Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood. We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some of
the highest buildings roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

This goes on for a couple of hours early in the morning and before dusk.

In addition to the noise I was also forced to wash my car 3 times in the
last 2 weeks (my average is around once a year€¦). All the small birds
that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also disappeared.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Many thanks in advance,


PS: I dont know anyone who keeps birds of prey either.
PPS: we are 50+ miles from the sea and there is no landfill etc nearby BTW

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 00:03:24 +0100, JoeJoe wrote:

Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood. We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some of
the highest buildings’ roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

This goes on for a couple of hours early in the morning and before dusk.

In addition to the noise I was also forced to wash my car 3 times in the
last 2 weeks (my average is around once a year…). All the small birds
that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also disappeared.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Assuming anyone around you shares your views then what about one of
the electronic noise scarers? I'm not sure a shark sound will help g
but maybe that of a hawk of some sort would?

You could test the principal with this (or other) recording and an
amplified speaker of some sort if your phone isn't loud enough.

Then you just need to repeat it at a suitable interval at the lowest
volume that works till they don't come back?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8okPzxAjl0c

Cheers, T i m

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 00:03:24 +0100
JoeJoe wrote:

Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood. We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some
of the highest buildings roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

This goes on for a couple of hours early in the morning and before
dusk.

In addition to the noise I was also forced to wash my car 3 times in
the last 2 weeks (my average is around once a year€¦). All the small
birds that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also
disappeared.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Many thanks in advance,


PS: I dont know anyone who keeps birds of prey either.
PPS: we are 50+ miles from the sea and there is no landfill etc
nearby BTW

Just be aware that they are protected by law.

Search: seagull protection

You have my sympathy.

--
Davey.

Chris Hogg wrote:
On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 00:03:24 +0100, JoeJoe wrote:

Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood. We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some of
the highest buildingsÂ’ roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

This goes on for a couple of hours early in the morning and before dusk.

In addition to the noise I was also forced to wash my car 3 times in the
last 2 weeks (my average is around once a yearÂ…). All the small birds
that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also disappeared.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Many thanks in advance,


PS: I donÂ’t know anyone who keeps birds of prey either.
PPS: we are 50+ miles from the sea and there is no landfill etc nearby BTW

Then be thankful you don't live by the sea, where seagulls are
everywhere 24/7/365. The nest on people's roofs, becoming very
aggressive when they have young, and their swooping attacks on unwary
holidaymakers who are eating pasties or ice-creams in the open, is
well known http://tinyurl.com/z7lc692 . But they don't seem to bother
other birds; we have plenty of rooks, jackdaws, magpies as well as the
smaller birds, the latter suffering more from feral and domestic cats
than seagulls.

Seagulls are great scavengers, and move inland to feed on domestic
rubbish on council tips and landfill sites. You haven't had one open
in your area recently, have you? http://tinyurl.com/zw4g47q

Some seaside towns have tried employing a falconer to fly his birds
around the area from time to time to try and drive the seagulls away,
but I don't know how successful they are, and it's not really a
practical solution for you. http://tinyurl.com/jmzr2tm

Our neighbour, a farmer, is at the moment flying hawk-shaped kites
over some of his fields to deter birds in general. I suspect he's
principally concerned with pigeons, but if falcons are capable of
deterring seagulls, then I don't see why the kites shouldn't also
work. http://tinyurl.com/hmblt25 which includes this web site
http://tinyurl.com/26rk9 Lots of ideas there.

But all species of seagull are protected; it's illegal to kill them.
http://tinyurl.com/q68wz52


Interesting that there is provision to kill them in certain circumstances,
including the protection of other wild birds.

"The UK administrations can issue licences, permitting nests to be
destroyed or even birds to be killed if there is no non-lethal solution,
and if it is done to prevent serious damage to agriculture, the spread of
disease, to preserve public health and safety and air safety, or to
conserve other wild birds."

Tim

--
Trolls AND TROLL FEEDERS all go in my kill file

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 01:07:04 +0100, Davey
wrote:

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 00:03:24 +0100
JoeJoe wrote:

Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood. We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some
of the highest buildings’ roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

This goes on for a couple of hours early in the morning and before
dusk.

In addition to the noise I was also forced to wash my car 3 times in
the last 2 weeks (my average is around once a year…). All the small
birds that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also
disappeared.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Many thanks in advance,


PS: I don’t know anyone who keeps birds of prey either.
PPS: we are 50+ miles from the sea and there is no landfill etc
nearby BTW

Just be aware that they are protected by law.

