"Good morning Nairn Gurn....
I have to have a rant and what better than to do through your good self... My gurn is:
(1) Salty seagulls and his/her ever large growing family. My dear husband and I have hardly slept last night because of their intermittent non-stop "chatter" last night and this morning. Yes I know it is the joys of living in Fishertown but this is getting ridiculous... I want to apply for an ASB Order (Anti-Social Behaviour)!!! Understand if more than 3 neighbours complain something has to be done about it.. Who's with me?? OR alternatively .... would be more than happy to contribute to employ a human bird scarer and his "friend" Mr. Eagle Owl or whoever to disperse Salty and his/her friends "humanely". Also re article in this week's Nairnshire "Cull the gulls plea is made"... I was disappointed and disheartened, actually angry, I pay my Council taxes what the heck is it being spent on... ok I forgot its the government and bankers fault 'cos there's no money... Well here's my input/solution to this.... Lets utilise "those" doing Community Service, get them to clean up the street and be human scarers, would I be right in thinking there would be 1 or 2 individuals who committed a "Breach of Peace" in the street? Here's their opportunity to let off steam and certainly do good for the Community!
(2) have a walk up the High Street when its pouring down with rain and take note of the smell from the pigeon faeces - lovely isnt. No wonder visitors' numbers are "dropping" -sorry for the pun. There you have it. I feel better now and will await with bated breath to see how things progress over the next few weeks!! PS... I love Nairn, its got a lovely beach and riverside walks, I'm just frustrated and in a right gurn!! Thank you for letting me "sound" off. :)"
I live in Fishertown, so I definitely agree with Hazel's gurn.
ReplyDeleteI also work in Balmakeith which means I have to put up with not just the screeching cacophony but regular attacks and swoopings. They seem to be nesting in the area and they're attacking anyone using the road and paths through the industrial estate.
Nairn needs a seagull cull.
Hi Maree,
ReplyDeleteWe've touched on seagull topics many times on the Gurn and linked to some scientific research on the matter too. No easy answers it seems, I remember reading that there was a cull in one town in the US, immediately afterwards other gulls moved in from other areas.
It might have been possible to remove all the eggs and nests 20-25 years ago but nobody took responsibility. Now you would perhaps solve the unemployment problem for six months of the year if you had a serious effort to remove nests. Seagulls just rebuild the nests and will do so for at least a fortnight. Then you think you have won, you will come back in another week to find that the seagulls have simply built yet another nest.
Seriously removing nests in Nairn would involve the hire (or purchase) of top of the range cherry pickers too and then there would be the man hours involved. Who would pay?
Us. £1.00 per person . Voluntary given of course.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we could get a new breakwater built as those waves crashing on the shore can make an awful racket, and they sometimes splash me when I'm walking on the beach. Nasty waves
ReplyDeleteCull the gurners, peace at last.
ReplyDeleteA seaside town without gulls.....in your dreams ! The reason the gulls make so much noise at this time is because they are watching over their young who are just learning to fly. The screeching is both encouragement and alarm to the young gulls who take the plunge, literally !
ReplyDeleteThe arrogance of human beings never ceases to amaze me. The Earth does not belong to us, we share it with other creatures but, god forbid, if they get in our way. Let's cull them, is a fuzzy, disguised way of saying let's kill them. What right have we got to do that? The birds are making a noise, they shit, they swoop to protect their young, reason enough to kill them? You should be ashamed of yourselves, how many of you proclaim to be animal lovers, or is it a case of some fluffy wuffy animals are more special than others? Think about what you are asking to be done before jumping on bandwaggons!
ReplyDeleteSeagull lovers should get out here and clean up the seagull mess if they are so desperate to keep them. I have not seen one single comment saying we should use cruelty to cut back on the no. of gulls!
ReplyDeletePersonally I think that the only reason they are here is thanks to those who feed them. I live in the High Street and the racket from the gulls is far worse than any Friday or Saturday night and after 5-7 days with little sleep its no wonder people get frustrated. I find it quite dissapointing when I see people feeding the gulls it is this irresposible behaviour that keeps them here - they are SEA gulls and are quite capable of feeding themselves from the sea - STOP FEEDING THEM AND THEY WILL GO!!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, get out of your hippy clothes and have a wash! If you care so much marry a gull and have some mutant fluffy wuffy hybrid human/gull offspring who could be employed by the council to hunt down the rats with wings and destroy the vermin forever! Or alternatively have another rosehip cordial and worship the Earth from your protest camp!!
