Herring gulls are protected sea birds, which have moved in land in recent years, due to a lack of seafood. A pair of herring gulls (or seagulls as they are more commonly known), have been nesting on the chimney pots of our school for the last number of years and this year has been no exception.

However, we had a dramatic development this week when, it appears, one of the three chicks fell off the chimney top, down the tiles on the roof, and on to the school yard. While the chick is limping, it is moving well and active, which became a difficulty when 250 children came in to line up for school the first morning.

We were unsure if the adults had pushed it out of the nest and rejected the chick or if it was an accidental fall. Interfering with the chick would most definitely mean that it would be rejected by its parents so we decided to let nature take its course.

Yesterday, the two adults began to come down on the yard and feed the chick, so it seems that they are continuing to care for it while it is on the ground.

Amazingly, with a few cones around it, the chick stays very quiet and still when the children go on yard so everybody is able to continue as normal. However, when one person on their own is on the yard near the chick, the parents do become very protective, as you can see in the video below. We may need helmets on the yard for the rest of the school year!

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