Why I'm launching Brighton's Seagull Appreciation Society (From The Argus)

I am. Good piece. If people really can't stand the seagulls, they should move.

I have been feeding the same seagull for over 3 years on my windowsill. It has become like a pet and even has a name. Herbert.

I love the way seagulls walk or should that be 'patrol' the seafront. It's like they're thinking 'Ello, ello, ello, what 'av we 'ere then'. I disagree that Brighton's seagulls are superior, however. Fatter, noisier and messier yes. Worthing's seagulls - which come in a far greater variety - are much more pleasing on the eye, and the ear.

Locals would know what you are describing if you named it the 'Winged Rats Appreciation Society'.

I love the seagulls! It's all part of living by the coast isn't it?

Just as long as you remember not to leave bin bags outside and shut your windows during mating season!

Great story Tim. I love them and feed them. I have one who comes every day for breakfast at 5.20am. and for tea at 6pm. Have seen kids strowing stones at them on the beaches, makes me so mad!! They are part of BAH, if do not like them move some where else!!

Why is Tim's article posted under Adam Trimingham?

I'm with you!

But they taste terrible!

I love birds,but yesterday at churchill square i was just about to take a bite of my sandwich and a naughty seagull swooped down and stole the sandwich from my hand. I was left with a nasty cut/bite to my finger!!!!!

I am saddened at the level of ignorance displayed by this article. The Herring Gull is no longer a "seaside" treat but a highly invasive predator that is moving inland and multiplying in massive numbers along the coast and inland. They are causing havoc and the SW Regional Health Authority has red flagged them as a threat to public health and safety as their noise, violent attacks and e.coli spreading abilties are causing sickness, sleep deprivation, depression and anxiety. Scotland has very recently given a general license to cull these birds due to the health threat. And for those of you who are bird lovers and keen supporters of the RSPB, like myself, please be aware that gulls are forcing smaller species onto the endangered species list. Puffins and Terns are declining in many locations because they cannot compete with these agressive and multiplying creatures. Swallows are being massacred in Rome as Herring Gulls eat them straight from their nests. Wetlands birds are in decline as gulls compete for space and win. Smaller gulls are being wiped out in Greece and other areas in the Med. The Baltic area are reporting similar threats by the Herring Gull. I am a gull researcher and am doing my best to persuade DEFRA and the RSPB to take action against the gulls before they wreck our bio-diversity and cause even more health problems in humans. There numbers are multiplying exponentially with 20,000 pairs in Central London and tens of thousands in Birmingham. DEFRA rely on their Seabird 2000 Survey, now over a decade old, for false information about declining numbers. The RSPB have noted a "remarkable turnaround" in numbers in the Severn Estuary where the plague of gulls is making life miserable in Cardiff, Bath, Worcester, Cheltenham etc. Their droppings are damaging Grade I and II listed buildings placing our National Heritage at risk. These gulls are basically vermin, they are multiplying at the expense of other birds and it is now a global problem. I was alerted to the problem when a pair of turtle doves that used to visit my garden were chased and probably killed by vicious nesting gulls infesting roofs all around me. Many will have seen recent articles showing these agressive birds attacking and eating the flesh of Whales as they breach for air placing these valuable mammals on the endangered list too! As a bird lover and nature photographer, I knew it was time to defend our wildlife and educate the ignorant. I am pressing for criminal sanctions against anyone caught feeding gulls and the compulsory use of hessian type rubbish bags to stop the pollution of rubbish these birds cause. I am also pressing for the protection order to be lifted to protect our wildlife against this predatator-less scourge. So please--educate yourself and spare a thought for our valuable birdlife and the safety of our children and older folk--there are hundreds of attacks against people every day and some are causing serious bodily harm. As seagulls grow in number they grow in agression as they compete for ever shrinking territory. Finally, go and rent Freddy Hitchcock's classic horro film "The Birds." Guess who are the stars of that film?

John Fallon wrote:
I am. Good piece. If people really can't stand the seagulls, they should move.

These gulls are spreading throughout the entire country. Their breeding success is about 25% more successful inland where there is a greater supply of food. One expert has calculated, based on numbers breeding in the SW region, that we will have 4 million pairs by 2015. Please think of the threat to our other birds before you make a suggestion like this.

auby wrote:
I love birds,but yesterday at churchill square i was just about to take a bite of my sandwich and a naughty seagull swooped down and stole the sandwich from my hand. I was left with a nasty cut/bite to my finger!!!!!