ReplyDeleteWell said anon of 2.31pm my sentiment exactly. Imagine going to a seashore with no birds, nothing but the roar of boy racers as they pollute the planet, no thanks I'd rather hear birds anytime.
ReplyDeleteAnon 5:20 pm
ReplyDeleteI'm just removing my wellies as you suggested. Just warning all Nairnites in case they wonder what the strange smell wafting about the town is, ah that's better
Rosehip cordial going down a treat
Squark squark
Mrs Salty says hello
Well they seem to take better care of their young than humans
ReplyDeleteThe numbers need to be cut !!!.God this town is pathetic.Im more than happy to do a cull on the flying rats .
ReplyDeleteA cull is long over due.Or due we just put up with the noise the mess ect ect.Less talking more ringing necks.
ReplyDeleteSeems a bit difficult to have a rational discussion about gulls. On the one hand we have the exasperation of those who see the gulls as pests to be exterminated. On the other, the sentimentality of those who think that they should be accepted as God's creatures, and as part of coastal life just like the waves on the beach (?).
ReplyDeleteAnon of 5.07pm gets closest to a common-sense view. Gulls are part of nature. They should be left to live and survive in their normal marine habitat. We should not turn them into urban dwellers and feeders.
When - as now - they change their behaviour largely because of foolish, misguided, negligent or sentimental behaviour by humans and become a nuisance and a health hazard, then it IS part of our responsibility to limit that nuisance and discourage their (un-natural) behaviour. That certainly means not feeding them, ideally it means minimising take-away litter, and in some circumstances it does mean destroying their eggs and nests.
Left to itself, nature usually manages to maintain some sort of equilibrium. Since it is human activity which has led to the "urban gull" problem, it is now down to us also to find ways of solving it. If that means traps, raids on nests, or other such measures, so be it. Meanwhile, don't feed the blighters!
Perhaps if we left sufficient fish for them to eat in the sea the gulls wouldn't be such a nuisance for some of us
ReplyDeleteI am ex Nairnite. What is going on?
ReplyDeleteGulls are a natural part of living by the sea. Think of a world without birds. I used to live in St. Ninian Road but the noise of the traffic there now would be worse than any gull noise. The biggest bird irritant when I lived there was the birds getting through the foil on your milk bottle on the doorstep to get at the frozen milk. The worst mess used to be "doggy pooh" on the pavements! The thing I miss most here in NZ is the dawn chorus, my dawn chorus now is my roosters.
Cheers from NZ
Min Walker
I also live in Fishertown so I can equally sympathise. They are dangerous, violent, messy birds and whilst I appreciate they are protecting their young it's getting beyond a joke. I have to keep my porch door shut just now, not to keep the neighbourhood cats out but also to keep out the seagull chicks that are very tame and daft this year. I then have to be careful round the chick not to get attacked by these pests. The damage to cars is a nightmare at best. Every time one of these things poops it's huge and you have to get it off the car straight away, otherwise the body paint becomes beyond saving. The houses are covered in muck not to mention the paths and pavements etc...You just can't sit out in your garden in Fishertown in peace, either you're being attacked or there's so much noise you can't have a conversation. I think most of Fishertown is awake for months at a time.
ReplyDeleteNot so much now but in the days when folk used to drink in our hotels and bars on the High St "dangerous, violent, messy" pretty much described the people (not the gulls). Maybe I missed the human cull and that's why there's not so many anymore?
ReplyDeleteIt's a pity that the Nairnshire introduced the word "cull". My invitation to River CC was to consider proposals for managing the gull population. Yes, gulls are an essential part of a seaside town so I did not propose a cull. But we often engage in wildlife management and there has to be a way, with a little imagination, of managing the levels of the gull population. It is currently out-of-hand and, for all the reasons mentioned, we need to regain control. It's the density, the noise and the mess that has to be addressed. Indeed, have you ever wondered the annual tonnage of excrement that runs off our roofs into the sewers?
