Rooftop Gazing: Herring Gulls on the North Yorkshire Coast

As the warmer weather finally sweeps across the UK, the sun warms the North Yorkshire coast, sparkling off the expanse of the deep grey-blue North Sea. Seaside trips become all the more tempting and we try and get to the sea at least once a week.

One of our favourite spots to visit is the charming old fishing village of Staithes. Clusters of cottages sweep up the steep hill, their red pantiled roofs and clutter of chimneypots stretching out, a landscape in itself. A secret world ruled over by the Herring Gull. Giant and majestic, their proud bulk of a body rests on a chimney stack, the bold yellow curve of their red-kissed beak reaching downwards. In this rooftop world, they seem to settle, to take a moment for themselves

According to Welsh folklore, the herring gull is known as a harbinger of storms, and therefore a powerful and magical creature. They can detect small but significant changes in air pressure, heading inland for shelter in order to survive the storm. Which they seem to do very effectively, as they live for around twenty years. Wise and solid, cheeky and brazen, the seagull is part of the essence of the Great British seaside.