been wandering around waiting for the parents to pop down to Harry Ramsden's for their dinner. Currently they have stumpy little wings and are covered in downy grey feathers. Out the back of the office, on the roof of the six floor, a solitary chick was being minded by its parents, they having set up a nice sheltered nest in the corner of the roof.

Or rather that was the situation last Thursday. Today there is only one chick visibly on the Bingo Hall roof and he is being persistently harassed by a magpie. He's holding his own, waving his feeble little wings but is receiving no support or food from the parents. There is an adult Herring Gull sat on the chimney warming his rump but offering no protection so could be unconnected. And worse still, the chick on the back roof has also gone. It could be that they have fledged but their wings looked far too immature last week to start soaring over the cliffs.

Updates to follow....

The scuffle

It still only seems to be the one badger coming for food each night and we've not seen signs of the pair from last year at all, although three nights ago we had evidence of another badger on the scene. It was hard to make out anything distinctive but in the early hours two badgers had a ferocious fight on the front lawn for several minutes before parting ways. The visits of the big old boy are still quite late, around 10pm, and so the viewings are not great but he certainly likes his lasagne.