Search: seagull protection

You have my sympathy.

Interesting (I didn't know they were protected but then have never
thought of interfering with one personally). ;-)

Looking at the laws I think it's (In England) illegal to:
'intentionally or recklessly injure or kill any gull or damage or
destroy an active nest or its contents' but that's not what a scarer
would do.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforw...ls/thelaw.aspx

However, it also goes on to say: 'The UK administrations can issue
licences, permitting nests to be destroyed or even birds to be killed
if there is no non-lethal solution, and if it is done to prevent
serious damage to agriculture, the spread of disease, to preserve
public health and safety and air safety, or to conserve other wild
birds'.

But then like many animals there are gulls (nice) and gulls (yobbos)
and I think most people would be happy to send the latter elsewhere
(preferably to a far away island). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

On Wednesday, 31 August 2016 08:41:43 UTC+1, T i m wrote:
On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 01:07:04 +0100, Davey
wrote:

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 00:03:24 +0100
JoeJoe wrote:

Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood. We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some
of the highest buildings roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

This goes on for a couple of hours early in the morning and before
dusk.

In addition to the noise I was also forced to wash my car 3 times in
the last 2 weeks (my average is around once a year€¦). All the small
birds that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also
disappeared.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Many thanks in advance,


PS: I dont know anyone who keeps birds of prey either.
PPS: we are 50+ miles from the sea and there is no landfill etc
nearby BTW

Just be aware that they are protected by law.

Search: seagull protection

You have my sympathy.

Interesting (I didn't know they were protected but then have never
thought of interfering with one personally). ;-)

Looking at the laws I think it's (In England) illegal to:
'intentionally or recklessly injure or kill any gull or damage or
destroy an active nest or its contents' but that's not what a scarer
would do.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforw...ls/thelaw.aspx

However, it also goes on to say: 'The UK administrations can issue
licences, permitting nests to be destroyed or even birds to be killed
if there is no non-lethal solution, and if it is done to prevent
serious damage to agriculture, the spread of disease, to preserve
public health and safety and air safety, or to conserve other wild
birds'.

But then like many animals there are gulls (nice) and gulls (yobbos)
and I think most people would be happy to send the latter elsewhere
(preferably to a far away island). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

We live a two minute walk from the sea and are plagued with the wretched things mess, noise and general nuisance. Recently, a series of extremely loud, percussive noises mysteriously occurred at random intervals over a few days. Nobody has laid claim to being the perpetrator but....pretty much all the gulls have gone! Look up outdoor fireworks. Enjoy.

On 31/08/16 00:03, JoeJoe wrote:
Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood. We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some of
the highest buildings roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

This goes on for a couple of hours early in the morning and before dusk.

In addition to the noise I was also forced to wash my car 3 times in the
last 2 weeks (my average is around once a year€¦). All the small birds
that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also disappeared.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Many thanks in advance,


PS: I dont know anyone who keeps birds of prey either.
PPS: we are 50+ miles from the sea and there is no landfill etc nearby BTW

It might be something the Council should deal with for you.

TW

On 31-Aug-16 8:41 AM, T i m wrote:
On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 01:07:04 +0100, Davey
wrote:
....
Just be aware that they are protected by law.

Search: seagull protection

You have my sympathy.

Interesting (I didn't know they were protected but then have never
thought of interfering with one personally). ;-)

There was a case, some years ago, when a chap on a boat took a shot at
one on a TV programme and was later prosecuted for it on the basis of
the footage.

Colin Bignell

--
--

Colin Bignell

On 31/08/16 00:03, JoeJoe wrote:

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

A few months ago there was one military chap doing the news stories
complaining that a Raspberry-Pi was threatening his brothers out of
their highly trained jobs. Now seagulls can't all be that smart.

Map out "air space" above your car and program a r-pi controlled drone
to protect it.

As in war, expect casualties ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbdRmR9yGtQ


--
Adrian C

On 31-Aug-16 12:03 AM, JoeJoe wrote:
Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood.

Which suggests that they have found an abundant source of food that was
perhaps not there before.

We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some of
the highest buildings roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

To them, the houses are cliff tops.

....
All the small birds
that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also disappeared.

