Galling gulls

It's summer time in Great Britain and the living could be easy. But some residents along the coast feel disturbed in their outdoor life. Gulls are galling the people in places like Cornwall, Wales and Scotland.

In June, July and August, residents and British media outlets have reported a number of attacks involving Herring gulls. The birds have a wingspan of up to 1.55 meters (5 feet 1) and can look quite intimidating.

Yorkshire terrier Roo had probably no idea what hit him when he was attacked in the backyard of a Cornwall home in July. His injuries from being pecked on the head by Herring gulls were so severe he had to be put down.

Just days later, tortoise Stig was reportedly turned on its back by gulls and died of the pecks to his soft underside.

British tabloids, who are known to go after politicians with no holds barred, have not shown any restraint with the gulls either. The nicer headlines include "rats with wings," while the Scottish Express wrote about the "Reign of terror by vicious seagulls" and the Daily Star called one of the birds a "psycho seagull."

Protective parents

Ornithologist and spokesman for The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Tony Whitehead, however, says what the gulls are displaying is not mean-spirited behavior.

"There are two different sources for this type of behavior," Whitehead told DW. "At this time, the adult gulls are defending their chicks fresh out of the nest. For a few weeks, they are extremely defensive, so anything that present itself as a threat to the young ones, the adult birds will swoop and dive upon. It's possible that this is what happened when that dog died."

The house Roo's owners lived in actually had gulls nesting on the roof. The situation gets even tenser when a chick falls out of the nest and a curious dog approaches to see what's up, Whitehead said. Perhaps this was Roo's downfall.

The second reason for gulls swooping down is simple: food. The birds have learned that humans equal food sources. A man in Bath reported a gull to the police for stealing his sandwich, but for the birds, it's impossible to distinguish between food that's offered to them and food that we actually want to hang on to, Whitehead explained.

British PM: 'We have a problem'

Not everyone is that understanding. Simon Prentis from Gloucestershire in southern England has founded the "Gull Awareness Group," which is very much anti-gull. Prentis said that if nothing is done to stop them, gulls could eventually even kill babies.

"To a seagull, what's the difference between a dog playing on the lawn and a baby playing on the lawn," the British newspaper "Daily Mirror" quotes Prentis on its website. "If somebody were to leave a baby sleeping in a pram or a push chair and left it unattended, it happens. I would not wish it on anybody but we're headed in that direction."

The 61-year-old has also launched a petition for the government to fund research into "urban gulls."

British Prime Minister David Cameron called for a "big conversation" about the gull issue and told BBC Radio Cornwall that after reading about incidents with aggressive birds, he believed that "we do have a problem."

Herring gulls are endangered

Some have called for a large-scale gull culling, but, like all wild birds in Britain, the Herring gull and its relatives are protected by laws. While the number of gulls in urban areas is increasing, it is actually declining in total.

"Humans are moving into the birds' original habitat more and more, so the gulls find other places to nest, like flat rooftops," German ornithologist and self-proclaimed gull-whisperer Stefan Garthe told DW. "They're very smart food-opportunists and can adapt quickly."

It seems like they haven't adapted enough, however. The BBC reports that the Herring gull population has declined by 50 percent over the last 30 years. In 2009, it was added to the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern, which is administrated by a group of charities and conservation organizations. Red means that urgent action is deemed necessary to protect the species.

Naturalist and wildlife blogger James Common is appalled at the culling suggestion - and at the way the media in the UK has reported the issue.

"Publishing shocking horror stories may well keep people entertained, but to me, these stories are utter nonsense," the 22-year-old told DW."There was a story about a 'monster gull eating a rat.' I fail to understand how that is a bad thing."

Hawk patrol

"I would urge everybody to have a little bit of restraint and respect," Common said.

"We've got to share the planet with these species. This might just be my conservation mind set speaking, but I think the live-and-let-die approach would be fitting."

People have gotten creative in their fight against sea gulls. Towns are increasing their bird-fighting budgets and the Aberdeen Football Club in Scotland employs a hawk to stave off the gulls. The bird of prey flies around the stadium during the week and "an hour before doors open on match days," according to a statement.

Stefan Garthe, who is also the president of the German Ornithologists Society, says those could be good ideas, but starting with them now is too late for this summer. Driving the birds away when they have already found a save place to nest with easy access to food is near-impossible, according to Garthe.

He recommends making potential nesting places like flat rooftops uncomfortable, starting as early as March or April.