ReplyDeleteIs it illegal to prick the eggs? Apparently, if done, they'll sit for weeks. Any other ideas for restoring a more meaningful co-existence with gulls?
Tonnes of seagull excrement running off roofs into sewers. Wow never thought it would amount to tonnes every year!
DeleteHowever best in sewers than my car. After all s**t is supposed to go into sewers, so can't see a problem if it's such a large scale disposal issue.
Just found an interesting statistic. Left to themselves the gull population doubles every 5 years. If it's bad now imagine what it will be like 5 years on - if we don't find a better balance.
ReplyDeleteThis Gurn article from last December contains links to research on Gulls by Peter Rock and also details on the Scottish Government position and that of an experiment in Dumfries.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting statistic is that the world human population grows at over 1% per year
ReplyDeleteNearly 300,000 just today
If it's bad now imagine what it will be like 5 years on - if we don't find a better balance.
It started with the gulls...
ReplyDeleteWhere is the Green Cleaning machine that used to go up and down the High street? Dam of course Inverness needed it and we better do as we are told. Part of the problem is feeding of the gulls and not putting food away in bins.
ReplyDeleteIsn't this the reason Nairn stopped becoming a port for commercial fishing last century. The seagull problem was so large and representing a serious health hazard, that commercial fishing was banned from Nairn by the local council.
ReplyDeleteA seagull problem in Nairn is just going back to the good old days and is as much a part of Nairn as is moaning about the odd derelict building.
Naw, you've got it wrong herring fishing Dave.
ReplyDeleteThe herring fishing stopped when the herring gulls that used to lead the fishermen to the fish got fed up with below minimum wages and a cut in their holiday pay. They went on strike and the fishermen tried fishing without them but with little success. As the strike went on the gulls swore they would never speak to us again and from that day on they've only spoken Gullic which few if any human's understand.
Shame really, man spoilt a perfectly good harmonious relationship and has suffered ever since, and when they get a chance the gulls remind about this by s******* on us and causing a nuisance
Dear Lord! Have we all entered Wonderland? What a pair of Madhatters those last two are.
ReplyDeleteI have read with intrigue the comments for and against since my rant!
ReplyDeleteI convey my thanks to Iain for clarifying "it is a management issue".
This topic will come up every year until a solution or a protcol is put in place during the seagulls breeding season, whereby persons, myself included, will stop being irrational and get on with life.
Going back many many years ago, seagull nests were raided as their eggs were a delicacy and this probably made an impact and helped reduce numbers. Nairn landfill was closed so of course the gulls had to find an alternative. How can you stop those feeding seagulls? Taking heed or trying to educate appears to fall on deaf ears.
I take note Nairn is not alone on this issue as other seaside towns are too encountering the same problem, however at least their Council or residents are taking steps to manage the problem as I searched the internet and read some interesting articles on the matter.
I too wish to look after and protect my family, young and old, friends and neighbours, after all it's not a pleasant experience being attacked or placed under seige.
For those of us spending money to put in place a deterrent, it does not come cheap and my sympathy goes out to the elderly, single person and the less than well off individuals and young families.
Of note and as an example, drug users, those dependent on alcohol or have anger management issues can obtain assistance and care to address and help with their problem.
I just heard this weekend of a local gentleman having fallen off his roof approx. a week or so ago.... I am led to believe he was trying to remove a seagulls nest. I hope this gentleman is okay and send him my best wishes and a speedy recovery.
annihilate the gulls
ReplyDeleteAnnihilate the humans that complain, problem solved
ReplyDeleteHello Hazel, the gulls eggs you refer to as being a delicacy are the small black headed gulls and not the larger herring gulls, these were collected along the Old Bar many years ago.
ReplyDeleteThank you Annoymous 12.33 pm I stand corrected.
ReplyDeleteSCARED OF SEAGULLS ..I HAVE JUST ONE WORD TO SAY .."WIMP" What a bunch of pathetic wimps ...go live in the bloody jungle and toughen up / man up !!
ReplyDelete