Do seagulls need protecting?

7:00pm Saturday 25th August 2012 in News By Emily Walker, Chief Reporter

Seagulls are a protected species on the “red list” for conservation.
 

The RSPB believes the numbers are in dramatic decline, yet look around any of Sussex’s towns and you might be surprised by the number of gulls.
 

The latest report from the Sussex Ornithological Society says there are just 13 coastal breeding locations for herring gulls, yet there are no numbers for how many pairs nest at each site.
 

Many more are known to be nesting on roofs in towns.

A spokeswoman for the RSPB said: “While we are seeing an increase in the numbers of gulls in our towns – they are attracted by the easy availability of food and suitable nest sites – overall numbers of many gull species have declined dramatically, particularly herring gulls, which have declined by 50% since 1970.


“The herring gull is now on the red list in the UK, meaning it is of most conservation concern.”
 

The birds are a protected species, but are seen by many city-dwellers as vermin.
 

On the coast they are the perfect symbol of the British seaside, but in cities they tear open bin bags and are known to launch attacks on people, particularly when their young are nearby.
 

Herring gulls – the most common and aggressive gulls seen in Sussex – are known to dive-bomb anything they consider a threat to their chicks.
 

So just how many seagulls are there in Sussex?
 

And are they really in decline?
 

Recent changes to the Wildlife and Countryside Act mean that it is now illegal to touch a bird or nest with eggs or chicks.
 

Pest controllers have found this has led to an increase in the urban populations.
 

From early spring until late summer it is almost impossible to do anything when faced with an aggressive, nuisance seagull.
 

Brighton and Hove City Council have no duty to remove injured or obstructive birds.
 

The RSPB can do little to help and private pest controllers say their hands are tied by the law.

Brighton pest controller Ky Mossman, of Terminate Bird Control, said: “In Brighton it is especially noticeable.
 

“The new law means you are now not allowed to touch a seagull once the eggs hatch.
 

“But a lot of the time people only notice they have a seagull problem when the chicks hatch and the noise starts and they become aggressive, by which point it’s too late.
 

“It is definitely worse in built-up areas.
 

“There are a lot of rooftops in Brighton.
 

“I’m having to say to a lot of people with seagull problems there is nothing I can do.
 

“I have had to turn away a lot of work.

“You can’t remove the nests but once the chicks hatch they can become very aggressive.”
 

Mr Mossman said he was asked to help an 85-year-old widow in Eastbourne who was being attacked by nesting birds on a neighbour’s house, after her neighbour died.

He said: “As soon as she left her house they dive-bombed her.
 

“They saw her as a threat.
 

“She was effectively stuck in her house.”
 

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said: “Living in harmony with seabirds in a seaside town is important.
 

“There are ways of mitigating problems, such as by proofing, reducing roosting areas and food supply.
 

“The council holds no duty for bird control, as this work is done by private contractors.”

Comments(25)

rolivan says...
7:20pm Sat 25 Aug 12

Put one in a Ruby you probably wouldn't know the differnce

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jesss2012 says...
7:20pm Sat 25 Aug 12

yep they r a blinking pain but whats to be done? cull them? reduce the number of rooftops in brighton? , issue them all with an anti social behavior order (worth it surely just to see the policing of it) ? bring back a new form of fox hunting aimed at seagulls? nothings to be done, admire their audacity and deal with it...or move inland lol before u all launch a counter attack at me... i josh but really its true

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PorkBoat says...
7:34pm Sat 25 Aug 12

If you live by the sea, expect gulls. If you move to the countryside, expect roosters crowing at dawn, and cows mooing in the morning. Only complain if YOU were there first, and gulls/cows/roosters (**** is probably asterisked) move nearby afterwards and start making noise.

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PorkBoat says...
7:35pm Sat 25 Aug 12

I was right. **** is asterisked. That's why I put rooster.

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Roundbill says...
7:54pm Sat 25 Aug 12

If you use a zero instead of an "o", you can sneak it past the nanny software.

C0ck c0ck c0ck c0ck c0ck

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hubby says...
8:18pm Sat 25 Aug 12

I like the cut of your jib Roundbill.
Does it work for "knob" as well?
Kn0b,Kn0b.Kn0b.

