Dead gulls and litter picking during Storm Floris

This week so far I’ve picked 5 dead baby gulls from the road. Two were on Crown Street and another three were on the Raik Road and Poynernook Road ear the intersection of the two.

All the roads have speed limits of 30mph or less so I can only assume the motorists were speeding or deliberately ran them over. There’s no explanation otherwise. They were only a couple of months old and a species that is on the red list as they’re in worrying decline. I was feeling depressed about it on Monday and decided to go for a litter pick in the area during my lunch break to counter the vile humans who do this and live among us. I frequently feel ashamed to be human.

Monday was not a great day for a litter pick as Scotland was taking a belting from Storm Floris which caused power outages and brought down trees. This is one of the trees in our neighbourhood.

Nevertheless I have my own litter picker which I bought a little while ago and a heavy duty garbage bag. Anyone watching me at first would have been treated to a comical scene as I tried to handle a rubbish bag that was blowing in all directions and even blowing the litter I had already put in it out again. It could have easily been a comic episode in a TV sitcom. Once I had put several items in the bag and got them to stay in there it was better as the weight held the bag down. I eventually managed to fill it completely in less than an hour and made a big difference to a small green bit by the railway line near Union Square. And I felt better for it.

I’m planning an official litter pick for Aberdeen Cycle Forum on the 16th August at 1pm. Everyone is welcome! Please join me. Full details at litter pick 2025.