On a steep grassy bank above a children’s playground, I often see a pair of Herring gulls paddling for earthworms. It’s fascinating behaviour; sometime somewhere one very smart Herring gull realised that earthworms rise to the surface of the soil when it rains and it could fool earthworms into thinking it was raining by stamping its feet rapidly on the ground, thus imitating the sounds and vibrations caused by rain hitting the ground. Other Herring gulls saw how effective this was and learned to do the same. And I’ve also seen Lesser black-backed gulls using this technique, though not Black-headed gulls – perhaps they’re not smart enough to learn, or maybe their bodyweight isn’t sufficient to have the desired effect. And if you’re wondering whether or not the behaviour is effective, in this one-minute video you’ll see the Herring gull nabs three juicy earthworms.