Anyway.I live about half a mile from the med on the costa blanca.We have seagulls,but nothing like the madness when I lived in Saltdean.
I got death threats for suggesting a cull.

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paul76 says...
9:02pm Sat 25 Aug 12

I think we should millions of pounds of lottery funding on finding ways to protect them and increase their numbers.

Not really. Cull them to one male and one female and let them start again. Might give everyone a break for a couple of years.

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thewhitehawker says...
9:47pm Sat 25 Aug 12

about 20 years ago we had the one seagull and it was called the black headed gull and you used to see them when you walked on the prom in large numbers . Now and again u would see the Herring gull and they were much bigger . Eventually they bullied the black headed gulls away which retreated away from the town back to the sea . The black headed gull was the original Albion seagull silhoette.

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Morpheus says...
10:14pm Sat 25 Aug 12

This report does not describe my view of gulls and is a vast exaggeration of any problems they might cause. It says more about the ridiculously superior attitude of humans than anything to do with gulls.

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brightonsaints says...
11:03pm Sat 25 Aug 12

Start charging these "visitors" a highly inflated parking charge and the numbers will soon drop off quite dramatically.

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guinnessmonster says...
11:16pm Sat 25 Aug 12

If we want to get rid of the Gulls all we need to do it stop feeding them. Put rubbish in bins and giving them easy food. With out a food source I'm sure we wouldn't have this problem. As a kid when we had all rubbish in dustbins we didn't have this problem.

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PorkBoat says...
3:37am Sun 26 Aug 12

Amazingly articulate writing and spelling, considering I'm **** as a ****.

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chrisinbrighton says...
7:54am Sun 26 Aug 12

Yes Paul76
like all lottery funding should be spent on minority projects (not).
seagulls and pigeons should be culled they are aggressive and there are far to many of them.

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Old Ladys Gin says...
8:31am Sun 26 Aug 12

Morpheus wrote:
This report does not describe my view of gulls and is a vast exaggeration of any problems they might cause. It says more about the ridiculously superior attitude of humans than anything to do with gulls.
I quite enjoy watching them 'mug' the unwary and nipping off with their lunch.

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Enema of the peephole says...
9:18am Sun 26 Aug 12

It's the young ones that Brighton doesn't need. Hanging around on West street at all hours, making noise and throwing rubbish everywhere. None of them pay tax.

They're always having sex on the beach and people are too scared to do anything.

To my mind they are just like those scummy city bankers - except gulls can still manage to leave a deposit on a Lamborghini.

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jesss2012 says...
9:42am Sun 26 Aug 12

paul76 wrote:
I think we should millions of pounds of lottery funding on finding ways to protect them and increase their numbers.

Not really. Cull them to one male and one female and let them start again. Might give everyone a break for a couple of years.
lol maybe we should do this to the human race too. that could be the answer. how to choose the pair to survive tho...lottery draw???

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Hovite says...
10:20am Sun 26 Aug 12

Since wheely bins were introduced for residents there has been a drop in gull numbers.

All the clubs, restaurants and take aways produce food rubbish that is strewn across the city by people going out at night. It is quite obvious where the problem is. It’s people leaving a great food source for them!

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chilliman says...
2:42pm Sun 26 Aug 12

Plenty of gulls still live where there are wheelie bins - they just go to feed elsewhere. The trouble is they bring food back for themselves and their young - I had to get a roofer in last year where a gull had smashed a tile by banging a bone on the roof trying to get scraps of meat off.

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Hovite says...
3:52pm Sun 26 Aug 12

Where did it get the bone from? West Street and clubbing area? Maybe he should have ordered a dona kebab instead.

But seriously, If all the food rubbish is secured and not just in black bin bags outside, you reduce the gulls food source and that in turn reduces the population.

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Leon says...
6:43pm Sun 26 Aug 12

Do seagulls need protecting?
.....Kind of.

Personally I think there should be a cull of the Herring Gulls in our towns. More black backed and black headed gulls please.

