Every year we have seagulls nesting on the roofs nearby & I noticed yesterday that the chicks have just hatched as they're still very tiny & fluffy. But the parents terrorise the local cat population All the neighbourhood cats have learned to slink around the edges of the grassy area in the close, or jump across gardens rather than cross the grass, otherwise they risk getting dive-bombed by the seagulls.

A couple of years ago when we had a long hot spell & the seagull chicks had started to fledge, I put an old washing-up bowl of cold water on the garage roof. Within minutes the young seagulls were happily spashing around in the water & taking it turns to have a bath. I also fed them the left over cat food & within days they used to come screeching down to the garage roof whenever I went out into the garden.

I'm just wondering whether to become a surrogate seagull mum again this year!!

In the Navy we called them sh*te hawks.

I lived by the sea until a few years ago and they are a real pest. Our Council used to destroy the nests.

I for one would not feed them.

i wouldnt feed them either, mainly due to the possible shit bombs across mine and any neighbours washing due to them being encouraged to stay longer or visit lol

i quite like seagulls, noisy & obnoxious as they are!

I work in a restaurant in Cornwall and it has a similar seagull problem. The gang leader has been named Steven (as in Steven Seagull/Segal) and he waits on the roof edge then dive bombs anyone that dares walk past.

He likes to walk into the manager's office, then when he is escorted off the premises he will fly up to his lair then do his business on the manager's head!

He is quite handy though - he attacked the environmental health officer when she was poking around in the back yard

Didn't she declare him an envoironmental health hazard ?

Hi wilhemina, I wouldn't be able to resist helping the little chicks by feeding them and providing them with water, perhaps you could gradually move the food and water supplies to guide a route that you would prefer them to take rather than them (in the long run) causing upset to the local cats?

Good idea Bigfeet! I'm not too bothered about the cats being dive-bombed ~ they know the seagulls are looking for them & the cats have plenty of other places to go. I don't think the seagulls could or would hurt the cats ~ it's more a warning!

The only trouble is that the young seagulls are so noisy as they get bigger. At the moment it's just a high-pitched squeak but once they fledge they are the noisiest creatures ever ~ I don't know how the parents put up with the incessant screeching.

Perhaps I'll relent & provide them with some pilchards occasionally to help things along

no they wont hurt the cats ...which is a shame as the cats would hurt the chicks....hopefully the seagulls will get into a large group and take it in turns of attacking the cats which is what they deserve...horrible awful animals that they are.incase u didnt know i hate cats with a passion and god help any that crosses my path...

What is that supposed to mean?


Anyway...I was watching Springwatch yesterday and there was a bit about gulls. He said their population had gone down by 50% or something They were cheeky buggers though, stealing his chips from his carton. The babies were very cute though

Ask me again tomorrow about seagulls..... Its recycling day today and I put out a bag of shredded paper. 10 mins later it was all over the front lawn as they had pulled the bag to bits. Grrrrrrrrr.

But the babies on our neighbours roof are very fluffy and cute.

Yes,what was all that about? (The anti-cat rant)
I saw the bit about the gulls on springwatch too,I like them! They're very intelligent creatures and I like the sound they make,although I understand if you live somewhere where there are a lot of them it could become a bit much!
Wilhelmina,I really enjoyed reading your post and I hope you'll do your bit for the little gulls again this year!

Thanks missholland.

I also saw the Springwatch programme ~ I didn't realise that the numbers of seagulls are declining ~ they certainly don't seem to be declining in my area.

The young seagulls that I fed a couple of years ago would actually come to the edge of the garage roof to be hand fed (until they pecked too hard!). The garage is sort of sunk into a dip so the garden is only about 4 feet below the roof.

I've also had the gulls land in my garden to peck at the dogs' bones & even carry off a largish pork bone. Unfortunately it dropped the bone in mid flight, narrowly missing a neighbour's car so I had to make sure that didn't happen again. Plus the dogs take great exception to these feathered thieves.

I can also see 2 baby seagulls from my office window as I work on the 5th floor. The parents are so attentive & caring.

On top of that there are peregrine falcons nesting on top of one of the high rise blocks nearby & a colleague bought his binoculars the other day so we could see them being fed. Fabulous creatures! You can tell when the falcons are out hunting by the complete absence of any pigeons in the area.

All in all I don't get a lot of work done this time of year as it's far more fun watching the wild life from the windows.

I must get a seagull then. I am plagued with cats using my garden as a toilet. Thank you for the tip.

I think you'll find seagulls only dive bomb cats in an attempt to protect their chicks but good luck if you can persuade seagulls to nest nearby.

We don't have gulls here, just pigeons.. I must get a peregrine falcon then!

Actually, I don't mind the pigeons, the cats like to watch them out of the window (house cats...so safe from seagulls if we had any!!).

The most unusual thing I've seen here is a sparrowhawk. Not that great for fancy birds in London I suppose

Oh, and a couple of those wild parakeets (?) in the park

Not a big fan of gulls but the babies are cute

BTW not a good idea to hand feed or even allow them to see you putting out food it makes them much more likely to mug people when they see them for food

doh it means that the seagulls wont harm the cats that are so stressed and traumatised by the seagulls....
but the cats would do a lot more if they got the chance too ...meaning there just killers and i hate them...
whats wrong with that ? some people dont like spiders or snakes or whatever...
i dislike with a passion cats....bloody horrible creatures that they are....
infact i dislike them so much i have trained my two dogs to attack and chase any they see....
its so much fun watching the stupid cat running up a wall to try and get away...
oh the joy of it ......

Well, hopefully one day your dogs won't decide that since cats are so fun to attack, they should try a human.

You do realise what you're doing is illegal, training your dogs to attack cats? I hope you get caught and if you do I hope you get the book thrown at you. You do also realise that if/when you get caught, your dogs will most probably be destroyed? Won't be laughing then, will you?
Oh by the way, seagulls may not hurt cats, but they will attack and even kill small dogs, rabbits, and they will eat other birds eggs and even small chicks. The f**king things always attack the ducks here and take the young ducklings. It is nature I suppose so they're just doing what comes naturally.
You however make me ashamed to be a dog owner and you don't deserve pets.

I like seagulls, really happy to read your looking after there babies.

oh they wont hurt cats but they will kill small dogs and rabbits...get a grip....if your going to comment then make sure it makes sence...and it isnt illegal for a dog to chase a cat...its nature hahahaha...my dogs wont be destroyed for that ...if your so ashamed then dont own a dog...go take it to nearest dogs home...problem solved then...foolish person

Your response seems completely illogical to me.

Yes, cats do kill instinctively - so why condemn them for doing what comes naturally?

However, you - by your own admission - have trained your dogs to chase cats. Presumably they don't catch them because they aren't fast enough but if they did, would you take pleasure in seeing the cat being injured or even killed? Would it bother you that someone's loved pet was being destroyed by yours?

If you would be unmoved by that, presumably you would also be indifferent to your own pet being attacked?

Why is it"nature" for your dogs to chase cats and therefore in your eyes - it's acceptable........... but for cats to chase other animals is not?

[quote=dan44762000;32948966]doh it means that the seagulls wont harm the cats that are so stressed
infact i dislike them so much i have trained my two dogs to attack and chase any they see....
[quote]


I think you'll find this was YOUR comment - see above

I didn't say it was illegal to chase. I said training your dog to attack things is illegal.

If they are classed as dangerous dogs of course they will


No, because my dogs are trained well and aren't owned by a, to quote you,

If you are using a pet forum isn't it a little trollish to admit training a dog to attack cats, it makes me think it may not even be true and you are just prodding us to see who will bite