Owner fined after Herring gull nest removed from garage in balbriggan?

Morpheus

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2013/0108/1224328564383.html

A Co Dublin filling station owner who has admitted to disturbing a herring gull’s nest and three eggs appeared at Dublin District Court yesterday.

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Utter and complete shock. How the holy f**k are herring gulls an endangered species? the colony in Balbriggan ALONE numbers in the thousands. these sea birds did not natively live on the rooves of premises or homes up until about 10 years ago when they started to aggressively move inland from the coastal area. Now they attack people coming and going from their homes.

I personally have managed to keep them off my parents roof at home and now its the only house in its row that doesnt have these birds nesting on it.

They have invaded Stephens Green park and chased off or killed most of the smaller birds and reduced the population of ducks etc in the ponds. They sh*t EVERYWHERE too. seriously? I personally have no vendetta against them except when they try to nest on my roof or my home. They peel the flashing off the chimneys not to mention attack domestic pets int he gardens too. Something needs to be done about it.

Maybe he should've called in an expert, but in all fairness this man did the right thing to protect his business and got punished unfairly in my opinion.

Eoineo

Now is the time to clear nests if you have any by the way, before they start nesting again. They will return to the nests they had last year as I understand it.

There is something quite callous about destroying a nesting bird with eggs regardless of the species. He should have been aware of the nest for a number of days, if not weeks...

Morpheus

like i said, yes he should have contacted the ispca or National Parks and Wildlife Service first. he didnt have to destroy the nest, he couldve moved it away from the vent, however these birds are incredibly protective and WILL attack anyone who goes near the nest or chicks. I know this first hand after I attempted to return a chick (which had fallen off onto a conservatory) to a rooftop in high street and was attacked by the adults not just from that nest but from the rest of the rooftops!!! removing the nests is one thing, preventing them returning is another.

Part of the reason they have moved inland is actually our own fault, due to a lack of fish as stocks are at a historical low in the irish sea plus the fishing fleet has dwindled and there is lest fish related waste thrown overboard now for them to feed on. natural scavengers they have taken advantage of refuse stored outside businesses and homes and you will often see them cleverly open the lids on bins and tear into the bags inside for food.

BrensBenz

Yes, a strange status for these noisy, rude, flying sewage plants (sh1tehawks).
While not wishing to be crude, my particular gripe with these creatures is the consistency of their droppings, especially the stuff they insist on depositing on the varnished mahogany deck of my boat. Once dried, it has the adhesive qualities of aviation epoxy mixed with the bones of whatever creature was on yesterdays menu.
I was looking at a model of a nasty-looking hawk but the wise man in the shop said "this model barn owl will scare away the gulls". After some modifications to make it move with the wave motion, I hoisted the owl up my mast. Apparently, the gulls incomplete knowledge of barn owls told them that the owl was far-sighted and was scanning the harbour and shore, or he's nocturnal and probably fast asleep. Therefore they could continue to relieve themselves UNDER the owl because he couldn't see below his feet. Nearby boat owners thanked me for scaring the gulls from their boats and the extra coats of gull offerings on my boat caused concern for the environment.
Even after cleaning the boat and while sailing around the bay, the b@$t@rd$ circled overhead, sphincters quivering, taking aim at their own private mobile loo.
Please.......change the status of herring gulls or fit them with nappies!

T-Maxx

Another example of PC going OTT.

Shocking. And a terrible waste of resources for this to have ended up in court.

sgarvan

After having these PESTS nest on my roof twice in the last 7 years I can fully understand why he got up and removed the nest.

Myself, my wife and my child have all been swopped at. The wife was clipped by a gulls wings on a couple of occasions.

After the first time of nesting and when they had gone, I removed the nest and placed a wire cage behind my chimney. Then last year they came back and nested at the side of my chimney. I have since removed that nest and now need to place more wire around the sides of my chimney to prevent another nest.

This is the time of year that gulls start moving inland and picking a spot for nesting.

cathy01

I hate them, my poor daughter was only about 5 and it swooped down and scare the life out of her.
Wire aroudn the chimney works.Someone else said a plastic OWL.????

Nodster

Remember seeing those plastic Owls on windowsills in downtown San Francisco....took a while to realise they were just plastic :rolleyes:

I feel sorry for Colin, he was just trying to address a problem and is a good employer in the town

cathy01

Just read the arrival and can't believe he got fined. How is anyone to know what to so , ok I'd hate to kill anything , but if he safely removed them or something then that would be ok .?

robertpatterson

You can get the owl decoys in any hunting/shooting shop
Id say courtlough have a few

BrensBenz

robertpatterson wrote: »

You can get the owl decoys in any hunting/shooting shop
Id say courtlough have a few

Yep, I got mine in Enniskillen. It's really cute, lifelike and a complete waste of approx. £18. I still think a mean, nasty-looking hawk or buzzard would be more effective.

P_1

Reading the report it seems he didn't actually destroy the nest but rather moved it away from the vent?

Very very harsh decision if that's the case.

Bluetonic

pithater1 wrote: »

Reading the report it seems he didn't actually destroy the nest but rather moved it away from the vent?

It was removed, not moved.

Other reports state that...

National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) conservation ranger, Kieran Buckley, said he received a complaint last May about a herring gull’s nest and eggs having been destroyed.

He told the prosecution solicitor that the nest with three eggs had been thrown away. Two eggs had been smashed.

No sympathy really.

P_1

Bluetonic wrote: »

It was removed, not moved.