That is most probably a coincidence. I live close enough to the sea for
seagulls to be part of the landscape and there are plenty of small birds
around as well.

Small bird populations are affected my many factors, including the
weather during their breeding season, which affects the availability of
food. Also, if there are abundant natural food sources, they are more
likely to be feeding off those than coming into domestic gardens to use
bird feeders.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?...

As others have pointed out, seagulls are a protected species, so, if you
shoot them you may well end up in Court. In any case, all you are likely
to do with an air rifle is to injure them. Besides, if they are abundant
as you say, you are not going to make much impression on the population
by shooting the odd bird.

To get them to move on, you need to find and deny them their source of
food, if you can. Nothing else is likely to be effective in the long
term, although anti-bird spikes can help stop them from landing on your
roof.

I have seen bird of prey kites flying at few places along the coast, but
with no obvious effect on the seagulls. Herring gulls are much too big
for birds of prey to be a threat and I'm not sure that a common or black
headed gull would be that worried either.

I don't know whether a bird scarer is effective against seagulls, but
would a loud explosion every few minutes be any less of a nuisance than
the gulls themselves?

--
--

Colin Bignell

En el artículo , Chris Hogg
escribió:

But all species of seagull are protected; it's illegal to kill them.

What I can't get over is the sheer size of them now. They're much, much
bigger than I remember from my youth.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) systemd: the Linux version of Windows 10
(")_(")

On 31-Aug-16 10:15 AM, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el artículo , Chris Hogg
escribió:

But all species of seagull are protected; it's illegal to kill them.

What I can't get over is the sheer size of them now. They're much, much
bigger than I remember from my youth.


Perhaps different species? The common gull and the herring gull look
similar, but the latter is much larger.

--
--

Colin Bignell

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 09:17:18 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 01:09:38 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

We live a two minute walk from the sea and are plagued with the wretched things mess,
noise and general nuisance. Recently, a series of extremely loud, percussive noises mysteriously
occurred at random intervals over a few days. Nobody has laid claim to being the perpetrator
but....pretty much all the gulls have gone! Look up outdoor fireworks. Enjoy.

Possibly a gas gun bird scarer. Used around here by our farmer
neighbour. http://tinyurl.com/zcvpsj6

There are also the much cheaper bird scarer ropes which burn slowly
and let off a bang about the same as a shotgun report at intervals.
About £35 compared to an outlay of £300 + though of course single use
only.
The OP doesn't state if they live at an isolated dwelling or in a
terreced house so he/she can google Bird scarer rope and decide if
they fulfill the conditions for purchase from reputable suppliers or
obtain one from a supplier who doesn't care.

G.Harman

G.Harman

On 31/08/16 10:10, Nightjar wrote:
In any case, all you are likely to do with an air rifle is to injure them.

Not shot many birds with an air rifle then?


--
€œSome people like to travel by train because it combines the slowness of
a car with the cramped public exposure of €¨an airplane.€�

Dennis Miller

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 00:03:24 +0100, JoeJoe wrote:


Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Many thanks in advance,


My dad used to throw them a sticky sherbet lemon ,the bugger hopefully
cracked it thinking it was a whelk or something and start foaming at
the beak. I don't think it detered them for long though.

G.Harman

On 31/08/16 10:52, wrote:
On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 00:03:24 +0100, JoeJoe wrote:


Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Many thanks in advance,


My dad used to throw them a sticky sherbet lemon ,the bugger hopefully
cracked it thinking it was a whelk or something and start foaming at
the beak. I don't think it detered them for long though.

G.Harman

Urban legend has it that baking powder wrapped in bread would cause them
to blow up.



--
"Anyone who believes that the laws of physics are mere social
conventions is invited to try transgressing those conventions from the
windows of my apartment. (I live on the twenty-first floor.) "

Alan Sokal

On 31-Aug-16 10:50 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 31/08/16 10:10, Nightjar wrote:
In any case, all you are likely to do with an air rifle is to injure
them.

Not shot many birds with an air rifle then?

More to the point, the OP hasn't. Killing a large bird with an air rifle
needs rather more skill than he is likely to have.