I would advise that you see your doctor--these birds are known e.coli carriers. You do not want an e.coli infection, it is akin to MRSA. http://www.ncbi.nlm.
nih.gov/pubmed/22946
391 ; http://www.swpho.nhs
.uk/resource/item.as
px?RID=24280

I love the Seagulls (the bird variety), I have lived here for only 2 years and love everything about it, the seagulls nest on my roof and go through our rubbish but I still think they are great animals Jill

Gullexpert wrote:
I am saddened at the level of ignorance displayed by this article. The Herring Gull is no longer a "seaside" treat but a highly invasive predator that is moving inland and multiplying in massive numbers along the coast and inland. They are causing havoc and the SW Regional Health Authority has red flagged them as a threat to public health and safety as their noise, violent attacks and e.coli spreading abilties are causing sickness, sleep deprivation, depression and anxiety. Scotland has very recently given a general license to cull these birds due to the health threat. And for those of you who are bird lovers and keen supporters of the RSPB, like myself, please be aware that gulls are forcing smaller species onto the endangered species list. Puffins and Terns are declining in many locations because they cannot compete with these agressive and multiplying creatures. Swallows are being massacred in Rome as Herring Gulls eat them straight from their nests. Wetlands birds are in decline as gulls compete for space and win. Smaller gulls are being wiped out in Greece and other areas in the Med. The Baltic area are reporting similar threats by the Herring Gull. I am a gull researcher and am doing my best to persuade DEFRA and the RSPB to take action against the gulls before they wreck our bio-diversity and cause even more health problems in humans. There numbers are multiplying exponentially with 20,000 pairs in Central London and tens of thousands in Birmingham. DEFRA rely on their Seabird 2000 Survey, now over a decade old, for false information about declining numbers. The RSPB have noted a "remarkable turnaround" in numbers in the Severn Estuary where the plague of gulls is making life miserable in Cardiff, Bath, Worcester, Cheltenham etc. Their droppings are damaging Grade I and II listed buildings placing our National Heritage at risk. These gulls are basically vermin, they are multiplying at the expense of other birds and it is now a global problem. I was alerted to the problem when a pair of turtle doves that used to visit my garden were chased and probably killed by vicious nesting gulls infesting roofs all around me. Many will have seen recent articles showing these agressive birds attacking and eating the flesh of Whales as they breach for air placing these valuable mammals on the endangered list too! As a bird lover and nature photographer, I knew it was time to defend our wildlife and educate the ignorant. I am pressing for criminal sanctions against anyone caught feeding gulls and the compulsory use of hessian type rubbish bags to stop the pollution of rubbish these birds cause. I am also pressing for the protection order to be lifted to protect our wildlife against this predatator-less scourge. So please--educate yourself and spare a thought for our valuable birdlife and the safety of our children and older folk--there are hundreds of attacks against people every day and some are causing serious bodily harm. As seagulls grow in number they grow in agression as they compete for ever shrinking territory. Finally, go and rent Freddy Hitchcock's classic horro film "The Birds." Guess who are the stars of that film?

If you had followed some of Tim's other reports you will know he is not stong on 'well thought out' but socres very very highly on the 'ignorance level' scale.

Gullexpert is Gullignorant! Are you by any chance a pest controller ummm! Your comments are ridiculous and wrong!
Unfortunately there are many people who love our Herring Gull and thankfully it is now protected as an endangered species.
You spout your membership of the RSPB yet display complete disregard for the plight of this magnificent seabird. The fact is the Herring Gull nationally has declined by 50%. The majority of the population is in the South East which may give the impression their numbers are not in decline but nationally the Herring Gull is in big trouble. The closure of landfills and reduction in their natural food supply due to pollution, climate change and unethical fishing practices all play a part, together with our roads, human cruelty and reduction of available nesting sites are increasingly affecting their numbers. I find it laughable that you claim to be some sort of expert on the subject as you are clearly 'species selective'. You are not God and how dare you label a protected seabird as 'vermin'. Who are you to refute the RSPB and DEFRA's findings which have now upgraded this seabird to 'red' endangered! I know not a single person who has become ill due to the Herring Gull, you spout nonsense and hate, which in itself makes you entirely unsuited to be in a position to cast judgement on the fragile future of Gulls.
I

Gull Expert my backside - you most obviously know absolutely nothing about gulls and are spouting absolute nonsense - ecolli - lol - birds do not cause ecolli you idiot.

I really get fed up with people who only like the little, pretty birds and none of the big ones.

They are all beautiful in my eyes and I love them all and I feed them all. I'm not bird racist as you obviously are Gull-nonexpert.

