Is it wise to take parenting lessons from seagulls?

The desperate plight of a fallen fledgling gives Emma a new mission in lifeAfter a tough patch, I perked up this week thanks to having something concrete to worry about. It’s satisfying to attach the diffuse fog of dread to a real, small, problem. Perhaps you, too, would like to worry about something quite trivial. If so, join me briefly: it concerns a seagull chick. Before ornithologists start vibrating with no-such-thing-as-a-seagull indignation, yes, OK, a juvenile herring gull. Let’s call it that: JHG.On Thursday afternoon, an outbreak of more bloodcurdling than usual shrieks alerts me to a commotion in the crime syndicate on next door’s roof where I am watching two murdergulls (hush, ornithologists, that is the correct term) raise a chick. I was gull-obsessed even pre-corona: I love their anarchic spirit and the way their yellow eyes match their giant scything beaks. Every CCTV clip of a gull stealing Doritos from a Spar, and every councillor mugged for a cheese straw (true story Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jul/12/emma-beddington-column-is-it-wise-to-take-parenting-advice-from-seagulls #life_and_style #birds #coronavirus_outbreak