Wild Harris

Herring Gulls    (Photo: Cliff Reddick)

The herring gull lives all around the coast of Harris – when you see a gull picking up scraps it is usually a herring gull.

They have a white head and a distinctly vicious-looking beak, bright yellow with a red spot on it. The legs are pink. They are graceful fliers, but they are noisy and quarrelsome. If you see them close up they have quite a fierce expression.

Their call sounds a bit like they are laughing. They will scavenge food from anywhere – if you lose your chips to a seagull then it is probably a herring gull.

by Alison Tyler