Scientists probe gulls’ ‘bizarre’ consuming habits

From pilfering chips to swallowing complete starfish, gulls are identified for his or her voracious appetites.

Nonetheless, one scientist was so astounded to see footage on social media of gulls consuming “bizarre issues” that she launched a citizen science mission to review their shifting diets.

College of Salford ecologist Dr Alice Risely needs individuals to add their snaps of hungry gulls to the mission’s web site, Gulls Consuming Stuff.

“By learning gulls’ weight-reduction plan, we are able to be taught extra about their behaviour, their position in ecosystems and the pressures they face in a altering world,” she mentioned.

UK seabirds face threats from warming oceans, overfishing and avian flu.

Gull populations are in decline, with a number of species on the UK pink checklist of conservation concern.

Some gulls are coming to dwell nearer to individuals, including human leftovers to their pure menu of fish, crabs, starfish and earthworms.

The birds could also be flocking to city areas to seek out meals to feed their chicks in the course of the breeding season, switching again to a pure weight-reduction plan as soon as their kids have fledged.

Alternatively, gulls could also be counting on human leftovers for a lot of the 12 months because the pure meals provide dwindles.

“The very fact is we simply actually do not know – there may be little or no information,” mentioned Dr Risely.

“For this reason we needed to use this useful resource of on-line pictures to attempt to assist us perceive what the gulls are consuming, and if there are any patterns we are able to discover.”

One significantly placing {photograph} reveals a gull consuming a child puffin.

It was taken by scientist Samuel Schmidt on a visit to the Farne Islands in Northumberland.

Getting extra info on what gulls are consuming – in proximity to individuals and because the local weather modifications – “could possibly be very enlightening”, he mentioned.

“The gull wasn’t malicious; it was simply hungry,” he added.

Gulls are identified to eat different birds, together with pigeons.

The UK is understood for its large colonies of seabirds nesting on cliffs – however populations are plummeting amid a number of pressures, from local weather change to a scarcity of meals.

Gulls are in hassle of their pure areas – and a few species, reminiscent of herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls are searching for refuge in coastal cities.

There’s little or no information on the variety of city gulls – however pure populations are usually monitored, exhibiting large declines.

Three gull species are on the UK pink checklist of conservation concern:

• The good black-backed gull – a really giant gull with black wings and a strong beak that nests across the coast, on clifftops, rooftops and islands
• The widespread gull – a medium-sized gull scarcer than its identify means that nests round lakes within the north of England and Scotland
• The grey-backed and pink-legged herring gull.

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