I actually admire Herring / Black backed gulls, they have learned to take advantage of us and our wasteful ways, they in effect are doing to us, what we do to other species. I would not wish to see their demise and would not take part in large culls of adult birds, I understand and accept the need to ‘manage’ or control the gull problem in certain locations, and offer my control services to both individuals and businesses.

I offer Gull and Pigeon control solutions throughout Cornwall, however, before going into detail on the services I am able to provide, it is important that you are aware of the law as regards bird control

Gulls in common with all other birds are protected by (The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981) law, making it an offence to disturb or harm either the adult birds, or interfere with eggs, nestlings or the actual nest whilst it is being built or used.

Fortunately, the law recognises that gulls (and certain other birds) can cause problems that need to be controlled and under certain circumstances the government will issue licenses authorising individuals to carry out appropriate control activities.

Many reasons are given for wanting to control gulls, not all of which are acceptable reasons for a license to be issued and failure to adhere closely to the license conditions can mean a criminal prosecution.

With this potential minefield you need to be sure that eggs, nests, nestlings or indeed adult birds can be dealt with legally or you risk prosecution.

I hold a license ‘to kill or take any of the wild birds listed in sub-paragraph 2(i) to take, damage or destroy their nests or to take or destroy their eggs’

Killing wild birds or destroying eggs etc is not something to undertake lightly, to have any long term effect the gulls have to be discouraged from nesting in the area, various devices are available and most are detailed below, I am able to offer advice on individual suitability and can install many of them, please ask for details.

Herring gull eggs, (these are almost identical to Lesser black back gull eggs)

Gulls have long been a feature of coastal villages and towns, they are now residents in many towns and cities throughout the UK, to a gull, roof tops and building are simply man made cliffs and many make ideal nesting and roosting ledges, in addition the wasteful nature of our society provides the gull with ample food, we are in effect providing bed and breakfast. Unless and until we remove the B&B facilities we will always have the gull problems

The commonest need for gull control revolves around either roof nesting gulls or gulls acting aggressively towards people, usually these two reasons can be linked together, i.e gulls will try to protect their eggs / nestlings against a perceived threat and if you’ve been struck by a gull you will already know the damage they can inflict, in fact two people in Britain have been recorded as dying as a result of Gull attacks!

Generally speaking gulls tend to be relatively quite whilst sitting on eggs, but can become very raucous once the eggs have hatched and at this stage they become far more aggressive towards people.

The only acceptable reasons for removal of eggs / nestling / nests, is that the gull/s present a public health or public safety risk. In extreme circumstances adult gulls can be culled, this however, is not a long term solution as the culled gull will be replaced by another, but it may help if one particular gull is exceptionally aggressive.

Public health or public safety is not always easy to define as individual circumstances need taking into account, clear examples of a health risk might include a nest being situated so as to cause a blockage of a chimney or flue, droppings from a nest blocking a gutter, causing water and gull excrement to fall to the path below and creating a slip hazard.

Bird droppings carry many diseases transmissible to humans, including thrush, E. coli and salmonella poisoning, not things you would want in or around schools, hospitals, food handling areas etc. Seagulls also carry a range of ecto-parasites (including bed-bugs, fleas and ticks) and these are also known to affect humans. Public safety, maybe put at risk if a gull decides people walking down a street are too close to its nest and dive bombs them causing potential injury.

Some aspects of gull behaviour, i.e making a raucous noise very early in the morning, taking food from (and generally harassing) people, can be a serious nuisance they are not however, permitted as a reasonable basis to cull gulls or to take eggs / destroy nests.

There is a great deal of uncertainty over the Herring gull population numbers, some estimate that numbers have fallen 40% since the 1970's others that the gulls are increasing at around 13% per year, I only know that there seems to be a major problem in almost every Town and City (whether coastal or not)throughout the UK, these problems did not exist to the same extent 30 years ago....

