Give Seagulls Back Their Seaside Homes
Seagulls are one of England’s iconic birds, who naturally live by the sea. They eat fish and have special glands to filter out salt, meaning they can drink seawater.
However modern life (litter, urbanisation, over-fishing and over-tourism) means that many gulls now live off fast food, chips and ice-cream).
Seagulls are beautiful creatures that are highly protected, so report any concerns to wildlife Crime Unit (can be anonymous).. They are wonderful parents who are nearly always nearby watching, even if you see a young gull alone.
The best way to help seagulls is to gently encourage them back to their natural homes of sandy shores, marshy wetland and near rocky cliffs.
Never disturb birds near the coast. This causes them to fly off (wasting energy that could be used to find food). Also disturbing birds can cause them to abandon nests. Read more info on helping seagulls.
Seagulls have been part of the English coastline for as long as anyone can remember. Their cries over the waves, flapping wings against brisk winds and clever raids on fish and chips are all part of the seaside experience.
But their place at the coast is quietly slipping away. As humans build, litter and crowd the beaches, seagulls are being pushed out.
Their nesting grounds are shrinking, their food sources are changing and soon, a simple seaside visit may lose a familiar voice. Protecting their natural habitat is more than nostalgia, it’s about balance, care and a bit of responsibility too.
Seagulls Keep Coastal Ecosystems Healthy
Seagulls play a key role in the food chain. By feeding on fish scraps, insects and even beach litter, they help keep the coastline clean. When their numbers drop or they’re pushed away, the balance breaks.
More food waste piles up, pests can spread and the shoreline starts to look and feel neglected. Letting seagulls stay in their natural home supports a healthier environment for everyone.
Building and Development Steal Seagulls’ Space
Coastal towns have grown. With every new building, car park and promenade, natural nesting spots disappear. Seagulls often end up on rooftops or in built-up areas, leading to complaints and clumsy fixes like spikes or netting.
By protecting sandy dunes, rocky outcrops and grassland near the beach, we give these birds a chance to return to familiar ground.
Rubbish Tips Are No Substitute For Beaches
It’s tempting to think seagulls are fine because we see them scavenging at landfills or bins. But those places aren’t safe or healthy for birds. Wild beaches offer clean food from the sea, safe nooks for nests and less risk from cars or polluted rubbish.
The more we push seagulls away from the coast, the more they depend on our leftovers, which harms their health and behaviour.
Seagulls Add To Our Coastal Culture
For generations, seagulls have featured in stories, paintings and childhood memories. Their presence on the sand, the sound of their calls and the cheeky way they pinch a chip are woven into the fabric of seaside life.
Losing them would take something special away from the coast. By acting now, we keep those memories alive for the next generation.
Seagulls Need Peaceful Places To Breed
Every spring, seagulls return to the coast to breed and raise chicks. Disturbed beaches, wandering dogs and crowds can frighten them away from their nests.
Without safe places to breed, chick numbers fall and whole colonies disappear. Leaving stretches of the beach quiet, especially during nesting season, helps the next generation of gulls thrive.
Ocean Health Depends On Balanced Wildlife
A healthy coastline is never just about one species. Seagulls help control fish numbers, clear away carrion and mix nutrients through their droppings. Remove them, and the ecosystem shifts in ways we can’t always predict.
Restoring their seaside homes is part of a bigger effort to keep British beaches and ocean life strong.
How to Humanely Deter Seagulls
Most birds that ‘divebomb’ you have eggs or hatchlings nearby, and are simply trying to feed them. If they do go for you (or your chips), wear a hat or use an umbrella.
Unless starving, don’t feed seagulls as it encourages them to come into contact with dogs, roads and people who don’t like them.
Gull-proof sacks are alternatives to black plastic bags (which are ripped apart by gulls, rats and foxes, and can’t be recycled, as machines don’t recognise the colour). These are made from strong material that are emptied into dust carts, then returned empty to fill again.
Some councils are now using them in trials. But it’s not good that some councils are encouraging them to be used indoors, as this can mean food debris attracts unwanted visitors.
PiCAS is an organisation of bird experts that offer services to offices, councils, hospitals etc. It uses humane solutions like dummy eggs that are cheaper and work better than lethal control (they also help with issues for pigeons and doves).
Humane Wildlife Solutions Gull Helpline can also help.
How to Help an Injured or Orphaned Gull
Keep a watch first, as parents are usually around (they leave growing gulls for up to a few hours to find food themselves). It’s illegal to disturb gulls or nests, so your local wildlife rescue for help.
If the gull is injured and you can’t contact a wildlife rescue, gently place the bird in a box (with punctured air-holes) and take to your nearest vet, who will put the creature to sleep (or rehab until able to transfer to a wildlife rescuer). Help Wildlife has advice.
Books to Learn More About Seagulls
The Gull Next Door is a beautifully written portrait of a misunderstood bird. The author grew up in an English seaside town and is a passionate advocate for these underappreciated birds, and looks at how we can protect them.
We lived in a tall thin house on the West side of the Old Town, which had a thriving herring gull population.
They built their homes on the roofs of ours, scruffy nests of dead grass stuffed between the chimney pots, and they commuted to the beach for their daily diet of stolen fish and scavenged chips.
By early summer there were fluffy grey chicks hatching from eggs, and soon these youngsters were out and about, pattering across the rooftops.
If you’re a Brit, the gull you’ll know best is the herring gull – the one that steals your chips and poops on your car when you visit the seaside.
Landfill looks at how we should admire gulls (intelligent birds that have simply adapted to modern life). Seagulls are scavenging birds, but this means it’s important to avoid littering.
This handsome black-headed gull art print is ideal to put on your wall of your home, office or independent shop. Sent in cardboard packaging with tissue paper, just place in your favourite picture frame.
Black-headed gulls (if you look closely) actually have chocolate-brown heads, which turn white with dark spots, in winter. These noisy and social birds are found in flocks, with ‘laughing calls’.
Smaller than most seaside gulls, they have red legs and bills, which darken during breeding season. Some live in England year-round, and others migrate from Europe in winter, others migrate south to the Caribbean in winter.
Although some live on the coast, black-headed gulls also like to live on wetlands habitats.
This art is a self-taught digital artist who grew up in Scarborough (England’s first seaside resort, on East Yorkshire’s coast). Today she lives and works from her little studio in Liverpool, Merseyside.
Most of her prints are inspired by the salty sea coast of her childhood, her company brand named after one of the large docks on Liverpool waterfront.
This fun print of seagulls taking selfies is ideal to inspire love for our coastal friends. Ideal for your home, office or independent shop wall. Sent in cardboard and wrapped in tissue paper for protection, just display in a favourite picture frame.
Also available as a fun lifeguard seagull and surfing seagull.
