Ayrshire: Seagull snapping up ‘snake’ for breakfast seen in Largs

Retired biology teacher Julie Kane was on her morning walk with her Maltese dog Freddy on Thursday when she was shocked to see a seagull take on an 'adder snake' in the nearby grass - and gobble it up in front of her.

Julie immediately got out her phone camera to catch the incredible one-off moment as the herring gull struggled with the 'reptile' before boldly eating it in full - in a rarely seen sight on the west coast of Scotland.

Julie, 71, couldn't quite believe what she was seeing and took photos of the incident.

Julie Kane was walking her dog when she came across the unusual incident (Image: Julie Kane)

She said: "Today’s excitement from Largs prom - a herring gull had an adder and eventually ate it. It happend beside the rosemary bushes at the front of Vikingar.

"It is fairly normal to see a gull catching a crab, but I wondered how the people putting on the grass would feel if they knew adders were close by.

"They are very clever birds. It is better that they target natural food than ice creams and chips.

Lurking in the undergrowth - Adder snake was targeted by Herring Gull near Vikingar (Image: Google Maps)

"It was about 8.40am. I realised it was a snake as it was clearly alive and struggling to strike.

"The bird was intent on having it for breakfast, and I managed to get quite close. I could clearly see the zigzag pattern on its back.

Seagull is determined as it struggles with adder in grass (Image: Julie Kane)

Breakfast time - Herring gull had a struggle before eating up adder (Image: Julie Kane)

Going, going, gone! Seagull finishes off its breakfast by eating full adder (Image: Julie Kane)

"I was a biology teacher. When I told a couple of folk they were astonished. They agreed I was right when they saw the photos."

Our only native snake is also Scotland's sole venomous reptile. But the adder is a timid creature and unlikely to bite unless threatened.

An adder's preferred defence is to hide in the undergrowth - but if a person gets too close, the adder will lash out to enable its escape.

Julie Kane and her dog Freddy (Image: Julie Kane)

The Bird Feeder Hub website states: "Eating snakes is not just limited to birds of prey as you might assume. You may be surprised to see that even some more common birds eat snakes. 

"Snakes are eaten by water birds, birds of prey, and domestic birds to name a few.

""While many people assume that it is mostly snakes preying upon birds, there are actually lots of different types of birds that eat snakes.

"Some of these birds may also be eaten by snakes, however in those cases it mostly comes down to who is bigger to decide who gets eaten."

"Some don’t seem like they would have the toughness factor to gobble up a serpent, but the animal world never ceases to surprise us."

There is also online video footage online in Croatia of a seagull attacking and then devouring a snake. See below.

Julie was certainly left surprised by the incident - and told the News it was an incredible thing to see whilst out on her early morning walk with her dog.