When do gulls become a problem?

Highland Council has set out its plan for the coming year on how it will control gulls in Inverness.

Like other parts of Scotland, there have been complaints about the birds' droppings, noisy calls, dive bombing and raiding rubbish bins.

The local authority says its plan follows guidance around stricter rules on controlling gulls.

There are more than 50 species in the world.

Five species breed in Scotland - great black-backed, lesser black-backed, herring, common, and black-headed - according to NatureScot.

There are other species found in Scotland, but they are more rare.

Gulls are a coastal species, but they have been drawn into towns and cities due to the plentiful places to build nests, a lack of predators - and lots of opportunities to find food.

In their natural habitats - the coast and farmland - the birds eat carrion, seeds, fruits, young birds, eggs, small mammals, insects and fish.

Herring gulls, a species often encountered in urban areas, number about 740,000 birds in the UK, according to the RSPB.

Many will have experienced the irritation of finding washing on the line or freshly cleaned car splattered with gull poo.

Then there are the incidents that have made the news headlines.

The Sun reported last summer a hockey venue in Inverness had to close temporarily because of the level of mess left by the birds.

Just weeks later, the Inverness Courier said some city councillors were concerned about gull numbers in the city.

Dumfries and Galloway Council said last year it was having to spend tens of thousands of pounds to combat the issue of "dive-bombing" birds scavenging food in its towns.

And in September Scottish Borders councillors was told seven children were attacked by herring gulls in the space of a month and left with gashes to their scalps.

It was claimed the birds in Eyemouth were "out of control".

In Aberdeen, there have been problems with gallous gulls "shoplifting".

Gulls, like all wild birds, have long been protected by law.

But last February, Scotland's nature agency NatureScot, made the rules around controlling gulls stricter.

Gulls, along with other sea birds, have been falling in numbers.

RSPB says the UK's gull population has declined by more than 60% since 1970, with overfishing and climate change among the suspected causes.

Bird flu has also claimed thousands of sea birds, including gulls.

NatureScot says the aim when it comes to dealing with urban gulls is prevention.

It says nets, spikes and wires discourage birds from nesting on roofs.

Removing nesting material before the breeding season is also advised.

The agency says only as a very last resort would a licence be issued to kill chicks or adult gulls.

It says there has to be a clear health and safety risk - such as gulls dive bombing vulnerable people, or droppings affecting food processing.

Highland Council says the stricter rules resulted in a greater number of licences being refused in 2024 compared to previous years - and less than 10% of eggs or nests were removed last year compared to 2023.

Highland Council has set out a number of measures and activities for between January and the end of March with the aim of stopping gulls becoming a problem.

They include:

• Removing old nesting material
• Using a trained falcon between February and March to scare away gulls
• Adopting a practice from East Ayrshire of using promotional material and local radio to spread a message not to feed gulls
• Using bird scaring devices such as spikes and reflective material to discourage gulls from nesting on roofs