CORNWALL, UK – It seems a cheeky seagull has been wandering through a family home six times a day – to steal cat biscuits.
The bird – who is nicknamed Beakie – was a constant feature at the home of Andrew and Jacqui Merrington in Penzance, Cornwall, last summer but has once again returned in recent weeks more confident than ever.
It regularly ‘knocks’ on the patio door with it beak, literally demanding to be let in.
And after the doors were left open in the recent spell of overly hot weather, the gull has gone one step further by coming into the house to help itself to cat biscuits.
Video footage shows the bird having a good look around the home before discovering the cat biscuits in the kitchen.
When it is not sneaking its way inside the home, Beakie hangs around outside with the family’s bemused kitty whose name is Martha.
Andrew, 42, who works in communications at Plymouth University, stated: ‘My daughter named it as it would just loiter around and was a fixture on our decking all last summer.
‘It started to tap on the back patio door with its beak asking to be let in.
‘We were not feeding it, but it would just hang around.
‘Then there were a few times when we left the door open when it was hot and it just came in the living room to have a poke around.
‘I was working from home recently and was aware of the sounds of cat biscuits being pushed around and I thought our cat Martha was just playing with them.
‘But I poked my head around the corner and there was Beakie the seagull enjoying Martha’s food. I couldn’t believe it.’
Andrew and Jacqui, both 38, who have two children Holly, 2, and Jessica, ten months, said Beakie had almost become a second family pet.
Andrew went on to say: ‘I suppose you could say that Beakie has become our unintentional pet.
‘We are not feeding it though – they are just very opportunist and it is a real character.
‘Every evening when we are sat at in our living room we can hear the tapping.
‘Our cat Martha just sits and looks at him suspiciously – but they sit out together and are a bit of an odd couple.’
‘Beakie is a very clever seagull. He or she comes in if the door is left open and slides across the wooden floor and goes straight for the cat food bowl.
‘We don’t encourage it – but that part of the house is a sun-trap that can get warm so sometimes the door is left open.’
Andrew said Beakie is currently visiting them approximately six times per day and always wants to come inside.
He said he believes that it has taken a liking to cat food as that is the only thing that is readily available inside the home.
He concluded: ‘We do not leave food lying about. I am confident if we left a sandwich it would go for it as it is quite bold when it comes in – but just goes for what is on ground level.’
