Why nesting birds who caused information blackout may have done us all a favour
Hopefully, two gulls who inadvertently knocked out the mobile phone signal near Tulloch Station won’t start a trend
Given the machinations of hostile states, rogue AI bots and other assorted baddies, those of a more melodramatic bent may have feared the worst when the 4G mobile phone signal and train information screens at Tulloch station on the West Highland Line both suddenly went down.
However, it turned out the villains were rather more mundane and very much local – a couple of gulls who decided a nearby phone mast would make an ideal site for their nest.
ScotRail has now said the information screens have been restored, but O2 lamented they were “unable to carry out the necessary repairs” as the birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
It seems odd that phone masts are not designed in a way that dissuades birds from nesting on them in the first place. Hopefully, they won’t decide to tell all their friends about how they are the perfect place to set up home.
But these gulls might just be doing us a favour. If our 21st-century technology can be undone so easily, just think what AI could do.
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