STAVANGER/OSLO (Dagbladet): Norwegian cities have proven to be safe and good for several seagull species to nest. This creates challenges in cities such as Stavanger and Tromsø.
The populations increase, they eat food and leave faeces.
In the video above, Dagbladet’s reporter carries out a stunt to see which food you can safely walk the streets with, croissant or fries.
– Seagulls nest in the cities and the population has increased quite a bit. This is because they are doing well in the cities. It is safe and sound in the cities without predators, says seabird expert Svein-Håkon Lorentsen at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) to Dagbladet.
– I vomit. What a piece of shit
Seagull hotel
– Seagulls in the city are here to stay, so we must try to reduce the conflict, says Lorentsen.
He goes on to say that people must be careful not to feed the seagulls where there are many people, but throw food in the bin when you have finished eating. He also mentions arranging nesting sites for seagulls such as the European herring gull, herring gull and gray gull.
– For crutches, so-called crutch hotels can be created on the outskirts of cities and densely built-up areas, as they have done in Tromsø, for example.
For ospreys and gray gulls, disturbances on the coast must be reduced, says the seabird expert.
The eggs “talk” together
The breeding season is the worst
According to Lorentsen, it is during the nesting period that the level of conflict between seagulls and humans is greatest. He mentions the herring gull in southern Norway and the cicada in northern Norway. They are different species and present different challenges.
– In northern Norway, the tern nests in large bird cliffs, but the population has declined by 80 per cent in the last 30 to 40 years. So they have sought refuge in the cities, without predators such as sea eagles.
The krykkja nests on house walls, windowsills, and outcrops of walls, which may resemble their traditional nesting places.
Attacked by a seagull – had to go to the emergency room
– Then there will be a lot of dirt and faeces from them. In addition, they are a social species so they have a high noise level, says the seabird expert.
The crayfish certainly finds its food in the sea, and not the city.
Learned behavior
Herring gulls and gray gulls, on the other hand, nest on roofs. The species have normally nested on the coast before. Rooftops are safe nesting sites, and little exposed to predators such as sea eagles and mink.
– On the coast, they are also disturbed by people, which they mostly avoid when they nest on roofs, says Lorentsen.
Attacks anyone who walks by
The two seagull species find their food in the cities.
– Alternatively, there would be rats in the streets, so they are making an effort there.
According to Lorentsen, humans have to some extent made mistakes by, for example, deliberately feeding seagulls. Seagulls learn where they find food and will be there to a greater extent.
Trust on the coast
Lorentsen claims that human influence on coastal areas has contributed to the fact that there are fewer seagulls on the coast.
– Many go ashore on islets where seagulls nest. There are also people who pick the eggs on the coast to get rid of the colonies, says seabird expert Lorentsen.
Recommend new definition
He mentions the tern, gray gull and herring gull as threatened with extinction. He says the reason for the decline is complex and a combination of food shortages, disturbances, predation, but that the challenges vary from species to species.
According to Large Norwegian encyclopedia is predation when a predator eats all or part of a prey animal, which is alive until the predator attacks.