--
--

Colin Bignell

Its worse around here, the seagulss have been joined by parakeets, Magpies
and crows. I think this started a few weeks back when some nice trees were
removed from the verges of my and adjoining roads. It was said they were
diseased, but the were growing fine from what others said. A few half dead
weeddy saplings have been thrown in a few holes around the estate, but it
will be many years if they survive before they can hold large birds. Like
you say the small birds seem to have all ****ed off somewhere as well, so
I'm not sure what the outcome will be in Spring.
Also the ubiquitous Pigeons are always hanging around to grab stuff just as
the small birds come along again.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"JoeJoe" wrote in message
.. .
Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood. We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some of the
highest buildings' roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a noise,
before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more noise, land,
and start again.

This goes on for a couple of hours early in the morning and before dusk.

In addition to the noise I was also forced to wash my car 3 times in the
last 2 weeks (my average is around once a year.). All the small birds that
we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also disappeared.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I apply
for an air gun license?

Many thanks in advance,


PS: I don't know anyone who keeps birds of prey either.
PPS: we are 50+ miles from the sea and there is no landfill etc nearby BTW

On 31/08/16 11:47, Nightjar wrote:
On 31-Aug-16 10:50 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 31/08/16 10:10, Nightjar wrote:
In any case, all you are likely to do with an air rifle is to injure
them.

Not shot many birds with an air rifle then?

More to the point, the OP hasn't. Killing a large bird with an air rifle
needs rather more skill than he is likely to have.


Depends how long you expect it to live after you have

In general the first shot will disable it and then you walk up and do a
head shot for the kill shot.

Or wring its neck.

Mind you, I pulled the head right off a pheasant and its still kicked
and flapped for ages.


--
The theory of Communism may be summed up in one sentence: Abolish all
private property.

Karl Marx

On 31/08/16 10:15, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el artículo , Chris Hogg
escribió:

But all species of seagull are protected; it's illegal to kill them.

What I can't get over is the sheer size of them now. They're much, much
bigger than I remember from my youth.


I walked past one the other day at Brighton - yes, they seem *massive*.
I wonder if they taste like fishy chicken?

On 31/08/16 12:34, Tim Watts wrote:
On 31/08/16 10:15, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el artÃ*culo , Chris Hogg
escribió:

But all species of seagull are protected; it's illegal to kill them.

What I can't get over is the sheer size of them now. They're much, much
bigger than I remember from my youth.


I walked past one the other day at Brighton - yes, they seem *massive*.
I wonder if they taste like fishy chicken?

Yes. They are I believe relatively disgusting as well as massively tough.



--
The biggest threat to humanity comes from socialism, which has utterly
diverted our attention away from what really matters to our existential
survival, to indulging in navel gazing and faux moral investigations
into what the world ought to be, whilst we fail utterly to deal with
what it actually is.

On 31/08/2016 10:49, wrote:
On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 09:17:18 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 01:09:38 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

We live a two minute walk from the sea and are plagued with the wretched things mess,
noise and general nuisance. Recently, a series of extremely loud, percussive noises mysteriously
occurred at random intervals over a few days. Nobody has laid claim to being the perpetrator
but....pretty much all the gulls have gone! Look up outdoor fireworks. Enjoy.

Possibly a gas gun bird scarer. Used around here by our farmer
neighbour. http://tinyurl.com/zcvpsj6

There are also the much cheaper bird scarer ropes which burn slowly
and let off a bang about the same as a shotgun report at intervals.
About £35 compared to an outlay of £300 + though of course single use
only.
The OP doesn't state if they live at an isolated dwelling or in a
terreced house so he/she can google Bird scarer rope and decide if
they fulfill the conditions for purchase from reputable suppliers or
obtain one from a supplier who doesn't care.

Detached house in a not too crowded estate, so may be a problem with a
shotgun sound... ;-)

Thanks anyway.

On 31/08/2016 10:10, Nightjar wrote:
On 31-Aug-16 12:03 AM, JoeJoe wrote:
Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood.

Which suggests that they have found an abundant source of food that was
perhaps not there before.

We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some of
the highest buildings roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

To them, the houses are cliff tops.

...
All the small birds
that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also disappeared.

That is most probably a coincidence. I live close enough to the sea for
seagulls to be part of the landscape and there are plenty of small birds
around as well.

Small bird populations are affected my many factors, including the
weather during their breeding season, which affects the availability of
food. Also, if there are abundant natural food sources, they are more
likely to be feeding off those than coming into domestic gardens to use
bird feeders.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?...

As others have pointed out, seagulls are a protected species, so, if you
shoot them you may well end up in Court. In any case, all you are likely
to do with an air rifle is to injure them. Besides, if they are abundant
as you say, you are not going to make much impression on the population
by shooting the odd bird.

