There ought to be a specific word or phrase for seagull behaviour around rubbish bins. None I can think of quite fits the bill. ‘Plundering’, while suggesting a certain pirate-like swagger, is a bit full-on, as is ‘looting’; ‘hanging around’ is too innocent; ‘foraging’ while true, suggests something within a natural order (which it isn’t) like grazing or hunter-gathering; and ‘rummaging’ is something more likely to happen at boot fairs or jumble sales.

For me, the phrase that best encapsulates the activity, is ‘Loitering with intent’ Unfortunately, this creates a new problem because this is a legal term, apparently first appearing in the Vagrancy Act 1824 and if this is indeed applicable to seagulls, then they should all be arrested for carrying out said pursuit.

If anyone has a better word for what gulls do around bins, please let me know.