Other reports state that...



No sympathy really.

Oh in that case, stupid decision by the owner and possibly very lucky that the fine wasn't higher.

Morpheus

simple solution was to move it away from the vent if possible and let the chicks hatch, then before next breeding season have a herring gull deterrent of some sort installed.

I still strongly dislike these birds, however there are valid reasons why theyve moved inland part of it being through our own environmental pollution of and decimation of food stocks within their own habitat. revenge of the birds I guess.

PaulD77

I cant believe they are protected. There are so many of them and has all been said, evil bastards. When I get the DT's, instead of rats in teh dreams I get these lads, starring me out of it, just waiting for the attach

aaabbbb

Loreto school in Balbriggan had a major problem with these birds harrassing students , swooping down and literally attacking them for their lunch etc. so while I was in school there they had this speaker system installed around the grounds that made this awful noise and was supposed to deter them . It seemed to work pretty well though well at least or the few months that I seen it in operation.

robertpatterson

If you put the decoy in a highly visible area e.g. on a pole you might get better results

Sparky84

I bought a plastic owl for our boat to keep the gulls away. Lasted a few hours until they got use to it and from then on sat beside it all day

JohnnieK

Who reported him and WHY??

cbreeze

JohnnieK wrote: »

Who reported him and WHY??

I think that snooper should feel ashamed of himself/herself. Herring gulls are opportunist scavengers. We've had the creatures on our flat roof. Even when they were on our neighbour's roof they would still try their swooping act - we would have to wave them away with a big umbrella. They have run out of space on the Skerries islands and have moved inland. [Birdstards!]

The Rooster

Morpheus wrote: »

.

.... however there are valid reasons why theyve moved inland part of it being through our own environmental pollution of and decimation of food stocks within their own habitat. revenge of the birds I guess.

Is that your opinion or is there published research on the issue?

It is an interesting one.

My take on it is purely circumstantial, based on my own experience in the Skerries/Balbriggan area. Its only in the last decade or probably even 5 years that gulls coming inland has been really noticeable to me (before that it was very occassional). There has certainly be no increase in fishing in that time in my locality.

What has increased has been the seal population. Its this increase that has taken a lot more fish out of the gulls' bellys that any increase in fishing, in my opinion.

Not saying that over fishing hasnt happeneed in the past, but the feckin gulls seemed to thrive in those days!

Its the seals that are thriving in recent years. So much so that the Marine Institute have commissioned a survey just to make sure a cull isnt required (commissioned in summer last year, not sure if results are out yet - but that's probably for a different thread!)

LeoB

Like a few others here I hate these scavenging **** machines. Have on numerous occasions seen them swoop on people. Imagine in filling your car with fuel and one of these does a nice big crap on you or your car just out of car wash. I have noticed in Balbriggan up past the church and accross towards business park large amounts of Gulls.

What I have learned from this thread is, If they nested in my back garden or on my roof I would tell nobody.

This is P.C gone haywire.

kaisersoze

Hi, just looking for some advice on how to deal with this.

I've contacted Fingal to see if they can help get rod of them but they've said they can't and can't advise on byelaws etc.

I originally contacted them as I remember some poor guy being brought to court for getting rid of them from a roof in Fingal somewhere.

They are quite aggressive and make a mess all over the place.

Any thoughts?

Frank Spencer

The previous thread that you recall is here

Dizzyblonde

Threads merged.

sgarvan

kaisersoze wrote: »

Hi, just looking for some advice on how to deal with this.

I've contacted Fingal to see if they can help get rod of them but they've said they can't and can't advise on byelaws etc.

I originally contacted them as I remember some poor guy being brought to court for getting rid of them from a roof in Fingal somewhere.

They are quite aggressive and make a mess all over the place.

Any thoughts?

I have them on my roof again this year, after removing the nest last year. If the birds have laid eggs you cannot legally remove the nests. You need to wait until the young are old enough to leave by themselves (around September). When they have left you need to remove the nest and place a wire cage in the area that they nested. This should prevent them coming back.

I have the a wire cage behind my chimney. They nested at the side of my chimney last year using the satellite dish and chimney as protection. I got removed the nest and got the dish highered thinking this would be enough but the are back again at the side of the chimney. So I have to wait until September to put wire cage at the side of my chimney.

Morpheus

em... throw pebbles at them? Obviously dont injure the birds but if you throw it close to them it disturbs them. do it when they begin to look interested in nesting there, it will eventually deter them. took me almost 2 weeks of continually throwing at them, and then a follow up any time they look like returning.

Had a nest removed last year before they laid in it... they are dangerous animals though so if operating on a roof or ladder, wear goggles, heavy clothing, a helmet and heavy gloves.

Have also heard that flapping your arms (i sh*t you not) makes them think that you are a sea gull and it can deter them eventually as they deem it is your own territory and they will leave it alone. The last idea sounds a bit crazy admittedly.

Nodster

Joking aside - would using a decoy Owl beside the chimney work against herring gulls?

pistol_75

Have noticed an increase in them the last week or so. Thought it was too early for them but it is May I suppose. Do a bit of running myself in certain spots they take you as a threat and come swooping at you. Vicious looking things when they get close up to you.

cathy01

Kids where in the Garden the other day and a neighbour has a nest beside his chimney, well the bird took the bread from their hands.
They are a danger to kids, and very scary.
I think there is a market out there for a person to go door to door with a ladder and wire so they cant nest next year.

LeoB

Just dont tell anyone Cathy.;)