I'm sick of all the seagulls! Is it just me, or do there seem to be loads of them this year? They're even nesting on the rooftops in Bedminster now, shrieking away from dawn to dusk! The council should do something about them.

There's definitely more of them this year, there's often one over the back from us, and he starts up at 5 most mornings. I'm not sure that the council can do anything about them...are they pests or vermin???

There seem to be far more seagulls in south Bristol this year. Friends of mine in BS3, 4 & 5 are all being traumatized by the feathered fiends and we quite often converse on the prospect of the wretched things being culled. Seagulls wake up very vocally at dawn and yark away all day, plus - it's breeding season at the moment so they are extremely aggressive to any animals or folk venturing below where their nests are sited. Bristol City Council does have a pest control department, and the website has a fact sheet on birds - I read it and discovered it to have a woeful lack of information regarding gulls. Earlier in the year, I remember reading that Don Foster (LIB Dem MP for Bath) was trying to get a law passed regarding the control of seagulls The sooner the better as far as I'm concerned.

Nevermind MrsW I'm sure that once they have spread as far as clifton something will be done about them

By the way - there are no such thing as "seagulls". They are gulls - in Bristol the ones you see are Herring Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls and (the much smaller) Black-headed Gulls.  If you're lucky you might occasionally see a Greater Black-backed Gull.

Well actually yes, I do like rats.  I spent quite a lot time last summer "observing" a family of rats near the river (the old section of disused railway line across from the Create Centre).  When looked at closely (through binoculars!) in a "natural" setting (i.e. not inside my house or running around in my back yard as has happened to me in the past!) they are every bit as beautiful and fascinating as any other wild creature.  I do have to admit however that when we had one in the house I certainly wasn't too keen and we resorted to a rat trap to get rid of it - a horrible experience which we didn't enjoy but had to be done.

As to gulls and rats raiding songbird nests - rats certainly do and presumably gulls will take songbirds' chicks if presented with an easy opportunity (I've certainly seen gulls snatching small ducklings from the river and gobbling them down whole, which was pretty horrible and distressing to watch).  But that's nature and it's been going on a very long time and is how the balance is maintained in the animal world.  Those at the top of the food chain eat those at the bottom.  Not sure if anyone's done a study into whether there's any correlation between rising gull/rat numbers and declining songbird numbers - but I know there have been various studies looking at this in relation to e.g. raptors such as sparrowhawks and corvids such as magpies and their impact on songbird numbers, none of which have found any significant correlation. 

It remains true that domestic moggies are in fact the major factor behind declining songbird numbers.  As you say, delightful!

I'm glad to hear somebody who is on side with our herring gulls as I love to watch them.  I have watched them rearing their young for the last two years at my place of work, as I overlook a building with a flat roof.  They are such good parents and I can only admire them and it's as close as you can get to the wildlife.  In fact a whole group of us have been following the two families across the way, from eggs to almost full grown birds with their brown flecked plumage.  We like to watch them taken a bath in the puddles. They have also made good friends with a pretend owl on the roof which I assume was placed there to frighten them away.  They are way too smart to be fooled by that!  I also got a little too close last year when a youngster was on the ground and as I was passing, the parents were swooping down on me to protect their little one!  They were just swooping and it was just a warning. I continued on my way with my head down.  I have even more respect for them.

I don't know if SouthvilleC can confirm, but I understand from listening to Simon King on Springwatch that herring gull numbers are actually on the decline... It probably doesn't seem that way as we find more gulls in the city these days but then they are smart opportunists, clearing up all the mess we leave behind.   So I do appeal to everyone to have a little more tolerence for these animals as there are much worse things to contend with in the city these days.

Well, if it's balance you're after, then scavenger seagulls are certainly playing their part! I'm surprised to hear that they're red-listed as they seem very numerous here; Bristol must be a haven for them.  Personally, I'd rather watch the red-listed bullfinches that visit our garden...when the gulls aren't squawking away and frightening them off.
One thing I do agree with is your comment about cats. Vile, antisocial creatures. I've never understood what people see in them. I think it's very antisocial to keep a pet that goes out and kills other wildlife for fun, and whilst it's at it, uses your neighbour's garden as a litter tray.
Berkeley09 - what is that creature on your profile picture?!

Hi Berkeley09 - I have to admit that is a pretty cute! Is it a pet? And are they as sweet as they look? I had a Russian hampster once - that was far from sweet, it was absolutely vicious.

I did the hamster flick on quite a few occasions!! I didn't realise that chincillas were that sort of size, I'd always imagined they were like rats. How wrong I was!