On a summer’s day at the beach, the sound of seagulls is part of the ambience.
But what about when they’re in the middle of the city, or stealing your fish and chips?
Love them or loathe them, seagulls have become part of many urban areas and they’re not going away any time soon.
So here are some interesting facts you may not know about them.
Australia’s tricky relationship with seagulls
Birdlife’s Sean Dooley says Australians have mixed views on the silver gull.
“They often get a bad rap for their chip-thieving exploits and the way they flock at the beach and around bins or rubbish tips,” Mr Dooley said.
“Which is all a bit unfair on the gull as they are only responding to the favourable conditions we have created for them.
“They are more of a scavenger than a hunter, and the amount of refuse and rubbish we have around our cities is perfect for them.”
But not everyone finds them annoying.
John Gould, often called the father of Australian birdwatching, was particularly fond of seagulls and wrote that they were “the most beautiful and fairy-like bird” he had ever seen.
Interesting facts
Gulls thrive in cities
While they’re synonymous with the sea, gulls can also thrive inland, particularly in urban areas, where they have adapted well.
For example, research has found gulls are highly tolerant to urban disturbances, such as loud traffic, industrial noise, and pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
“They can be found far from the ocean,” Mr Dooley said.
“In fact, they regularly turn up in places like Alice Springs sewage ponds, and will appear in their thousands and even start nesting colonies on flooded inland lakes like Lake Eyre.”
Expert food thieves
Gulls are opportunistic feeders, which means they will try almost any food they encounter.
In 2020, a study of herring gulls — a relative of the silver gull — found they watched humans to learn which foods were best to eat.
They will preferentially peck at food they have seen being handled by humans rather than food that hasn’t been touched.
“These behaviours may contribute to gulls’ successful exploitation of urban environments,” the research said.
Other research suggests gulls even learn patterns of human activity to help them decide when and where to forage.
But what is the silver gull’s natural prey?
Well, it includes worms, fish, insects and crustaceans.
Can survive by drinking seawater
Seagulls are one of the few birds in the world that can drink fresh and saltwater, enabling them to venture far out to sea in search of food when necessary.
This is made possible by a special pair of glands near their eyes that takes the salt in their system and removes it through their nostrils.
Babies nowhere to be seen
Seagulls often nest well away from people.
“You’ll find them nesting on islands, though in recent decades some have started nesting on flat roofs,” Mr Dooley said.
“The chicks don’t leave the colony until they’re fully grown.”
Juveniles will often have brown mottled colouring on their wings and back.
They’re everywhere
Seagulls are found on every continent in the world, including Antarctica and the Arctic.
They are part of the seabird family Laridae, which comes from a Greek word meaning “ravenous sea birds”.
Is their population declining?
Silver gulls have exploded in numbers over the past 100 years.
For example, the breeding colony at Five Islands near Wollongong grew from about 1,000 nesting pairs in the 1940s to more than 50,000 by the 1990s.
But Mr Dooley says the growth has slowed in recent years, and may even start to reverse, at least in some areas.
“While it seems that reporting rates are still going up, they are going down in some areas such as south-east Queensland,” he said.
“But this doesn’t necessarily mean population numbers are declining.
“It might just be that they’re congregating in bigger flocks elsewhere.”
Reporting rates are the number of times birdwatchers record birds in their surveys.
