Strange bird behaviour today, in Stoke-on-Trent. In the earliest pre-dawn, a whole lot of crow-flight and verbal calls. And lots of crows in flight, most heading south down the Etruria valley. “They’re up and about unusually early”, I thought. Then, as the light rose, I saw stray seagulls going the opposite way, north up the valley. That’s not unusual just after dawn, as I suspect they sleep down on Trentham Lake or somewhere like that. But this time they were being harassed or shadowed by crows, and were also coming individually rather than in groups as they usually do. Also some which had escaped the crows seemed rather wary, and none were doing their usual ‘leisurely flapping’ northwards (which I assume = ‘scouting for food-litter along the A500 and its feeders’).

“Aha”, I thought. “The crows have cleverly organised an en-masse dawn raid on the seagulls”. Presumably by surprising them mid-air, as they swung into the Etruria Valley heading north. That timing would make sense, since the lack of warm updrafts of air would deny the seagulls some of their soaring capability and manoeuvrability.

Later, I saw a very unusual sight which seemed to confirm my early morning observations. 11am and a dozen seagulls were sitting tight-packed, right in the middle of a medium-sized pond in Etruria. Never seen that before, at any time. Very unusual behaviour, as normally they’d be soaring and looking for food. Sure enough, on getting home I find the crows still making a lot of noise and seemingly ‘patrolling’ up and down the valley. No seagulls about. My guess is that the seagulls on the pond knew what was good for them, and were keeping a low profile in a defensible position. Then, at noon it all went quiet. The crow-clan’s ‘Operation See Off the Seagulls’ was seemingly over.

I wonder if it’s somehow been triggered by the shortage of rain, over the last few weeks? Or perhaps the young crow nestlings are fledged, and about to fly for the first time? I also rather more whimsically wonder if, while all this was going on, the magpies were down on the ground and enjoying scoffing all the Saturday-night food-litter? Amusing to think of them chuckling at the antics of their feathered fellows in the skies above, while scoffing McDonalds. I saw no evidence of that, though.