Country diary: The mayhem and mystery of inland gulls | Derek Niemann

Frome, Somerset: Thirty miles from shore, they drift up the hill, dominate the church and fill the sky. But they still carry the whiff of salty air As summer approaches, the pirates of the promenade will soon be back in the headlines again, for the chip thieves and overzealous nest defenders give gulls a bad rap. Our own unsalted birds, 30 miles from the ocean swell, offer a different take. May is the month when they are most ubiquitous, most vocal, most beguiling. Up the combe they come, rid...

By Derek Niemann