Juleyanne wrote:
Gullexpert is Gullignorant! Are you by any chance a pest controller ummm! Your comments are ridiculous and wrong!
Unfortunately there are many people who love our Herring Gull and thankfully it is now protected as an endangered species.
You spout your membership of the RSPB yet display complete disregard for the plight of this magnificent seabird. The fact is the Herring Gull nationally has declined by 50%. The majority of the population is in the South East which may give the impression their numbers are not in decline but nationally the Herring Gull is in big trouble. The closure of landfills and reduction in their natural food supply due to pollution, climate change and unethical fishing practices all play a part, together with our roads, human cruelty and reduction of available nesting sites are increasingly affecting their numbers. I find it laughable that you claim to be some sort of expert on the subject as you are clearly 'species selective'. You are not God and how dare you label a protected seabird as 'vermin'. Who are you to refute the RSPB and DEFRA's findings which have now upgraded this seabird to 'red' endangered! I know not a single person who has become ill due to the Herring Gull, you spout nonsense and hate, which in itself makes you entirely unsuited to be in a position to cast judgement on the fragile future of Gulls.
I

DEFRA claim that the Herring Gull has declined by 50%. They base this on a survey known as Seabird 2000 (http://jncc.defra.g
ov.uk/PDF/S2000_14_h
eg_tabs_and_figs_web
.pdf ). This survey was conducted over the period 1998-2000. If you examine the report you will see that DEFRA carried out earlier surveys dating back to 1975. They have taken the data from 1998-2000 and compared it with 1975 to come up with a decline nationally of around 50%. This does not take into account the massive growth in numbers that began by around 1998 and which has continued. The RSPB have confirmed a doubling of gulls in London since 2005and a "remarkable turnaround" in the Severn Valley. I recommend you go to their website to educate yourself as to the current position. The growth in numbers is threatening other birds. 43 out of 45 ducklings were wiped out by gulls in a single pond by gulls ( http://www.eastbourn
eherald.co.uk/news/l
ocal-news/gulls-feed
-baby-duck-to-young-
1-1406188 ). In Rome the gulls are killing swallows and endagering their existence (http://www.italiami
a.com/education_seag
ulls.php). Smaller birds are facing extinction due to agressibe gulls in the Baltic region (http://www.itamerip
ortaali.fi/en/tietoa
/yleiskuvaus/en_GB/7
80/). Birdlife is threatened in the Meditteranean by these gulls (http://www.springer
link.com/content/n22
6q58637118846/?MUD=M
P). Gulls are endangering whales due to agressive behaviour (http://rt.com/news/
seagulls-whales-arge
ntina-attack-851/). The list is huge and the damage these gulls are doing to other birds and even whales is enormous. You need to join the cause to pressure DEFRA to commission an up to date survey so that we kn ow just how big the problem is. Birdlovers and ecologists around the world are in agreement that there is a problem and have begun culls to save other birds, sympatric as well as inland species. I am a bird enthusiast and you should spare a thought for other species now under threat from the massive growth in these large and agressive gulls. I have done my research, have you? Do you even care how much of a threat the gull is to humans (e.g. http://www.northwale
sweeklynews.co.uk/co
nwy-county-news/loca
l-conwy-news/2010/06
/24/llandudno-child-
left-traumatised-by-
gull-attack-55243-26
711923/) or do you love the gull so much you do not care what happens to other, weaker birds, and the balance of nature?

getThisCoalitionOut wrote:
Gull Expert my backside - you most obviously know absolutely nothing about gulls and are spouting absolute nonsense - ecolli - lol - birds do not cause ecolli you idiot.

I really get fed up with people who only like the little, pretty birds and none of the big ones.

They are all beautiful in my eyes and I love them all and I feed them all. I'm not bird racist as you obviously are Gull-nonexpert.

Perhaps you shouold take some time to educate the SW Regional Health Observatory with your findings related to e.coli (http://www.swpho.nh
s.uk/resource/item.a
spx?RID=24280 "Seagulls--the new public health threat ). These gulls are not a threat to just "little birds" (don't they need protecting?) but to sympatric and lesser gulls (Baltic Region: http://www.itameripo
rtaali.fi/en/tietoa/
yleiskuvaus/en_GB/78
0/ ; Meditteranean: http://www.springerl
ink.com/content/n226
q58637118846/ ). Spare a thought for threatened Puffrins off our shores (http://www.seabirdg
roup.org.uk/files/co
nference_2004_abstra
cts.pdf ). My question to you: have you done any research on thiss subject or are you just reacting emotionally? Do you only care about gulls and have no thought for other creatures they are destroying? The gull has no natural predators and can wipe out entire colonies of terns and lesser gulls when their numbers soar as they are doing now. These gulls are now a threat to falcons! (http://www.iomtoday
.co.im/news/isle-of-
man-news/bird-of-pre
y-not-tough-enough-t
o-take-on-peel-gulls
-1-1785239 ). As a bird enthusiast I care what happens to birdlife in our country and when I recognise a threat I try to do something about it. Your approach seems to lack any sense of balance or proportion. You say I know nothing and yet I have spent a massive amount of time in research and writing with top experts to work together to resolve what most so many articles now recognise as a threat. Only our own DEFRA are insistent on dated information because they are, after all, a government department and unwilling to invest money to commission an up to date survey. Yet millions will be given to India and China in foreign aid. We must protect our birds and environment from any threat, even a threat by gulls. Feeding gulls just makes the problem worse and many local authorities are introducing criminal sanctions against anyone caught doing this E.g.: (http://local.stv.tv
/elgin/news/opinion/
31848-support-grows-
for-council-stance-o
n-feeding-of-seagull
s/ ; http://www.guardian.
co.uk/uk/2009/aug/18
/suffolk-town-fine-b
ird-feeders