For a discussion on how best to proceed, please contact me 

Paul Diamond

07736 458 609

enquiries@cornwallbirdcontrol.co.uk

The main species of gull that nest on roofs and dwellings are the Herring Gull and the Lesser Black Backed Gull, they are very similar in size and appearance the main distinguishing factor is the herring gull has pink legs and the Lesser Black Backed Gull has yellow legs (there is actually a form of Herring gull with yellow legs, but it is not found in the Southwest), very rarely a Greater Black Backed Gull will be found, these are enormous birds.

Further information on each of these species is found below.

Herring Gull

The male Herring Gull is 60-66 cm (24-26 in) long and weighs 1050-1250 grams (2.3-2.8 lb) while the female is 55-62 cm (22-24.5 in) and weighs 800-980 grams (1.8-2.2 lb). The wingspan is 137-150 cm (54-59 in). Adults in breeding plumage have a grey back and upperwings and white head and underparts. The wingtips are black with white spots known as "mirrors" . The bill is yellow with a red spot and there is a ring of bare yellow skin around the pale eye. The legs are normally pink at all ages but can be yellowish, particularly in the Baltic population. Non-breeding adults have brown streaks on the head and neck.

Male and female plumage is identical at all stages of development, however adult males are often larger.

Herring Gull (Parent and chicks)

Flocks have a loose pecking order, based on size, aggressiveness and physical strength. Communication between these birds is complex and highly-developed - employing both calls and body language.

Unlike many flocking birds, Herring Gulls do not engage in social grooming and keep physical contact between individuals to a minimum. Outside of the male/female and parent/chick relationship, each Herring Gull attempts to maintain a respectful 'safe distance' from others of its kind. Any breach of this results in fighting, though severe injuries are seldom inflicted.

These are omnivores and opportunists like most Larus gulls, and will scavenge from garbage dumps, landfill sites, and sewage outflows, with refuse comprising up to half of the bird's diet. It also steals the eggs and young of other gulls, as well as seeking suitable small prey in fields on the coast or in urban areas. Two to four eggs, usually three, are laid often in colonies, and are defended vigorously by this large gull. The eggs are a dark blotched, olive color. They are normally laid in May but maybe as late as June, They are incubated for 28-30 days. The young birds are able to fly 35-40 days after hatching. In reality this means they leave roofs around August each year. Herring Gulls are long lived, frequently up to 25 years with the oldest recorded at 49 yrs old.

The Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)

This species like the herring gull to which it is closely related, breeds colonially. As with Herring gulls three eggs are usually laid. They are similar in size to the Herring Gull or just slightly smaller. The only confusable species is the Great Black-backed Gull. The Lesser is a smaller bird, with slimmer build, yellow rather than pinkish legs and smaller white "mirrors" at the wing tips. The adults have black or dark grey wings and back. The bill is yellow with a red spot which young peck at, inducing feeding. The head is greyer in winter, unlike Great Black-backed. The call is a "laughing" cry like that of the Herring Gull, but with a markedly deeper pitch. Breeding season, egg colouration and incubation periods are very similar to the Herring gull. They are omnivores like most Larus gulls, and they will eat fish, insects, crustaceans, worms, molluscs, small mammals, eggs, small chicks, scraps and carrion.

Lesser Black Backed gull (notice the leg colour)

The Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus,

This is the largest gull, much bigger than a Herring Gull and is often described as the King of Gulls. It is 71–79 cm (28–31 in) long with a 1.52–1.7 m (5-5.7 ft) wingspan and a body weight of 1.3-2 kg (2.9-4.4 lb), though large males regularly exceed this weight. It is bulky, and has a powerful bill. The adults have black wings and back, with conspicuous white "mirrors" at the wing tips. The legs are pinkish, and the bill yellow with a red spot. Young birds have scaly black-brown upperparts, and a neat wing pattern. They take at least four years to reach maturity, development in this species being somewhat slower than that of other large gulls. The call is a deep "laughing" cry.

