Hi everyone, does anybody know about seagulls? A baby seagull flew into a window at my workplace and he landed on the roof outside my window. He has been there for 2 days now (and still here this morning) and although he doesn't look injured or anything I am worried that he cant fly properly yet. He seems in good health but there is no sign of the parents coming down to feed him. He has been making a calling noise and there are adult seagulls flying over our office also calling but so far no sign of him flying. He is quite big but still grey with the slightest bit of down at the top of his legs and a tuft or two by his neck. Would anyone be able to tell how old he is and whether he will fly on his own? I dont know what else to do. Any advice would be great, thanks xx
Jo x
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Is he wandering about on the roof area, does he have a clear launch area and is he using, exercising his wings? It could be that he is not experienced enough at flight to work out how to get himself out of the predicament. It might be the case of contacting the RSPCA or local rescue center if there is damage to the wings.
Caroline in Jersey
Cin J
Hi Caroline, yes he has been walking up and down the roof and it is a big open space so there is plenty of room for him to take off if he wished. We saw him stretching his wings a couple of times yesterday and they seemed fine, no signs of any damage. He did wander round quite a bit actually and even jumped up on one of the window ledges. At one point he was preening himself and lying down in the sun. Do you think he will use instinct to fly at all?
That is all positive, Jo. He will probably head off when he is hungry. Sounds as though he has dented his confidence a bit. It is also possible that his parents are about and come in to see him in the late afternoon or evening. In the days when I worked in an office we used to watch a Herring gull family on a roof several streets over from us. Once the fledglings were old enough to look after themselves the adults would move to a different roof where they could still keep an eye on them but not be constantly pestered. The youngsters spent a lot of time doing nothing other than growing, preening, sunbathing and snoozing.
As the youngster does not seem to be at the flying stage yet the two things I find worrying are 1-it is not being fed and 2- on an open roof space it is a good target for flying predators such as Great Black Backed Gull.The flying should come natural but it needs food to have the energy to fly.The RSPCA may be the best bet even if it is only for advice.Good luck.
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
It sounds like a fledgling approaching the 42 day stage where they usually take flight, at this point they are brown/grey flecked but most of the fluffy down feathers have gone and thay are adult sized. I would go along with the comment about it losing it's confidence, if it's had a bump but is still moving around, flapping it's wings etc then it sounds ok. The parents will be visiting the youngster to feed it but maybe not when people are around. They are not like blue tits bringing food every minute or so, there feeding strategy is more food every few hours.
Hopefully the next attempt to fly will be more successful!
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
Thank you for all your comments and advice, this has made me feel a lot better about it. He has moved onto another level I think so he is out of my view now but hopefully this means he is exploring and getting some confidence back? I was comparing the feeding habits to those of the garden birds who feed their young every minute and I thats why I was worrying so much about him being hungry. Thanks again for your advice - I will keep you updated and no doubt ask for more advice if needed! Jo x
Hi, any news on the baby seagull?
Sue
Hi Sue, he has come back into view and seems to be ok but I am just worried about him not having water or anything? Someone on the 2nd floor of our office said they saw a parent feeding him but I am yet to see any sign of an adult. This might be a stupid question but will it just fly of its own accord or do the parents have to encourage the young to fly?
Hi Jo, they do have the basic instinct to beat their wings but they often need their parents encouragement, that's one of the reasons why they are so noisy at this stage! If the parents are around and have been seen feeding it and it's still safely on the ledge then everything is as it should be! It'll be away soon though!
Hello again, I dont want to speak too soon but we think this little guy might have flown away! No sign of him from around 4pm onwards yesterday and I cannot see him this morning. I will miss him but I am just glad he is ok and managed to recover from his bump on the head. Thanks for all your comments and advice :-D