I belive it is quite right that people likle you should face an ASBO or more serious consequences because you are ultimately endangering other species, causing a public nuisance and working against nature. Please stop doing this. Do some reading and educate yourself and realise that other birds are important too.

I really think you need some sort of help.
Your comments are the utterings of a slightly deranged man who has become so obsessed and hate filled towards a species that he actually believes his own delusional 'so called' research. One has to ask why are you a member of the RSPB? You clearly revoke their beliefs and factual research and disagree with their ethics! Both DEFRA and the RSPB have declared the Herring Gull is now 'endangered'.
Do you really think you are seriously going to convince anyone they are wrong and you are right! Also I do have a considerable knowledge of birds and wildlife and your arrogant assumption that others do not only adds to the conclusion that your rantings are far from sound!

Juleyanne wrote:
I really think you need some sort of help.
Your comments are the utterings of a slightly deranged man who has become so obsessed and hate filled towards a species that he actually believes his own delusional 'so called' research. One has to ask why are you a member of the RSPB? You clearly revoke their beliefs and factual research and disagree with their ethics! Both DEFRA and the RSPB have declared the Herring Gull is now 'endangered'.
Do you really think you are seriously going to convince anyone they are wrong and you are right! Also I do have a considerable knowledge of birds and wildlife and your arrogant assumption that others do not only adds to the conclusion that your rantings are far from sound!

The articles I have quoted were researched and written by experts in their field. I am a bird enthusiast and not a memberof the RSPB. However, I agree with the RSPB that these gulls now present as a "menace" and I also agree with their findings that there has been a "remarkable turnaround" in numbers with London, for example, seeig a doubling to 20,000 pairs since 2005. I do not think you arfe reading my responses and you clealry have not sgtudied Seabird 2000. This report was put togedther based on data collected in 1998-2000. In the intervening 12-14 years there has indeed been a remarkable turnaround in gull numbers. I have cited numerous articles where other species are now threatened and I do not want to see our birdlife destroyed because of a single, aggressive and predatory species. The Herring Gull is not "sacred" and we need to do something to protect our birds from suffering from these large creatures. IF anyone is deranged, it is those who insist on protecting one species at the cost of all else. If you have knowledge to contradict the articles I have posted go ahead and post them instead of resorting to a rant and name calling. In the meantime consider our puffins, terns, kittiwakes, lesser gulls, ducks, swallows because they also deserve protecting against any predator that is threatening them with harm. Our government need help to deal with the gull problem. Are they also deranged? Read the article: http://www.independe
nt.co.uk/environment
/nature/ministers-de
clare-war-on-plague-
of-urban-seagulls-23
52872.html

Juleyanne wrote:
I really think you need some sort of help.
Your comments are the utterings of a slightly deranged man who has become so obsessed and hate filled towards a species that he actually believes his own delusional 'so called' research. One has to ask why are you a member of the RSPB? You clearly revoke their beliefs and factual research and disagree with their ethics! Both DEFRA and the RSPB have declared the Herring Gull is now 'endangered'.
Do you really think you are seriously going to convince anyone they are wrong and you are right! Also I do have a considerable knowledge of birds and wildlife and your arrogant assumption that others do not only adds to the conclusion that your rantings are far from sound!

www.ypte.org.uk/fact
sheet_125_test.pdf

"In more natural habitats, herring gulls have caused problems for delicate species such as puffins and terns.
Serious competition for space on cliffs, islands and dunes causes the gulls to drive other birds away,
depriving them of breeding grounds. It has been necessary to cull in some areas in order to reduce the gulls'
numbers."
********************
*************
The above is from Young People's Trust for the Environment. We need to follow this example and teach our children about the dangers the agressive gulls can present. We need understanding based on research not emotion. I recommend that, if you have children, get them involved and support this charitable trust:

http://www.ypte.org.
uk/
The Young People's Trust for the Environment is a charity which aims to encourage young people's understanding of the environment and the need for sustainability.

