Protection of the Herring Gull.

How can we justify the protection of this species where/when they nest 'too close' to an urban population for their own security?

'OK'! I blame the fisheries (fishermen) for leading herring gulls to our ports and land regions, but the fact that we protect this species means that we also 'protect' the 'species' without condition.

I'm currently faced with a ground 'nest' at my front door. That's OK in that I don't need to use this  means of transit as I have a 'side door' that I can use. However, that ingress/exit takes me within 4ft of the ground nest which also invokes an 'aggressive attitude' from the 'parenting/nesting couple' for this ground-space. I avoid this 'agression' by feeding the couple with an acceptable form of food (white fish) at an optimal time during their occupation.  I should 'not' need to do this to safely enter/exit my home! These raptors can inflict injury that may induce a bacterial/viral infection where/when a 'broken skin' scenario evolves from a confrontational encounter, so how are they not 'vermin' in this scenario?

That said, this nesting couple isn't likely to be sucsesful in their endeavour to procreate due to the local population of urban fox.

How can anyone manage this scenario without the implication of the £2,000 fine for nesting disruption, or the added cost/inconvenience of cohabitation with this species. Many of us can't afford to 'live' with this 'inconvenience'.

Kind regards, Ray.

  • It’s a long time since I did this, but this is a ‘cut n paste’ post from ‘another app’!

    When I set my ‘browser’ to keep me ‘logged on’ I expect the ‘website’ to do the same when and where I arrive. The times that I’ve lost postings/replies here, due to this site not saving my script, doesn’t merit a mention. When I type into this site’s ‘reply box’ I’m sick and tired of ‘lost dialogue’ and having to re-write my own postings here just because I can’t reclaim data from this sites ‘dialogue box’!
    This site should enable a user to ‘reclaim’ data that was typed into a/the/your ‘dialogue box’. After all, it’s ‘their/our data’! Please deal with this issue!!!
    Enough of that.

    Zo Clark.

    “Do you mean one of the gull Chicks?”
    Sadly, yes.

    I had a post that you guys may have ‘enthused’ about, but it’s gone. Here are my new/latest thoughts.

    Question. Why do we ‘protect’ the Herring Gull?
    Answer. Because their population is in decline!

    This says nothing about where they are or what they do. Their habits and population placement aren’t addressed by the protections placed upon them (AFAIK). Thus, a ’blanket protection’ is in place for ‘the protection of “all” of the species’.

    What can ‘we’ do to protect Herring Gulls?
    Eject them from the/a ‘hostile’ urban environment (but this is disallowed by their ‘protections’)!

    Stalemate!!!

    What a mess. Now for an update on my local Herring Gull community.

    And then there were none.

    I’ve not seen any sign of the last remaining Herring Gull chick for the last couple of days. I presume that it was devoured by ‘something’ because there’s no trace of it at all and the ‘Mum and Dad’ of the nest are ‘manic’ (presumably bereft).

    It looks as though this annual event is over. Phew, no more Pollock Fillets to buy to ensure a friendly recognition without Mum and Dad ‘swooping’ at me when I enter or exit my home. Now it just remains for me to clean up the mess they left in my front garden. Roll on ‘next year’ (not)!

    This ‘Herring Gull protection thing’ is a bit like the ‘Brexit’ conundrum. The UK left the EU, but Northern Ireland hasn’t. GB is out, but NI isn’t. This isn’t a ‘protection’ for the UK, it’s ‘mayhem’ for GB and NI and all concerned and, likewise, Herring Gulls need protection within an environment where they can sustain their population without a struggle for survival against Local Council ‘wheelybins’ etc.. Not ‘piggyback’ on human off-casts where they become a ‘wart’ on human society.

    I may sound a bit ‘harsh’, but the (no longer) ‘Mum & Dad’ cruising around my front garden would agree with me if they knew where else they could raise their offspring in safety. They need to be persuaded to nest elsewhere, where better conditions can offer the opportunity to raise a family.

    But how do you talk to a Sea Gull?

    Kind regards, Ray.
  • Apologies for ‘this (my latest post) post’. My time can often be at a premium and this subject of ‘Herring Gull Protection’, to me, seems bereft of purpose whilst contributing to their reduction in number. I’ll try to compose a more cogent point of view for better understanding. This may take a while.

    I’ll need to disclose the region, human population and density, Herring Gull population and density, the ‘social interaction’ between the two groups and also histological identities between them. I’m willing to disclose data that may well be detrimental to my person (because I live here/there), but I’m sure my observations may help to halt/reduce/reverse the decline in the Herring Gull population and I’m willing to do this if I can help to reduce the friction between the two ecological factions.

