The Highland Council in Inverness has developed an extensive management plan to reduce nesting sites and move gulls from populated areas, addressing concerns about their aggressive behavior that has forced school pupils to eat indoors and disturbed elderly residents' sleep patterns.
They are known for their dive-bombing antics as they strive to protect chicks and steal food from passers-by. And now one Scots city is at the end of its tether with nuisance gulls keeping people awake and forcing school pupils to stay indoors to eat for fear of attack.
Highland Council bosses in Inverness have drawn up an extensive management plan to address concerns, reduce nesting sites and move birds on to less populated areas. A report outlining the pilot will come before councillors next week. It considers a host of ‘scaring devices and decoys’ including ‘street net lighting’ to ‘hinder severity of dive-bombing’, audio deterrents, ‘kites, flags and reflective devices’, as well as specialist anti-perch systems before the breeding season begins.
It states that, where issues ‘persist’, more drastic action may be required but ‘lethal control’ should be used only as ‘a last resort’. The council has highlighted that the city ‘has experienced an increase in reports of conflict between gulls and people,’ including complaints that ‘elderly residents are experiencing disturbed sleep due to early morning gull calls’. Members of the public have reported being ‘dive-bombed’ and suffered the brunt of ‘food-snatching incidents’.
A seagull - known as Morag - has built its nest on top of a van The report adds that primary schools have ‘prohibited children from eating outdoors due to aggressive gull behaviour’. Nature body NatureScot has provided £20,000 to support the plan’s development.
However, one city business is taking a kinder approach by letting a gull nest on a van. Hawco Van Centre has dubbed the gull Morag and said on social media it would ‘absolutely not be moving’ the gull or ‘disturbing her nest’.
Iverness City Council Gull Management Plan Awkward Seagull Hawco Van Centre Last Resort Scaring Devices Perch Systems Reflective Devices Audio Deterrents
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