Seagull summit 'a success'

Sidmouth was the setting for a seagull summit organised by East Devon District Council.

After the event held in the Council Chamber at Knowle, Sidmouth, summit chairman Councillor Tom Wright declared the meeting a great success.

Councillor Wright, Deputy Cabinet Member for Environment and an EDDC ward member for Budleigh Salterton, said he was pleased with the audience of 50 people in the room and was also impressed at the range of topics covered in the two and a half hour meeting.

He added: “This proved to be an extremely worthwhile event, where people with a range of opinions and interests in the gull problem came together for a mature debate.

“As a result, we are now all better informed about the lifestyles of gulls and the measures that we, as humans, can take so that we can live side by side more comfortably. We can’t expect the gulls to change their habits unless people change their behaviour.

The fundamental point is that we must cut off the birds’ supply of fast food and encourage them to go back to their natural diet of fish and worms rather than burgers and chips.

“We were particularly pleased to see the lead that Seaton Town Council is taking on this issue, working closely with local businesses. This is a good example to other town councils whom I hope were inspired to do something similar”.

Among those present on the evening were local traders and hoteliers, firms that offer gull-proofing solutions for property-owners, members of EDDC, town and parish councils, and a number of residents with differing views about whether gulls are a pleasure or a pest.

One of the early speakers was Falconer Jonathan Marshall, who makes a living from putting on falconry displays, as well as flying his birds at the right time of year to deter gulls from nesting where they are not wanted.

Jonathan, who took two birds along with him, explained that he has bred falcons especially for the purpose. He also screened a film he had made in Sidmouth showing how gulls regard tall hotels as man-made cliffs and setting out ways of encouraging them to nest and feed in their natural habitat.

Other speakers included EDDC Environmental Health Officers and Damian McChesney from Thermoclean Pest Control Services, who outlined some of the practical measures property owners can take to discourage gulls from nesting on roofs. He also confirmed that culling adult and young birds will not be the solution to dealing with aggressive birds, a point echoed by the RSPB and Natural England.

Gaynor Sedgwick, Mayor of Seaton, gave a very encouraging presentation about the work that Seaton Town Council are doing to address the issue. They are co-ordinating work between businesses and contractors in a number of preventative ways – proofing buildings, removing old nests and egg replacement. They will be continuing their campaign throughout Seaton from the New Year. EDDC are supporting this initiative and encouraging other Town Councils to follow their lead on this.

Among the pro-seagull lobby was local photojournalist Jenny Steer, who arrived sporting a seagull lapel badge. Seagull supporters were pleasantly surprised to find that a cull of the protected seabirds is not an option, and the delegates were all impressed at the successes achieved in Seaton with egg replacement.

Damian said that last year over 800 eggs were replaced with dummy eggs – and this represents potentially 800 chicks not hatching. This operation was carried out under a general licence. Residents of Seaton are already reporting a drop in seagull activity around their homes and in the town where this has been done.

Delegates left with copies of the Gull Gazette, a one-off publication produced by EDDC as a summary of the facts about urban gulls, and a poster for businesses to put on display reminding the public not to feed the gulls.

Copies of these will be posted out to 250 local businesses on EDDC’s database of food outlets to spread the word about the gull problem and how to deal with it.