The overgrown brat

Our local resident herring gull spends a lot of time surveying the locality from the roof of the storeroom at the back of the China Palace or from this chimney pot above. (S)he can then sweep down on immediately on any bits of fast food discarded around the car park. However, since an apparently successful breeding season up on one of the nearby roof-tops, the adolescent has been harrassing for food continually. The cry is a terrible wheezing whine accompanied by a very unattractive cringing posture. The adult chooses to ignore it as long as possible (as in: "You're a big gull now, you can fly, b*gger off and find your own food") but in the end finds it unbearable and flies away. Somehow this puts me in mind of DaveH's blip yesterday. :-)

Here junior has achieved a dominant position on an upper ledge, so the parent has turned its back. Although I had to crop this heavily I think I can still detect that old-fashioned look on the adult's face.