I absolutely believe in the continued survival of any species of seabird. However, unlike you I loathe the concept of being 'species selective'. I repeat you are not some kind of god who has the right to decide what lives and what dies.
Let nature decide and nature sometimes decides certain species will be more prevalent than others, it is not our choice to make or yours solely. The fact you even call yourself a gullexpert smacks of some gull hating
person scrabbling away to justify the demise of this majestic endangered seabirds. Finally, you are inconsistent in that earlier stated you are a supporter of the RSPB and when questions were asked as to why you remain a member/supporter when you clearly oppose the findings and conclusions regarding the Herring Gull you once again contradict yourself by trying to back-peddle by saying you are not a member and still go on to say that the RSPB agree with you despite the fact they have clearly stated the Herring Gull is indeed endangered and on the red list. Give it and us a rest please your arguments have more holes in them than a golf course!

Juleyanne wrote:
I absolutely believe in the continued survival of any species of seabird. However, unlike you I loathe the concept of being 'species selective'. I repeat you are not some kind of god who has the right to decide what lives and what dies.
Let nature decide and nature sometimes decides certain species will be more prevalent than others, it is not our choice to make or yours solely. The fact you even call yourself a gullexpert smacks of some gull hating
person scrabbling away to justify the demise of this majestic endangered seabirds. Finally, you are inconsistent in that earlier stated you are a supporter of the RSPB and when questions were asked as to why you remain a member/supporter when you clearly oppose the findings and conclusions regarding the Herring Gull you once again contradict yourself by trying to back-peddle by saying you are not a member and still go on to say that the RSPB agree with you despite the fact they have clearly stated the Herring Gull is indeed endangered and on the red list. Give it and us a rest please your arguments have more holes in them than a golf course!

I am in agreement with the RSPB's recent statements as to the status of the Herring Gull. They have found that the numbers in the area of the Severn Estuary have undergone a "remarkable turnaround." I agree with their observation that, in London, there has been a doubling in numbers of pairs to 20,000 since 2005. They are also correct in labelling the HG as an urban menace. It is not right in my view, to allow one dominant and agressive species to wipe out weaker species as man has a duty to care for the environment. For example, we regularly cull rats to prevent the spread of disease. In times gone by we let nature run its course and the "Black Death" (bubonic plague caused by rats) came wiping out one third of the population of Europe along with lots of animals. The HG has been compared with the rat in that it can survive almost anywhere, is agressive, breeds prolifically and spreads disease. It may be a majestic looking bird and I suppose some might argue a rat is cute and cuddly. My point is that DEFRA, who rely on the RSPB for much of their information, are placing reliance on a 12-14 year old survey to mislead the public as to the numbers of gulls in the country. As a result, other species are under threat, public health is suffering and it will take a toll on our fragile bio-diversity. We have, in effect, a plague of one type of species to the detriment of others. Allowing nature to decide in the case of gulls will impoverish bird life for ever and then the people will cry out "why did you allow the little song birds to die?" The Romans are noticing that their ancient colonies of swallows are vanishing due to predation by large gulls that have moved from their natural habitat into the capital. What if we allowed nature to take its course when rats begin to take over? Sit back and let nature take its course and allow death to spread over an entire continent? What would happen if nature took over and badgers wiped out our cows? What if we did nothing to cull the sheep to prevent the spread of foot & mouth disease and they all died as a result? What if we failed to kill off Japanese knotweed and our rivers and lakes lost their oxygen with the result that all the fish died? Sometimes we can't just let nature take it course because it is sometimes necessary for us to exercise care for nature by preventing ecological disasters. In other words, we are part of nature and must do our part in maintaining balance. The gull is not sacred and it too can become a threat and that is my point. So, lets open our minds and support a move to force the government to carry out an up to date survey so that the extent of the problem is recognised.

The FACT remains like or not Herring Gulls are on the red 'endangered' list therefore they are NOT vermin and although this FACT is clearly infuriating you and you obviously despise the Herring Gull, a cull is 'not going to happen' deal with it! I find it rather sad that you feel it necessary to turn this into a personal battle to vent your anger on those who
appreciate and rightly are in complete agreement with the RSPB and DEFRA that this endangered gull has been placed on the highest level of protection. To save you further futile attempts to 'have the last word' I have no intention of wasting my time reading or replying to any further ridiculous claims by you, I am bored yet extremely happy this gull is now protected.