Highland Council plans Inverness city centre gull study with NatureScot as winged-menace complaints grow
Highland Council is set to commission a study of the gull population causing a flap in Inverness city centre.
With increasing numbers of gulls congregating in the heart of the old town, the winged menace has brought reports of attacks, aggressive behaviour, scavenging and noise.
While many see them as a scourge, gulls are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, meaning it is illegal to intentionally injure, kill, take or damage their nests or eggs, without a license.
Council officials, with input from NatureScot, have appointed an independent consultancy to undertake a baseline census count and distribution study of gulls in central Inverness.
The survey will take place this month and has been designed to coincide with the start of the nesting period when gull numbers will be reaching their peak, and birds are at their most active.
Councillor Ian Brown, leader of Inverness and area, said: “While Highland Council has no statutory duty to take action against any type of gull, the council hopes that the findings from this study will provide evidence for and inform any future development of a gull management plan for the city of Inverness.”
The survey will follow an adapted methodology from the joint nature conservation Committee seabird monitoring programme’s urban gull census.
Covering an area of over five square kilometres, from Bught Park in the south to the Kessock Bridge in the north, the survey will include the commercial heart of Inverness, the Longman Industrial Estate, Crown Circus and popular riverside locations including Eden Court Theatre, Inverness Cathedral, Inverness Castle and Ness Walk.
The survey will also assess an additional 20 key buildings across the wider city, including the council’s school estate.
The work will primarily be ground-based and will count all gull species present with their location noted on mobile GIS recording software along with gull behaviour, whether nesting, occupying territory, foraging or resting.
Information on gulls can be found on the Council’s website at this link.
