8:00am Saturday 4th July 2009
By Richard Gurner
Their squawking, attacking of black bin bags and overall presence tends to divide opinion.
Many people love the sight of seagulls in Sussex, while others would love to see the back of them.
Now a warning has been issued to watch out for ‘dive-bombing’ gulls and not to feed them from hand.
The advice, from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), comes as the birds are currently breeding.
RSPB spokeswoman Hester Phillips said: “Herring Gulls nest in May and June. Once hatched, parents will look after young for around six weeks. This means we are slap bang in breeding season now.
“A complaint against gulls is that they can 'dive-bomb' people, especially at this time of year.
“It's true that gulls will swoop to protect young and this can be distressing if it happens. But gulls don’t generally make contact with humans unless they have to, as nine out of ten times they'll come off worse.
“If you think about it, they are just trying to be good parents and protect their young. They can easily be scared away by waving your hands over your head, or holding an umbrella out above you.
“One bit of advice well worth heeding is not to feed gulls from your hand. This teaches gulls that it's okay to come near humans and might make them braver when they are protecting young.
“Keeping rubbish off the streets is another sure fire way to stop gulls from getting too near to humans.
“Above all, we'd ask people to be as tolerant as possible. Just like us, gulls are just trying to survive, and only exist in large numbers in places like Brighton as a result of human action.”
Although a common sight in coastal towns, the numbers of gulls has halved since the 1970s and they have now been put on the endangered birds list.
Gulls are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is illegal to intentionally damage or destroy a gull's nest site.
The Herring Gull is the most popular type of gull in Sussex.
Ms Phillips added: “If gulls are already nesting on your roof and are genuinely causing problems it's unfortunately too late to do anything about it this year but once the breeding season is over, deterrents which stop gulls from landing on your roof in the first place are the best option.”
Tim McKenzie, from National Gull Rescue, told The Argus if anyone comes across a stranded baby gull which had fallen off their roof then the best course of action would be to try and place it back onto a roof near its parents.
He said: “If that is not possible then people can call National Gull Rescue on 07765 114599.”
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