Great Black-backed Gulls are opportunistic and get most of their food from scavenging (refuse at times comprising more than half of their diet) and capturing fish. However, unlike most Larus gulls, they are highly predatory and frequently hunt and kill any prey smaller than themselves, behaving more like a raptor than a typical larid gull. They frequently rob other seabirds of their catch. Great Black-backed Gulls are major predators at the nesting colonies of smaller seabirds, killing and eating eggs, chicks and adult birds. Puffins, Herring Gulls, Common Terns, Roseate Terns, Manx Shearwaters, are regularly culled by the Great Black-backs. They generally target chicks since they are easily found, handled, and swallowed. They can swallow a puffin whole.

I do not touch eggs or chicks of this gull, with numbers down to an estimated 1500 pairs, it needs all the help it can get....

Greater Black Back gull, this is a real bruiser......

For more information on Gulls click here

Control methods

Various methods of control are available, these can be broken down into three groups

· To prevent gulls becoming a health and safety issue a system to prevent Gulls gaining access to nesting / roosting areas can be considered, the various methods are detailed below. I can advise upon and install the various options noted below.

· To remove the health and safety risks once birds have started nesting, it maybe necessary to prevent the eggs hatching, this can be achieved by simply taking or breaking the eggs, the gull will however usually lay more eggs. Alternatively the eggs can be treated to prevent them hatching or substituted with plastic eggs, this will keep the gull sitting on the eggs and by the time they realise the eggs are not going to hatch, its to late to lay a new clutch. If carried out correctly, this causes no harm or distress to the adult bird and can prevent the aggression of the adult birds that might have been encountered if young were hatched and also substantially reduce the health and safety risk posed by a large amount of droppings. As an aside, this tends to reduce the amount of noise the gulls produce as well. I offer an Egg replacement / oiling service and at the end of the season I will remove nests if required.

Herring Gull eating a Mole....

If chicks are present and the adult birds are acting very aggressively towards people and / or the amount of droppings poses a health risk, the chicks can be removed, (as can the nest material), this reduces both the public safety and public health issues. If considered necessary I will remove lesser black-backed chicks, I am reluctant to cull chicks and prefer to place these with local bird / wild life rescue centres, I have agreements in place to take the birds, this is more expensive than treating eggs, as it requires substantially more time to transport the birds and I donate part of my fee to the centres to help towards the costs incurred. In this regard I am unique... to my knowledge all other gull services cull young birds, I believe most people want their gull problem dealt with, but do not necessarily want the chicks killed and most people will pay the additional cost.

IMPORTANT

The RSPB have added the Herring gull to the 'Red List' this means they consider the number of gulls to be falling and are thus at risk (They obviously do not visit Devon or Cornwall), Natural England have accordingly amended license conditions. It is no longer possible to cull or even touch either chicks or adult birds. This makes it essential that appropriate action is taken whilst birds are sitting on Eggs. Do not delay or it may not be possible to do anything to help you.

Prevention

Anti-perching devices

Deterrents, anti-perching devices and bird exclusion products are used extensively to deter birds from roosting and perching on specific areas of buildings.

Anti-roosting products,

Anti-roosting spikes, are designed to physically prevent a bird from landing on ledges, guttering and other architectural features.

Bird exclusion

Products like bird netting are usually installed to physically prevent a bird from gaining access to an area rather than a specific perch.

Deterrents and anti-roosting products have the potential to be effective providing that the correct product is chosen and installed.

Anti-roosting Spikes

The anti-roosting spike is the most effective stand-alone anti-roosting product on the market, it has an extremely long lifespan. Anti-roosting spikes vary in quality and price dramatically with cheap and poor quality Far Eastern imports now flooding the UK market. Choosing the right manufacturer and choosing the right spike product (and there are many types and specifications of anti-roosting spike) will determine the effectiveness of the installation and the resultant level of protection.

