The Herring-Gull
Ecological Adaptation Before Your Very Eyes

          “The very moment I stepped out of the railway station I heard it – the wheedling cry of a seagull, quickly answered by others.  Instantly, I was filled with a rush of childhood memories – windy days; sparkling sea; sun-shine and freedom.  I was suddenly very happy – I’d been away from the coast for too long, but now I was back.  The seagulls said relax; you are free.”

          The economy of Brighton, like most coastal towns in Southern Britain, was based originally on herring fishing, and where there were herring there were also the gulls who thrived on this fish as their staple diet.  Herring-gulls have existed for hundreds of years in close proximity to people, nesting on the cliffs alongside coastal towns and villages.

           Herring-gulls are opportunistic. A few hundred years ago, they learned to follow the herring boats home, deftly catching fish-heads and other scraps thrown from the decks as the fishermen prepared their catches.  They began to utilise what man discarded and this adaptation has enabled them to become a successful species.  Over-fishing caused the decline of the herring industry and tourism replaced fishing as the prime economic base for Brighton and Hove.  With visitors came picnics, and a cheese sandwich is as good as a herring head to a hungry bird.  Herring-gulls weren’t so specialised that they couldn’t adapt their diet to new food sources, and they continue to adapt. They will scavenge for food in household waste or rifle for discarded take-aways among the street litter.

            They have also adapted their breeding grounds.  With the spread of the built environment along the coasts, herring-gulls have learned that the space between a couple of chimney pots equals a rocky ledge, and they regularly nest on the roofs of buildings. As roofs have become their nest sites, so streets have become their habitat.  Excrement and waste is deposited over the buildings, onto cars below and washing in the gardens.  Young birds launch themselves from the roof-tops and often end up wandering around on the pavements below, while their parents desperately encourage them to fly. 

          The herring-gull lives for up to thirty years.  An adult bird weighs between three to five pounds, has a wingspan of up to five feet and a fearsome bill.  They are monogamous, partnering for life, and they return to the same nest-site year after year, producing two to three young annually.  They are very territorial and fiercely defensive of their site and their young.

           The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) estimates that there are 200,000 pairs of herring-gulls in the UK.  Of these about 10,000 pairs regularly nest on rooftops although the number of roof-top nesters is increasing by about 7% each year.  Similarly, the vast majority of herring-gulls still obtain their food directly from the wild, and only a small proportion relies totally on human hand-outs, although, again, this number is on the increase.

           Over the past few years some concern has been expressed about gull attacks. Children have had food snatched from their hands and people, particularly roofers, have been attacked or threatened by these birds.  The phrase “gull attack” could just as easily be substituted with “competitive or protective action”.  The herring-gull that pre-empts other members of the flock by taking food before it is thrown is likely to be more successful, but it will inevitably be considered “aggressive”.

             When a herring-gull’s nest is approached, the protective reaction of the adult birds is to carry out a series of swooping dives over the intruders – be they people or jack-daws.  Rarely does the herring-gull actually make physical contact – any impact is as likely to cause serious damage to the bird as to us, and gulls appear to be aware of this danger. A raised arm will usually deter them, but, nevertheless, it is an intimidating experience.  Well-defended nestlings will be more likely to survive to adulthood and, in their turn, will inherit or learn similar defensive techniques when rearing their young.

           The ecology of the herring-gull continues to become intertwined with our own.  They are so much a part of life by the sea – the sound of them and the sheer beauty of them, when they fly; the way they wheel and call when they are teaching their young.  Living alongside them enriches our lives. Nevertheless, our “kindness” in providing for them may actually be the cause of harm or problems in the future.  We now have a large, confident and highly competitive seabird looking to us to supplement its diet.  We are offended by the site of rubbish strewn across the streets, and the herring-gull is being labelled as a pest.

           Peaceful co-habitation seems to be a balance between allowing the birds to colonise where they will but not providing them with supplementary food sources.  A simple deterrent is not to use plastic sacks for rubbish, but to use a dustbin or hard container. Gulls will travel up to thirty miles to feed and are perfectly capable of digesting fish, worms, grubs, and insects. A natural diet prevents botulism and salmonella, which has been found in the excrement from birds living off human food.  Not feeding the gulls and preventing them from scavenging in the rubbish therefore encourages them towards a healthier diet and reduces their dependency on us - a real act of kindness.  

           Restocking the sea is a long-term goal, and some developments are occurring in this field.  The Marina acts as a safe haven for fish, with its no-fishing policy.  The proposal to extend the Seven Sisters Marine Conservation Area to include the seas from Brighton westwards around the Seven Sisters will have long-term benefits for coastal and marine wildlife.

The recent council strategy of netting and chopping the cliffs from Black Rock has obviously had a detrimental effect on all the gulls in this area. Fulmar populations have declined and herring-gulls, displaced from their natural sites, have moved in larger numbers into Sussex Square and the buildings around Black Rock. Hopefully, we can persuade the council to rethink its policy, and this is discussed in more detail in the feature on the Black Rock cliffs in the Recent Campaigns section.

           “If there is such a thing as re-incarnation – I want to come back as a seagull”.