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.

  • Why was my response placed in 'the thread response' category and not the 'response to a poster' category? I find this site hard to 'follow'!

    suricat.
  • DartRay you have lost me with the categorising of responses I hsve been using the forum for donkeys years and have missed that along the way

    Pete

    Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can

  • "DartRay you have lost me with the categorising of responses"

    Perhaps I need to expand on my remark Pete. When I hit the 'Reply' button on a posted message here I expected 'my Reply' to be positioned 'directly beneath the post to which I made my response', but on this site 'my Reply' is positioned at 'the end of the thread'. The only difference to hitting the 'Reply to thread' button is that a greyed out 'In reply to _-_-_-:' appears at the beginning of the 'Replying post'.
    Clear as mud? Under this site's protocols a poster needs to search through a thread to discover if anyone responded to their 'post/message'. Whereas, if the 'response/Reply' is an 'addendum' to the post to which it is 'linked', the 'response' is more easily recognised by the 'original Poster/thread originator (perhaps)' for consideration.
    The 'format' for this site is 'down to/dependant upon' the discretion of the 'webmaster' here.
    Because 'other sites' tend to follow 'other protocols' that I'm more 'used to', I'm finding it difficult to interact fully here.

    "I hsve been using the forum for donkeys years and have missed that along the way"

    I'm not sure what you mean here Pete. Is this the use of Irony?

    Kind regards, Ray Dart (AKA suricat).
  • No not irony I had not realised that there was a different reaction to the reply buttons I have not been paying as much attention as maybe I should.  I agree that the site can be confusing to say the least but having used it for a long time I just accept that is how it is

    Pete

    Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can

  • "No not irony I had not realised that there was a different reaction to the reply buttons I have not been paying as much attention as maybe I should. I agree that the site can be confusing to say the least but having used it for a long time I just accept that is how it is"

    I've repeated your post for clarity of response Pete.
    I must confess that the 'nesting' (pardon the pun) of 'post responses' can lead to a 'narrow page width' for a late response to/within a 'post', but the 'system' does provide a more 'partitioned' ‘forum within a forum’ for multiple responses to a particular ‘posted subject’. I. O. W., this site seems great for ‘information transfer’ (when you become accustomed to the site’s ‘format’), but this ‘format’ doesn’t favour ‘discussion’ on the subject of ‘a particular post’ because ‘a reader’ needs to span the ‘entire thread’ to be sure that ‘their response’ hasn’t already been covered by ‘another individual responder’ within the thread.
    I’m getting there, but you have a ‘head start’ on me. : )

    Kindest regards, Ray Dart.
  • Zo, if you read Komodos post on Collared Doves I think you will find out that his post was removed by the admin people. In their view his post was inappropriate although some of us had different views. He was informed of the removal by email so it was not a forum user that did the deletion.

    Pete

    Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can

  • Thanks. I might of commented before Komodo said about the admins im not sure. but I know I didn’t see Komodos comments about the admins before I commented. 

  • Deliberately holding food in an upheld hand and waiting for a gull to snatch it. (seen it being done with inland BH gulls).

    People can encourage/enforce behaviour in gulls for their own personal amusement. It then becomes learned behaviour and can pass down via training.

    My main interest is interspecies interactions (and learned behaviour passed through generartions). My starting point was that robins are 'trusting' in the UK, but less so on the continent.

    Unlearning of the behaviour will be multi-generational. So, for gulls, that will likely be at least forty years (IMO).
  • Hi tuwit! It's nice to have a fresh outlook in/on this thread/subject. :)

    I concur. Although 'Black Headed Gulls' have been, mostly, 'run out of Dodge' here on the East Coast of Essex (as have the Tern, Lesser and Greater Black Backed Gull, the list is extensive), but this only implies that the Herring Gull is the local 'dominant species'.

    'Gulls' in general have learned to 'rely upon' human behaviour as a source of 'food'. This 'encourages them' to inhabit 'urban areas' where 'food' is more likely to be an 'available source' for their 'offspring' to survive their 'nesting habitat'. However, the 'human environment' of an 'urban region' invokes 'dangers' that the Gull is ill equipped to overcome. The 'urban environment' includes many 'predators' that a 'Gull' wouldn't/couldn't be able to deal with from it's 'learned behaviour'.

    "My main interest is interspecies interactions (and learned behaviour passed through generartions). My starting point was that robins are 'trusting' in the UK, but less so on the continent."

    IMHO, this is because the 'Robbins' get 'shot' on the continent, but not in the UK.

    I agree that a 'couple of generations' will be needed to 'unlearn' the 'learned habits' of a generation of 'Herring Gulls', but this would be a 'start'.

    Kind regards, Ray Dart (AKA suricat).
  • Gulls love the canal, Gloucester city, and Western supermare I see them very often. Iv found there’s even more at Gloucester city at the docks and Western supermare beach than the canal. the flocks can be massive at Gloucester city and western super mare in comparison .  At the canal I see Herring gulls and black backed gulls during Spring and summer but at that part of Gloucester and Sharpness canal  during the Autumn I only see Black headed gulls. and it’s the same gulls every year. 

    A sub urb is a mixture of urban and non urban habitat. A mixture of urban and rural.  a place that’s comsidered just urban is a place that is just urban. Just lots of shops and buildings and no rural habitat. As for the village I’m in , The village I’m in is considered a sub urb rather than only urban or non urban. 

      But Im only an hour away from western supermare which is near the Severn eastuary and Bristol Channel. However I most often visit the south coast or the coast in Cornwall and I used to go to the beach every year cause I love the beach so I’m very familiar with beaches and gulls. The issue with feeding occurs both on the beach. In sub urbs and urban areas too. However I find the problem is more obvious on beaches exspeacialy ones near urban areas. 

    for forests. When I go to the Forest of Dean In the Forest of Dean I see no gulls at all. why they is I don’t know but possibly cause there isn’t really lots of food shops at all jand people are disencouraged from feeding the Wildlife at there cabins. The most abundant species Iv noticed is gray Squirrels. And that’s why they discourage feeding. 

    The fact I never see herring gulls at the canal during autumn and only black headed gulls  is curious but it could be cause of the time of year and that there not breeding anymore. or that food is more abundant elsewhere for the herring gulls at that time of year 

    when I went to the south coast during autumn this year I saw both herring gulls and black headed gulls. Perhaps there’s more food at sea than on land for herring gulls during Autumn and more food on land during spring and summer cause of more people visiting the beach  who knows. 



    As for the suggestions I made they were way that I think maybe might help disencourage from associateing people on beaches with food and decrease the frequency of stolen food. And deter them from the cafes near beaches. Obviously for them to unlearn the association of people with food that would take a very long time like Tuwit said.  There not the only idea but there’s probably a lot more people havnt thought of yet.