Seagulls and the pecking order

A herring gull grabs a bite in St Stephen’s Green. Photograph: Cyril Byrne
A herring gull grabs a bite in St Stephen’s Green. Photograph: Cyril Byrne

Sir, – I had a pot of tea in the newly reopened Bewleys on Grafton Street, Dublin, last week. It was a lovely experience. Afterwards, I walked towards St Stephen’s Green and reflected that, indeed, “Dublin can be heaven, coffee at eleven”.

As I strolled, a gentleman walking towards me was eating a sandwich as he did so. Quite suddenly, a seagull alighted on the gentleman’s shoulder, snatched the sandwich and soared skyward, all done in an instant. The gentleman was incandescent with rage and directed that towards the disappearing bird. Unfortunately for the seagull, the bulk of the sandwich filling was lost to the pavement during the raid.

I spoke about the incident with one of Grafton Street’s wonderful flower sellers. This is now a daily occurrence, it seems. Indeed the ducks in the Green have long since been overtaken.

Should something be done? – Yours, etc,

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DECLAN DOYLE,

Dublin 3.