That was meant as a joke... No intention of shooting the buggers.

On 31/08/2016 11:47, Nightjar wrote:
On 31-Aug-16 10:50 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 31/08/16 10:10, Nightjar wrote:
In any case, all you are likely to do with an air rifle is to injure
them.

Not shot many birds with an air rifle then?

More to the point, the OP hasn't. Killing a large bird with an air rifle
needs rather more skill than he is likely to have.

It has been a while now, but I used to be a sniper with the special forces.

On 31/08/16 12:54, JoeJoe wrote:
On 31/08/2016 11:47, Nightjar wrote:
On 31-Aug-16 10:50 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 31/08/16 10:10, Nightjar wrote:
In any case, all you are likely to do with an air rifle is to injure
them.

Not shot many birds with an air rifle then?

More to the point, the OP hasn't. Killing a large bird with an air rifle
needs rather more skill than he is likely to have.

It has been a while now, but I used to be a sniper with the special forces.


Were you on the Balcony?

T i m wrote:
On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 00:03:24 +0100, wrote:


Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood. We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some of
the highest buildings’ roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

This goes on for a couple of hours early in the morning and before dusk.

In addition to the noise I was also forced to wash my car 3 times in the
last 2 weeks (my average is around once a year…). All the small birds
that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also disappeared.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Assuming anyone around you shares your views then what about one of
the electronic noise scarers? I'm not sure a shark sound will helpg
but maybe that of a hawk of some sort would?

You could test the principal with this (or other) recording and an
amplified speaker of some sort if your phone isn't loud enough.

Then you just need to repeat it at a suitable interval at the lowest
volume that works till they don't come back?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8okPzxAjl0c

Cheers, T i m



My experience of using plastic eagles, was that they didn't work. I keep
the birds off the new aerial with a combination of prickle strips and
cable ties with the ends pointing upwards. Ultra sound generators didn't
work for me. Farmers use gunshot sounds for bird scarers I believe, the
neighbours probably wouldn't like that. Where are they roosting/landing?

On 31/08/2016 13:29, Tim Watts wrote:
On 31/08/16 12:54, JoeJoe wrote:
On 31/08/2016 11:47, Nightjar wrote:
On 31-Aug-16 10:50 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 31/08/16 10:10, Nightjar wrote:
In any case, all you are likely to do with an air rifle is to injure
them.

Not shot many birds with an air rifle then?

More to the point, the OP hasn't. Killing a large bird with an air rifle
needs rather more skill than he is likely to have.

It has been a while now, but I used to be a sniper with the special
forces.


Were you on the Balcony?

Not that one.

In message , Tim+
writes

But all species of seagull are protected; it's illegal to kill them.
http://tinyurl.com/q68wz52


Interesting that there is provision to kill them in certain circumstances,
including the protection of other wild birds.

"The UK administrations can issue licences, permitting nests to be
destroyed or even birds to be killed if there is no non-lethal solution,
and if it is done to prevent serious damage to agriculture, the spread of
disease, to preserve public health and safety and air safety, or to
conserve other wild birds."

Those licences can be hard to come by:-(

The applicant is expected to have exhausted alternative non-lethal means
before inviting the local pigeon shooters along. e.g.

Where we holiday, the hotel employs a visiting hawker (tame Harris hawk)
to deter the Pigeons.

--
Tim Lamb

On 31/08/16 14:50, JoeJoe wrote:
On 31/08/2016 13:29, Tim Watts wrote:
On 31/08/16 12:54, JoeJoe wrote:
On 31/08/2016 11:47, Nightjar wrote:
On 31-Aug-16 10:50 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 31/08/16 10:10, Nightjar wrote:
In any case, all you are likely to do with an air rifle is to injure
them.

Not shot many birds with an air rifle then?

More to the point, the OP hasn't. Killing a large bird with an air
rifle
needs rather more skill than he is likely to have.

It has been a while now, but I used to be a sniper with the special
forces.


Were you on the Balcony?

Not that one.

You must be the only man that wasn't! ;-)

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 11:42:32 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:



My dad used to throw them a sticky sherbet lemon ,the bugger hopefully
cracked it thinking it was a whelk or something and start foaming at
the beak. I don't think it detered them for long though.

Urban legend has it that baking powder wrapped in bread would cause them
to blow up.

