An invasion of seagulls in an Angus town is causing significant problems for locals even leading to a bowling club being forced to move fixtures for the first time since the second world war.
The nuisance of marauding gulls has escalated in Montrose, where town living is an easy alternative to clifftop nesting sites.
Experts have put it down to the height of the seagulls’ breeding season when many fledglings leave their nests for the first time.
The green at Hope Paton Bowling Club at the Mid Links which was founded in 1904 was deemed unplayable for this week’s holiday fours as it was covered with droppings.
The tournament, which began in 1947, had to be moved to the Inch Bowling Club.
Match secretary John Dempsey said, “There are seagulls nesting in houses on either side of the Mid Links and they seem to be coming down to the green at night to roost.
“They are fowling and regurgitating food and there are feathers. The problem has become worse in the last week or two once their young hatch.
“We just dealt with it daily but it got to such an extent that we were concerned about this competition coming up. We put down the covers they put on crops and that didn’t stop them but it let us see the extent of the fouling because it looks 10 times worse.
“The event started on Sunday and luckily Inch Bowling Club gave us the use of their green. This is probably one of the few times it’s not been held at the Hope Paton. I think the only other times it’s not been on at the Hope Paton was during the war, so it’s a bit older than us.
“This competition is an immediate thing but what we are concerned with is for the rest of the season because the young are not suddenly going to go away next week.”
Continued…
In recent years Angus Council has tried everything from a programme of egg and nest removal in coastal towns to calling on a hawk patrol to put the frighteners on gulls before the breeding season. The possibility of using littering laws to prosecute people who feed gulls has even been raised.
Seagulls were flying around Links Park during Saturday’s Ramsdens Cup match between Montrose and East Fife. Club chairman Derek Sim said there have been issues with the gulls but nowhere near on the scale suffered by the bowling club.
“They do sometimes like to rest themselves on the pitch because the artificial surface tends to hold heat better than a normal grass pitch,” he said. “But the groundsman regularly clears the pitch both with detergent and with brushing to get rid of the mess.
“We certainly haven’t had the problem that the bowling club has had. I know they have got a major problem there.
“We do get the seagulls around at times but because we have children out there playing during the summer and coaching it keeps the seagulls away.
“Seagulls generally seem to be more of a problem now, not only at Montrose. I think it’s either litter or people leaving scraps of food and they take advantage of that. On Saturday there were quite a few seagulls flying around and unfortunately we can’t do anything about that.”
The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland advises householders to clear rooftops of old nests and to fit mesh to prevent seagulls returning. Without a licence it is illegal to kill them or to disturb active nests or eggs.
A spokesman for RSPB Scotland said, “I suspect it is probably because it’s right in the middle of the breeding season. Gulls that swoop suddenly are usually just trying to protect chicks that have left the nest but aren’t yet able to fly properly.
“Montrose is a seaside town so one would expect to see gulls in coastal areas.”
He said the reason so many gulls come into the town is the amount of food being carelessly thrown away.
“We’ve created this great food dump for them effectively and most animals will exploit readily these niches we open up, and that is why they are coming into town,” he added.
“Once we draw them into town, if they can find food, they will exploit it. It’s incumbent on us to tidy our lives up a bit.”
In recent years Angus Council has tried everything from a programme of egg and nest removal in coastal towns to calling on a hawk patrol to put the frighteners on gulls before the breeding season. The possibility of using littering laws to prosecute people who feed gulls has even been raised.
Seagulls were flying around Links Park during Saturday’s Ramsdens Cup match between Montrose and East Fife. Club chairman Derek Sim said there have been issues with the gulls but nowhere near on the scale suffered by the bowling club.
“They do sometimes like to rest themselves on the pitch because the artificial surface tends to hold heat better than a normal grass pitch,” he said. “But the groundsman regularly clears the pitch both with detergent and with brushing to get rid of the mess.
“We certainly haven’t had the problem that the bowling club has had. I know they have got a major problem there.
“We do get the seagulls around at times but because we have children out there playing during the summer and coaching it keeps the seagulls away.
“Seagulls generally seem to be more of a problem now, not only at Montrose. I think it’s either litter or people leaving scraps of food and they take advantage of that. On Saturday there were quite a few seagulls flying around and unfortunately we can’t do anything about that.”
The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland advises householders to clear rooftops of old nests and to fit mesh to prevent seagulls returning. Without a licence it is illegal to kill them or to disturb active nests or eggs.
A spokesman for RSPB Scotland said, “I suspect it is probably because it’s right in the middle of the breeding season. Gulls that swoop suddenly are usually just trying to protect chicks that have left the nest but aren’t yet able to fly properly.
“Montrose is a seaside town so one would expect to see gulls in coastal areas.”
He said the reason so many gulls come into the town is the amount of food being carelessly thrown away.
“We’ve created this great food dump for them effectively and most animals will exploit readily these niches we open up, and that is why they are coming into town,” he added.
“Once we draw them into town, if they can find food, they will exploit it. It’s incumbent on us to tidy our lives up a bit.”