After stealing the fish the bird flies away with it leaving the man stunned

The seagull swooped at the very moment he was about to eat the herring

The tourist tried to eat the fish the traditional way by lowering i

Going abroad means trying new food and interacting with the local wildlife.

But it is advisable to enjoy these two things separately, as a tourist to The Hague discovered while attempting to eat a piece of fish.

Filmed in Scheveningen, Holland, American Calvin Sprague shows the camera a raw herring covered in onions.

American Calvin Sprague is currently living in Amsterdam and taking advantage of trying the local delicacies

'I was actually on a date with my girlfriend and we decided to go to the beach,' Sprague told MailOnline in an email.

'The whole reason we were filming it in the first place was because I wanted to show my American friends how you eat herring.'

Considered a regional delicacy, the fish is traditionally consumed after it is dangled above the mouth.

Getting into the spirit of things, Calvin lifts the piece of fish into the air and opens wide in anticipation.

However, when attempting to sample a piece of herring, Sprague received a very unexpected dinner guest

As he placed the fish into his mouth, he closed his eyes and a seagull swooped down and snatched the snack

'As I placed the fish into my mouth, I closed my eyes and before I could bite down, it was gone!' he explains.

'I did manage to keep a few onions in my mouth.'

Thankfully, the feeding fiasco didn't ruin Sprague's date, as the pair just laughed off the arrival of their unexpected dinner guest.

Although the bird made off with the entire raw herring, Sprague did manage to hold on to a few of the onions

The video concludes with Sprague laughing in shock and

'To be honest, it all happened so fast!' he added.