Post and Wire Systems

This anti-perching device consists of a series of vertical steel posts installed onto (or into) a flat surface and spanned by thin steel wires provided at a height of approximately 3 to 4 inches above the surface to be protected. The steel wire is joined to the posts by small steel springs. When a bird attempts to land on the protected surface its feet first touch the wires, which move due to the fact that the wire is attached to the vertical posts by springs, making the bird feel unsafe and resulting in the bird aborting its landing.

Bird Netting

The netting installation should be regularly maintained and re-tensioned to stop the product stretching and becoming ineffective. Nylon bird netting expands and contracts with extremes of heat and cold and therefore quickly becomes baggy if it is not re-tensioned regularly. If you have a listed building, prior to considering bird netting, the listed buildings officer at the local council offices should be consulted.

It is unlikely that applications to net a grade 1 listed building will receive the necessary permissions.

Sonic and Ultrasonic Bird Scarers

There are an increasing number of sonic, and ultrasonic devices being offered to those experiencing problems with wild birds. A sonic system will produce sound or noise that can be heard by the human ear such as a siren or a loud bang. An ultrasonic system produces sound is normally outside the range of the human ear, but can be heard by some bird species. Some systems use recordings from various sources, such as;

• Predator calls, which mimic the sound of a predatory bird such as a hawk or falcon

• Alarm calls, which mimic the sound of the target species when it is being attacked or in danger

• Distress calls, which are made by the target species when it is under attack from a predator or when it is pain

At best, these systems should only ever be considered as part of an overall bird control system as they rarely if ever have any effect as a stand-alone control. Some systems may appear relatively inexpensive when considered against anti-perching systems but there is a reason for this – most noise-based systems have little if any effect on the target species. The reason for this is habituation – most pest species of birds are highly intelligent and will quickly habituate to sonic noise, ultrasound and bio-acoustic scaring techniques.

For a few days the system may have some effect but thereafter the birds become used to the interference and ignore it. None of these systems will have any effect on breeding birds that have eggs or young in a nest - they cannot be used within the breeding period.

In most cases problem birds such as gulls cause the most significant problems during the breeding period and therefore a system of this nature would be worthless.

Electric Shock Systems

Electric shock systems are NOT legal for use in the UK and any property owner installing one may face prosecution.

Birds of Prey

Falconry is an ancient and highly skilled field sport, using birds of prey to catch quarry. The use of a bird of prey in a commercial bird control operation is no different; despite what you might be told, a bird of prey cannot be trained not to kill it is a natural instinct for the bird to do so.

Birds of prey used for commercial purposes will occasionally kill the target (or other) species. (ask Norwich Council)...

A number of companies in the UK offer this service where birds of prey are flown in or around a specific building or site on a regular basis and the client is told that the resident pigeon / gull flock will move elsewhere to roost....

Just one little thought on this.... Many large Cities / Towns now suffer from Gull (and pigeon) problems, whilst at the same time many also have resident Peregrine Falcons nesting and living within the same area. I know for a fact that Bath, Chichester and Brighton all have Peregrines nesting in the same vicinity as gulls, if they can't frighten the gulls into moving, why believe a captive bird will do better?

Flying a bird of prey is now being commonly offered as a means of deterring roof-nesting gulls, yet birds of prey are not effective at scaring nesting gulls. Gulls will never be deterred by raptors during the breeding period and at any other time of the year the threat will only move the gulls on for an hour or so, necessitating regular patrols to keep the gulls away. Indeed it is not unknown for Gulls to 'gang up' and chase the falcon / hawk away.

It might make an interesting spectacle for visitors, and give the impression that the local authority is doing 'something' unless of course they catch and kill another bird, just wait for the publicity from that!

Please feel free to contact me to discuss how I might be able to help you....

Paul Diamond

07736 458 609

enquiries@cornwallbirdcontrol.co.uk