Those Herring Gulls

Here in Liverpool, I have three separate alarm systems to wake me in the morning. There’s my iPhone and then there's my internal clock that wakes me just before the phone alarm goes off. If either of those were to fail, I now have cawing herring gulls as they greet the dawn. 

As I recall, the seagulls we had in New York City looked about half the size of European Herring Gulls. These are big birds. I've been told that they can be a real nuisance, swooping down to steal food from people trying to enjoy an alfresco snack. I've never actually seen them do that but I'm sure it's true. 

These sea birds are found of chips (French fried potatoes or fries to Americans). Sometimes I stop and talk to one of these gulls, point out that they should be flying out over the Irish Sea to find a herring because herrings have far more nutritional value than chips. I could point this out to British humans, too. In Liverpool, even the Indian, Mexican, and Middle Eastern restaurants serve chips. 

"Listen up, big bird. It's just not right that a guy from New York should eat more herring than you do. You're living on garbage. Cold chips dropped on the ground? That's garbage! You have those big strong wings. Get out there and fly! Do some fishing!"

I'm either ignored or I get an angry caw for an answer. 

"Mama! Where are my chips?"

I asked Paul what he would do about these gulls. He's from Liverpool, I think. He just stood there like a statue and said nothing.

Okay okay, like the herring gulls, I don't get all my calories from fish, fruit, and veggies either. I've been known to consume other things from time to time. 

I came upon this statue or bas-relief of the mythical Liver Bird on the side of a building recently. Is that a chip it has in its beak?