Scientists suggest shouting at seagulls to keep them away

With Brighton last year being named the 'seagull attack hotspot' of the UK, swooping seagulls are a familiar problem round these parts.

According to experts from the University of Exeter, simply shouting at the birds might be the solution.

Researchers reached this conclusion after conducting an experiment with 61 herring gulls across nine different seaside towns in Cornwall.

An action shot of seagulls in Brighton (Image: Wikimedia)

The goal was to find effective ways of stopping these birds from snacking on a box of chips on the ground.

The method involved playing a recording of a male voice saying: "No, stay away, that's my food."

This was done in two different tones - shouting, and speaking - with the neutral birdsong of a robin offering a third option.

Crucially, all three recordings were played at the same volume.

The experiment showed that half of the gulls exposed to the shouting noise flew away within a minute.

Seagulls are a familiar sight in Brighton and Hove

In contrast, only 15 per cent of the gulls exposed to the speaking male voice flew away.

The rest walked away from the food, still sensing danger.

In stark contrast, a significant 70 per cent of the gulls exposed to the robin song stayed near the food for the duration of the experiment.

Dr Neeltje Boogert, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall, said: "The difference was that the gulls were more likely to fly away at the shouting and more likely to walk away at the speaking.

"So when trying to scare off a gull that's trying to steal your food, talking might stop them in their tracks, but shouting is more effective at making them fly away."

The experiment involved five male volunteers recording the same phrase in a calm voice, and then shouting.

The recordings were adjusted to ensure they were all at the same volume.

This suggests that gulls can detect differences in the acoustic properties of human voices.

The scientists said seagulls are deterred by shouting (Image: Wikimedia)

Dr Boogert added: "Normally, when someone is shouting, it's scary because it's a loud noise, but in this case, all the noises were the same volume, and it was just the way the words were being said that was different.

"So it seems that gulls pay attention to the way we say things, which we don't think has been seen before in any wild species, only in those domesticated species that have been bred around humans for generations, such as dogs, pigs and horses."

The research was aimed at demonstrating that physical violence isn't necessary to deter gulls.