Celebrated annually, although something of a moveable feast, Seagull-Worm Day falls on the Sunday closest to 5 November.  This year, the Day corresponds to 5 November precisely.

5 November is a date more traditionally recognised as Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night, and Seagull-Worm Day is inextricably linked to its more illustrious counterpart.

The rare set of environmental conditions, which are required for Seagull-Worm Day, most commonly occur on the morning after Fireworks Night, namely that a vast crowd of people have tramped over grassy parkland during the previous evening causing the earth to get cut up and muddy.

Perfect conditions for the earthworms to rise to the surface.

Perfect conditions for the seagulls to swoop down en masse to eat them.

I celebrate Seagull-Worm Day by heading down to my local park early on Sunday morning, to enjoy the spectacle of flocks of white Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls stretched out across the savannah of grassland, each engaged in a ritualistic rain-dance, stamping one foot in turn on the invigorated soil, waiting for the worms to rise.

© The Mudskipper