Ever been on Brighton seafront when a firework goes off or there is a loud bang late at night? All the gulls panic, they set each other off with alarm cries. They circle their nests for as far as the eye can see.... and there are thousands!! All fat on kebabs and RFC chicken.

Once again, cull please.

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puddingandpi says...
6:58pm Sun 26 Aug 12

I can not complain about:
1) Seagulls
2) Tourists
3) Foreign language students.
.
I moved here & I knew they were here when I did. Yes, they're annoying, yes they make a right racket, but they were here before I was & I accepted that when I made the decision to move here.
.
Incidentally, I *love* Brighton, even the dirty devils on the beach, and I would never live anywhere else.

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Getaroundin says...
8:11pm Sun 26 Aug 12

Hovite wrote:
Where did it get the bone from? West Street and clubbing area? Maybe he should have ordered a dona kebab instead.

But seriously, If all the food rubbish is secured and not just in black bin bags outside, you reduce the gulls food source and that in turn reduces the population.
Are you still up at Montpelier, the gulls up there are a nightmare?

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Hovite says...
10:55am Mon 27 Aug 12

Never lived in Montpelier, but used to know people that did many many years ago. I know how bad the seagulls can get, and if you have had a late night, they start as your head hits the pillow.

All I can say is that in Hove, since the wheely bins were introduced we don't get that much seagull activity. Though in Brighton the seagulls hit the town after the clubbers get home. That is breakfast time for the gulls and it becomes a bit of a feeding frenzy.

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Gullexpert says...
2:01pm Fri 31 Aug 12

It is true that Herring gulls are protected under the Countryside Act 1981. However, the basis for the order is the result of the Bird Survey commissioned by DEFRA (Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture etc) and completed in 2000/02. The report is now 12 years out of date and the UK has seen a dramatic increase over the last few years. Nearly all local governments, ornithologists and other experts are reporting exponential increases in the gull population both inland and in major coastal cities. The SW Regional Health Authority have recently flagged gull increases as an epidemic and danger to public health and safety with an estimated herring gull population put at 4 million by the end of this year. The crisis is not confined to the UK with Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Canada and the US all reporting massive increases in numbers--all have protection orders in place! Other wildlife is now under threat with Whales off Argentina being attacked as they surface, Puffins robbed of vital food offshore in the UK and growing rat problems due to spread of disease and litter. The RSPB have reported a "dramatic turnaround" in gull numbers in the SW of the UK and admit that numbers in London are growing rapidlly with 20,000 pairs at the last count in August 2010. This represents a 100% increase in just a few years. Ornitholigists believe herring gulls are adapting their behaviour by becoming more agressive and willing to attack other animals as well as humans as their population outgrows their normal territory. Yesterday's article in most of the main press in England covered this change in the story about whales being attacked by gulls as they breached for air. DEFRA still insist gull numbers are declining because they rely on a very old survey. This is entirely false and most Sussex residents will have no doubt noticed the growing nuisance and attacks have increased over the last few years. We face a public health crisis in this nation, if not in many countries where herring gulls have been allowed to multiply without natural predators, and it may be a good thing if people urged their MP to wake DEFRA up and take action before the gull epidemic becomes a plague.

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Gullexpert says...
2:27pm Fri 31 Aug 12

PorkBoat wrote:
If you live by the sea, expect gulls. If you move to the countryside, expect roosters crowing at dawn, and cows mooing in the morning. Only complain if YOU were there first, and gulls/cows/roosters (**** is probably asterisked) move nearby afterwards and start making noise.
Google Seagulls and the problems they are arising in Birmingham, Worcester, Waveney, London, Gloucester, Manchester, Bath... and you will see that the Herring Gull is not just a problem in our coastal towns. They are migrating inland and multiplying like rats because they are protected and have no natural predators. Local goverment have brought in Harris Hawks which are soon attacked by the gulls! Bald Eagles have been used to cull gulls in Oregon and California and they have had some success--but how many eagles are we going to need? Freddy Hitchcock's iconic horror film "The Birds" was prophetic and the seagull scene is no longer fiction but a growing reality for more and more people (and lesser birds) every day.

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