Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

The unidentified object was caught on camera flying over Summerleaze Beach in Bude, Cornwall, and has prompted people to take to social media in their droves in an attempt to decipher its origin.

The three-pointed object has been touted as an alien UFO, a drone and even a Russian bomber plane after it was photographed last week.

However, it has now been claimed the mystery object was a radio-controlled seagull, which was fitted with a camera before being flown through the skies. 

The great UFO mystery began on Thursday when David Gillham, of Cornwall UFO Research Group, posted a photo on his Facebook page of the object.

He accompanied the picture with the caption: 'Just received this photo 2 of 2 from a person in Bude. Any ideas what this object could be?

'Taken at Summerleaze Beach, Bude, N Cornwall 17th February 2015. Looks triangular....but I have no idea what it is? The second sighting I have witnessed around N Cornwall in two weeks.'

In a post just days earlier, he uploaded an image of a snowy field with a dark, unusual-looking object hovering in the sky above.

He captioned the photograph: 'Just received this photo 1 of 2 from a person in Bude. Taken at Davidstow, N Cornwall 3 February 2015.' 

He said both of the photographs were sent to him by a resident of Bude, who didn't notice the objects when he took the photos and only realised they were in the frame when he downloaded them to his computer.

The posts were greeted with dozens of responses who claimed the objects could be a drone or one of the RAF fighter jet's which were sent to intercept two Russian Bear bombers off the coast of Cornwall last week. 

The bizarre object sparked mystery for days until Van Johnive claimed the object was in fact his uncle's remote-controlled seagull.

He told the Cornish Guardian: 'I can confirm that the "UFO" in the photo was my great uncle's Seagull RC Plane with a camera. 

'The photos are of before and during flight of the Seagull before we crashed it upon landing on the cliff.

'Please apologise for the confusion for us. Thanks.'

The lightweight model 'aircraft' is inspired by a seagull – complete with lifelike features and colourings – and is operated with an aerial and radio.

It is not known whether it was being used for fun or as a deterrent to other birds of prey in the area. 

It has also not been confirmed by any experts whether it was in fact the 'seagull' which was the UFO in the photographs.

The supposed revelation sparked surprise online, with many finding it rather amusing.

Jade Louise Ullrich wrote: 'So funny. The councils should get a load of these and use them outside food establishments to stop us getting attacked.'

While Lesley Hands added: 'Brilliant! If only all of life's mysteries were solved so easily.'

However, Mr Gillham said he was still rather dubious that the object was the remote-controlled seagull and not something more sinister, such as aliens.

He told MailOnline: 'I don't know whether it is that. One of the problems with the photo is that it was taken on a low resolution phone. I've tried to zoom in but all I get is a pixelated image.

'I did notice that in the top left-hand side there was a very bright area, a white light.

'One of things you've got to try and work out is the distance from the camera, where the object was seen.

'It's hard to judge because it's over the sea and the camera is quite far away but it seems a bit big to me to be a model seagull.'

Mr Gillham said he had never come across remote or radio-controlled seagulls before.

He said: 'It's the first time I've ever seen one, it seems he has some pretty hefty gear to fly it with.

'If the resolution was a lot better, I could've zoomed in and actually seen what it was but when I zoomed in you could just see black.'

(dailymail.co.uk)