A warm summer's evening: the perfect time to relax, writes David Sterratt.
Amy, a Harris Hawk, is no exception. Earlier this week she was to be found charming locals on a perch in Green Street after her evening meal, and before starting work with falconer Derek on scaring gulls away from the roof of the Annandale Street bus depot.
This happens twice a week at this time of year. Derek leads Amy around the depot for about two hours, with her 'following like a dog'. This is long enough to scare the gulls from their nests for the 30 minutes it takes for their eggs to cool and so not hatch.
In expert hands there are rarely problems, but if the hawk finds chicks to eat, it will tend to stay on the roof, requiring the falconer to stage dawn and dusk vigils to get the bird down.
Derek has worked with Amy for two years. There is clearly a bond between them: She can pick up on Derek's mood, perhaps via his pulse.
Amy is 15 years old and can expect to live to 20 or 25, working and remaining healthy until the end. She's prime breeding stock, but has given short shift to the last three males introduced to her.
Local resident Cigdem and Amy pose for a selfie
Surprisingly, despite gull-proof bins (but not gull-proof sacks) the urban gull population, currently standing at 100,000, is still increasing. According to Derek, the reason is debris from fast-food outlets and industrial areas, whilst landfill sites also are also a prime source of food.
So too is Bellevue Crescent, the length of which was strewn with all manner of interesting items after 'coming under attack' on Monday evening. Communal bins have been agreed for the area but are not yet in position.
Photo by Maria Hart.
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Elaine Christie My dad did a cartoon showing 2 foxes on the bus depot roof! He actually saw them plus complaining about the seagulls. He lived on Bellevue Rd beside the depot.