A nine-year-old British boy has won an international seagull screeching competition with his bizarre impression of the bird.
Cooper Wallace initially irritated his parents with his imitations, but now he is a European champion thanks to his unusual talent.
‘At first, my friends at school thought it was annoying. But not now. “I did it,” the Derbyshire lad said proudly.
The bird enthusiast traveled with his parents and sister from his home in Chesterfield to attend the European Seagull Screaming Championships in La Panne, Belgium.
All his practice paid off and he emerged victorious against dozens of other competitors, with an impressive 92 out of 100 points, the highest score in both the youth and adult categories.
Cooper Wallace is seen participating in the fourth annual meeuwenschreeuwen, or ‘seagull shouting competition’.
“Your life will never be the same,” organizer Claude Willaert told him, noting that it was “a double first as the UK was represented at our European championships for the first time.”
Cooper decided he wanted to become ‘Seagull Boy’, just as Peter Parker became Spider-Man after being bitten by an arachnid, when a bird bit him while he was eating a tuna sandwich on the beach.
“I feel like they are a very nice animal, I like them for their noise,” he told the BBC, although hHe admitted that he was still “wary” of the birds when they ate by the sea.
While his high-pitched screeches initially bothered those around him, his mother Lauren began to realize he had talent.
“People were starting to turn around and look for the seagull,” he said.
The family found out about the competition while enjoying a day at a children’s play centre, when Lauren told Cooper’s sister to follow the sound of the seagull to find him.
He said one man listened and “couldn’t stop laughing,” before telling them about the competition in Belgium.
The family decided to attend the fourth annual meeuwenschreeuwen competition, or ‘seagull shouting competition,’ on Sunday, and Cooper impressed the judges with his skill.
A panel of expert judges scored Cooper and other contestants on their screams and performance.
Jan Seys, a marine biologist and one of the judges, said: “He managed to include several types of calls in his performance and each of them resembled a real seagull call in the most impressive way.”
“In fact, for me he was not only the best of the young participants, but of all those who participated in the championship.”
Like many of his fellow contestants, Cooper dressed and behaved like one of the pageant’s birds, even lunging at a large cone of French fries held by his sister Shelby.
The jury awards points based on squeals, which account for 75 percent of the total score, and performance, which accounts for the rest.
Competitors are told to “screech and behave like seagulls.” Do it right, because you only have one chance.’
The calls are marked in their “timbre,” “rhythm” and “variation,” Seys added, noting that gull sounds vary depending on the situation.
The calls are marked in their ‘timbre’, ‘rhythm’ and ‘variation’, according to one of the judges
“Seagulls have a fairly extensive repertoire of sounds,” he said, “ranging from alarm calls to long calls that make it clear that they do not want unwanted intruders on their territory.”
“The seagull caller who can capture this variation well and demonstrate it as truthfully as possible wins.”
The goal of the contest, judged by seabird experts, is to improve the reputation of these often unpopular birds and avoid “friction between seagulls and humans,” according to organizers.
A Belgian contestant, who took third place in the adult contest, declared that people should “stop calling them shore rats or sky rats.”
Joke De Keyrel, 26, told The Times: “Every time I come to the beach, I associate their screams with happiness, tranquility, peace, in short, a wonderful feeling,” before promising: “Next year I will return for gold.” ‘