    Zo Clark was correct when suggesting that a ‘flock’ of these Herring Gulls impose a ‘hierarchy’. It’s also the same for ‘nesting rights’ with these ‘birds’ (marine raptors), but they always return to the same ‘nesting site’, have a natural ‘life expectancy’ of ~20 years, and ‘mate for life’.

    As I said, this may take a while whilst I develop a post.

    BTW. I saw a Black Headed Gull at my location today from/since, I don’t know when. Herring Gulls ‘evicted’ these species (together with the ‘Tern’) many years ago here.

    Kindest regards, Ray Dart.
  •  ok. Il look forward to your post. 

  • Because Herring Gull populations along our coasts exhibit similar characteristics when encountering/interacting with human populations, I’ve decided not to name my location for security purposes.

    I live near the seafront in a ‘smallish’ village about a mile from a ‘major seaside resort’. At the ‘major resort’ herring gulls steal ‘potato chips’ from people walking along the promenade, but at my ‘village promenade’ the herring gulls don’t like ‘potato chips’ so much (please read ‘potato chips’ as ‘fries’ and not ‘chips’ if you’re American), they prefer ‘bread’. Why? Food source abundance and habitual survival need? I think these parameters are a major driver for the survival of a/the gull community wherever they inhabit.

    At the ‘major resort’ people don’t/rarely feed the herring gulls, so the herring gulls forage/scavenge for whatever sustenance they can find (often ‘stolen’ chips). However, at my ‘’smallish’ village’ residents tend to feed the herring gulls with ‘titbits’ (usually stale bread), so the herring gull that lives in ‘the provinces’ finds foraging/scavenging much more rewarding than herring gulls that base their ‘residency’ at the ‘major resort’, but the source of ‘carbs’ tends to differ between what is ‘stolen’ and what is ‘offered’. This factual observation is personal to my observations and needs to be verified, but to my mind is ~accurate.

    The ‘Herring Gull’ is a ‘marine raptor’ that survives on the protein and fats provided by/from a ‘carnivorous diet’ of ‘fish’!
    Bread & Chips just doesn’t provide a ‘healthy diet’ for this ‘carnivore’, but a ‘vegan diet’ ‘fills the belly’ eh! It’s no surprise that the species is in decline when their ‘best food source’ isn’t compatable with their ‘dietary needs/requirements’ because ‘a local human population’ provides an abundance of ‘bad dietary belly fillers’ to sate their appetites.

    We humans need to stop ‘feeling sorry’ for this gull species and leave them to their ‘Herring Gull’ ‘protections’ AWAY from any ‘human population’. Uneducated ‘human populations’ can lead to the offer of a ‘bad diet’ for this species and a ‘blanket protection’ for ‘the species’ leads to a ‘hapstance’ ‘species dependancy’ upon the local ‘human population’ where/when a ‘wild environment’ isn’t specified for the implementation of ‘the protection order’. Thus, the ‘protection order’ itself posits a threat to the survival of the Herring Gull species where/when the ‘protection order’ doesn’t recognise the/any ‘boundary’ between a ‘wild’ and an ‘urban’ environment. This issue needs to be addressed. Any ‘intervention’ has it’s + and – to the issue at hand. What’s ‘your’ understanding and viewpoint?

    There’s more, but I’ll get back to this later.

    Kind regards, Ray Dart.
  • This site sucks!!!
    My posts are compromised (posts are lost/delted) whilst I write!Q!! se to 'post' here again.
    Ray Dart.
  • Sorry. I didn’t get a notification so I didn’t know you finally wrote that post. I do usually grt notified though. Don’t worry your posts havnt been deleated there still here. It might that your post went on a different page But now you have bumped it up so it’s back to the top again

    That’s very interesting what you have written.

    I think it’s very interesting what you said about the food similarity’s and preferences the good news about the food side is that I found out that the RSPB have considered banning the feeding of gulls entirely to try to tackle the food problem since people still feed them even though they advise not to feed on land. though I havnt heard anything since then.  If I do find out what else there doing about it I will let you know. 

  • If you don’t want gulls to nest at your house again next year the RSPB advises takeing measure before breeding season 

    People don’t usually get gulls on there doorstep. They usually get them on there roof 

    so you were just very unlucky. You could give the RSPB another call and ask how you can disencourage  them from

    nesting on your house or on this rare occasion on your doorstep next year they couldn’t help before cause

    they had already started but you could ask what you can do for next year  

  • www.rspb.org.uk/.../
    Being serious in curtain circumstances gulls can be controlled as a last resort. And this link works!.

  • That has already been said a couple of times and I have already sent a link about gulls and the law on the previous one that’s why I didn’t send that link.
  • I don’t know if theres a possibility people might of missed the update but just in case. The Gulls have had juviniles and they have left now. So now it’s a case of deterring them from nesting there again next year