Gulls breeding away from the coast

[Madelinew]

BBC NEWS | Magazine | The scourge of the seagulls

Anyone else read this about the problems caused by increases in gull breeding inland?

[coasty]

As a resident of coastal town I can only agree with the report. Rooftop nesting Birds are a health risk and do damage buildings as well as been very agressive.
However the only long term solution is to stop their food supply.

Most coastal breeding birds still have a natural diet in fact over the last 20 years the local birds to me have been forced to adopt an even more natural diet as the fishing industry has nearly gone so waste is not tipped daily into the sea. Also as waste tips have improved the food supply there has gone.

If people stopped chucking food waste away and tips were improved the problem would not be as great...

[aeshna5]

there was a feature on last weekend's Countryfile about urban gulls + showed a falconer with a Peregrine/ Lanner hybrid disturbing the gulls.

One point raised by Graham Madge of the RSPB made was that although there has been a big increase in urban Herring /LBB Gulls, the former species- the typical "seagull" has been i steep decline, so we do have a conservation duty to protect these birds.

I don't deny these birds can cause problems on buildings + there has to be a compromise about removing (ideally in a non-lethal way) these birds from problem areas + showing positive steps to conserve them. To me they are glorious birds + I love when I'm in my garden + hear either of these 2 species are calling as they fly over. Certainly they have increased since the 70's in London as breeding birds + the first Great Black backs have bred in last couple of years or so.