Local authorities have no legal duty to deal with urban gulls.
Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is illegal to capture, injure or destroy any wild bird, or interfere with its nest or eggs.
Gulls give the public cause for concern and our Environmental Health Service receives complaints each year during nesting season regarding urban gulls causing irritation by:
- nesting
- swooping
- displaying aggressive behaviour
These issues are not within the remit of our service.
Gull behaviour
Facts about the behaviour of gulls:
- Once a gull has a safe nest and a food source, they will nest and breed
- Breeding pairs may mate for life and once they have found their forever nest base, they will return every year to that same spot
- Gulls can live up to 30 years or more, so if they are nesting on a roof that could be up to 30 years of concern to a property and owner
- Gulls have a collective intelligence and if a good nest location is found, they will let other gulls know and build a community
- Gulls can even synchronise nesting so eggs hatch at the same time and chicks can be for cared together
- From September to January gulls will have left the nesting site for their overwintering locations:
- February: Gulls start to return to the UK from their overwintering locations
- March to April: Nesting spots found, and first eggs are laid
- May to June: Main period of incubation, the adults will take turns on the nest for about 28 days before chicks hatch and then the parents jointly care for their young – during this period the gulls can get quite aggressive as they protect their young
- July to August: Chicks will fledge, and they will start to leave their nesting colonies
Damage to property
Gulls can cause damage to properties, so owners may wish to undertake works to proof their buildings to ensure that their properties are protected and maintained.
Birds can damage property by:
- disturbing roof tiles
- blocking gutters, gas flues and chimneys
- clogging drains and ventilation systems
Bird nests can look unsightly, and the bird droppings can accelerate the deterioration of buildings.
The Environmental Health Service cannot require building owners to undertake proofing works to prevent issues related to public safety such as swooping and aggressive behaviour.
Individual property owners have responsibility for their own buildings and can discourage gulls from nesting by erecting deterrent devices on chimney heads and flat roof areas. Deterrent methods include:
- removal of old nesting materials to discourage return
- fitting long spikes to places like chimney stacks
- fitting short spikes to dormer roofs
- fitting wires or nets to prevent gulls landing
- reflectors which would be put on smaller roofs
- netting over the roof which would benefit a larger roof
- wire meshing over defects or nesting areas
When to undertake proofing works
September to January is the best time of year to prepare your property for annual gull roosting as gulls will have left the nesting site for their overwintering locations - so the time to act is now!
East Ayrshire Trusted Traders
Find a Trusted Trader who can conduct checks on your roof and offer you the most appropriate service for your property at East Ayrshire Trusted Trader.
Discouraging gulls from nesting
Do not feed the gulls or drop food scraps. Gulls are scavengers and discarded food encourages the gulls to stay within close proximity to the source of the food.
Dropping or leaving food waste to feed gulls may be considered littering and you will be liable to pay an £80 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN).
Food waste also attracts other vermin to an area, which will feed on scraps left behind by the birds. Environmental Health can take enforcement action where necessary to require you to stop leaving food out in this manner to prevent vermin issues.
Council buildings and properties
On behalf of Housing Services and Facilities Management, Environmental Health manage a contract for gull issues.
This is a service offered to Council tenants and managers of Council buildings to ensure we meet our corporate responsibility as a property owner and to protect our property portfolio from damage. The provision of this service to any Council property is recharged.
Licence system
The law provides a general licence system administered by NatureScot - Birds: Licences, which allows property owners to take action against gulls nesting on buildings by destroying nests or eggs.
The licence system can only be used for the purpose of preserving public health and safety and preventing the spread of disease and is specifically for the control of herring, great black-backed and lesser black-backed gulls.
Our contractor operates under a General Licence issued under the provisions of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The terms of the contract are that the contractor will disperse gulls using hawks or equipment such as bird scaring devices and remove eggs and nests from Council owned buildings.
The contract relates solely to Council owned properties, it does not extend to private properties including business premises and houses. Work required to privately owned properties is the responsibility of the property owner. A property owner requiring proofing or other works would need to engage and pay for their own contractor.