Haven't heard the baking powder version , have heard about throwing
them a lump of calcium carbide as once used in cycle and car lamps
years ago and until recently caving lamps.
Like in the lamp the calcium carbide reacted with water when they
dived into the sea and created acetylene gas which supposedly
expanded enough to kill them , No doubt an urban legend that spread as
well.


G.Harman

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 15:37:07 +0100, wrote:

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 11:42:32 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:



My dad used to throw them a sticky sherbet lemon ,the bugger hopefully
cracked it thinking it was a whelk or something and start foaming at
the beak. I don't think it detered them for long though.

Urban legend has it that baking powder wrapped in bread would cause them
to blow up.

Haven't heard the baking powder version , have heard about throwing
them a lump of calcium carbide as once used in cycle and car lamps
years ago and until recently caving lamps.
Like in the lamp the calcium carbide reacted with water when they
dived into the sea and created acetylene gas which supposedly
expanded enough to kill them , No doubt an urban legend that spread as
well.

Sodium was the legendary seagull-killing substance when I was at
school. Lots of people had "a mate who'd done it", but strangely noone
had actually witnessed it themselves. Of course, we all believed it
and helped spread the legend.

Caecilius wrote:
On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 15:37:07 +0100, wrote:

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 11:42:32 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:



My dad used to throw them a sticky sherbet lemon ,the bugger hopefully
cracked it thinking it was a whelk or something and start foaming at
the beak. I don't think it detered them for long though.

Urban legend has it that baking powder wrapped in bread would cause them
to blow up.

Haven't heard the baking powder version , have heard about throwing
them a lump of calcium carbide as once used in cycle and car lamps
years ago and until recently caving lamps.
Like in the lamp the calcium carbide reacted with water when they
dived into the sea and created acetylene gas which supposedly
expanded enough to kill them , No doubt an urban legend that spread as
well.

Sodium was the legendary seagull-killing substance when I was at
school. Lots of people had "a mate who'd done it", but strangely noone
had actually witnessed it themselves. Of course, we all believed it
and helped spread the legend.


At least calcium carbide was pretty readily available back in the day. I've
never known metallic sodium be easy to get.

Tim

--
Trolls AND TROLL FEEDERS all go in my kill file

On 31-Aug-16 12:13 PM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 31/08/16 11:47, Nightjar wrote:
On 31-Aug-16 10:50 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 31/08/16 10:10, Nightjar wrote:
In any case, all you are likely to do with an air rifle is to injure
them.

Not shot many birds with an air rifle then?

More to the point, the OP hasn't. Killing a large bird with an air rifle
needs rather more skill than he is likely to have.


Depends how long you expect it to live after you have

In general the first shot will disable it and then you walk up and do a
head shot for the kill shot...

I would expect herring gulls to present similar problems to geese, which
need a heavier hit to kill them than game birds. However, if the OP is
as good as he says, he would probably drop them with a head shot every
time :-)




--
--

Colin Bignell

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 08:41:41 +0100, T i m wrote:

Looking at the laws I think it's (In England) illegal to:
'intentionally or recklessly injure or kill any gull or damage or
destroy an active nest or its contents' but that's not what a scarer
would do.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforw...ice/gardening/
unwantedvisitors/gulls/thelaw.aspx

However, it also goes on to say: 'The UK administrations can issue
licences, permitting nests to be destroyed or even birds to be killed if
there is no non-lethal solution, and if it is done to prevent serious
damage to agriculture, the spread of disease, to preserve public health
and safety and air safety, or to conserve other wild birds'.


That's the RSPB, they won't tell you that you can legally kill some
birds, including gulls. Lesser black backed are on the General Licence,
so shooting them won't get you into trouble.
Other Gulls are not on the General Licence, so are protected as other
birds.
However, an air rifle is not the gun to shoot gulls, unless within 20
feet, as they are just not powerful enough to kill them outright -
disregard what someone else has posted about winging them, then going to
break their neck - that is illegal, as you would be causing unnescessary
suffering to the bird.

On 31/08/2016 00:03, JoeJoe wrote:
Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood. We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some of
the highest buildings roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

This goes on for a couple of hours early in the morning and before dusk.

In addition to the noise I was also forced to wash my car 3 times in the
last 2 weeks (my average is around once a year€¦). All the small birds
that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also disappeared.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Many thanks in advance,


PS: I dont know anyone who keeps birds of prey either.
PPS: we are 50+ miles from the sea and there is no landfill etc nearby BTW

Train them!

