GULLS
West Dunbartonshire may not have much of a shoreline that be cosnidered "sea". What it has is a short stretch of the Firth of Clyde right where that becomes the River Clyde. But we do still manage to have a good variety of seabirds. Many birds, such as gulls, may be thought of as seabirds, but they are not so semantically precise and so many will set up home right in our town centres or feed in farm fields.
If someone exclaims "what is a seagull doing inland?", you can respond with "a gull's a gull for a'that". We tend to over label many of them as "seabulls" when in fact many are quite happy almost anywhere. It is more proper to simply call them gulls.
And it is this adaptability that leads to trouble between us and them.
While it is qutie entertaining to feed gulls and similar birds along our quayside such as the River Leven in Dumbarton, the bolder they become, the more problematic. Not only do they foul our buildings (wonder where that word comes from?), they can become quite vicious in the way they dive down on us both to snatch food (even if not intended as a hand-out) or to defend their young when nesting.
So often an immature, but an almost fully grown gull finds itself a little battered on the ground and wanders around eliciting sympathy and sometimes disgust from passers by. It would be so much better if they lived and bred in natural environments such as Dumbarton Rock. Quite what to do about them can be a dilemma. They don't always heal from their falls and may not survive. Nature has a way of dealing with them that may upset us, but rescuing them is rarely a satisfactory answer.
This immature, but almost fully grown gull, most likely a lesser black-backed gull has been rescued. It has a damaged wing and now dependent on human care doesn't have a natural nor bright future.
Naturally, "seabirds" include quite a few other bird species too such as comorants (which we describe in their own section) and many waders. Even, as is common locally, swans.
See :
RSPB : https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/great-black-backed-gull/
WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL : Gull advice : https://www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/public-health-protection/gull-advice/#:~:text=Lesser%20Black%20Backed%20and%20Herring%20Gulls%20are%20common,within%20the%20area%20rather%20than%20on%20coastal%20cliffs.
WILDLIFE TRUSTS : https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/how-identify/identify-gulls