Round here (close to the coast) we only get any gull nuisance on Friday
mornings. When the bin men come round. Local folklore has it they know
which day to go where...

--
Rod

On 31/08/2016 00:03, JoeJoe wrote:
Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood. We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some of
the highest buildings roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

This goes on for a couple of hours early in the morning and before dusk.

In addition to the noise I was also forced to wash my car 3 times in the
last 2 weeks (my average is around once a year€¦). All the small birds
that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also disappeared.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Many thanks in advance,


PS: I dont know anyone who keeps birds of prey either.
PPS: we are 50+ miles from the sea and there is no landfill etc nearby BTW


At work there was the same problem with gulls so they now employ a man
with a bird of prey to come around when the problem re-appears.
Perhaps a cheaper solution is to buy a bird of prey kite and fly it on a
long pole - a solution used by a large car showroom locally.

--
mailto: news {at} admac {dot] myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

Nightjar Wrote in message:
On 31-Aug-16 10:50 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 31/08/16 10:10, Nightjar wrote:
In any case, all you are likely to do with an air rifle is to injure
them.

Not shot many birds with an air rifle then?

More to the point, the OP hasn't. Killing a large bird with an air rifle
needs rather more skill than he is likely to have.



Or rather more air rifles than he is likely to have...
--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

The Natural Philosopher Wrote in message:
On 31/08/16 11:47, Nightjar wrote:
On 31-Aug-16 10:50 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 31/08/16 10:10, Nightjar wrote:
In any case, all you are likely to do with an air rifle is to injure
them.

Not shot many birds with an air rifle then?

More to the point, the OP hasn't. Killing a large bird with an air rifle
needs rather more skill than he is likely to have.


Depends how long you expect it to live after you have

In general the first shot will disable it and then you walk up and do a
head shot for the kill shot.

Or wring its neck.

Mind you, I pulled the head right off a pheasant and its still kicked
and flapped for ages.

I suspected you would be a pheasant plucker :-)
--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

Tim+ Wrote in message:
Caecilius wrote:
On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 15:37:07 +0100, wrote:

On Wed, 31 Aug 2016 11:42:32 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:



My dad used to throw them a sticky sherbet lemon ,the bugger hopefully
cracked it thinking it was a whelk or something and start foaming at
the beak. I don't think it detered them for long though.

Urban legend has it that baking powder wrapped in bread would cause them
to blow up.

Haven't heard the baking powder version , have heard about throwing
them a lump of calcium carbide as once used in cycle and car lamps
years ago and until recently caving lamps.
Like in the lamp the calcium carbide reacted with water when they
dived into the sea and created acetylene gas which supposedly
expanded enough to kill them , No doubt an urban legend that spread as
well.

Sodium was the legendary seagull-killing substance when I was at
school. Lots of people had "a mate who'd done it", but strangely noone
had actually witnessed it themselves. Of course, we all believed it
and helped spread the legend.


At least calcium carbide was pretty readily available back in the day. I've
never known metallic sodium be easy to get.

It's on eBay nowadays :-) we bought some for doing the alkali
metals/water experiment.

We still have a fair sized chunk, we were tempted to chuck it in
the pool (one of those 10ft temporary ones) in the garden
:-)

--
--
Chris French

polygonum Wrote in message:
On 31/08/2016 00:03, JoeJoe wrote:
Over the last year or so a large flock of Seagulls has invaded our
neighbourhood. We are on a small hill, so they tend to land on some of
the highest buildings? roofs (ours included), and make a hell of a
noise, before they fly around for a few minutes, making even more
noise, land, and start again.

This goes on for a couple of hours early in the morning and before dusk.

In addition to the noise I was also forced to wash my car 3 times in the
last 2 weeks (my average is around once a year?). All the small birds
that we used to enjoy watching in our garden have also disappeared.

Any suggestion for a humane way to send them somewhere else before I
apply for an air gun license?

Many thanks in advance,


PS: I don?t know anyone who keeps birds of prey either.
PPS: we are 50+ miles from the sea and there is no landfill etc nearby BTW

Train them!

Round here (close to the coast) we only get any gull nuisance on Friday
mornings. When the bin men come round. Local folklore has it they know
which day to go where...


Do they get mixed up on bank holiday weeks? (ours then come a day late)


--
--
Chris French