Bird of prey to help with Inverness gull management which is set for take-off after the arrival of a falcon to control breeding by making ‘their life uncomfortable’ to restrict nesting and breeding
Inverness gull management is set for take-off after the professional falconer arrived in Inverness to get the bird of prey acclimatised to the surroundings before work begins in earnest next month.
Professional falconer Allan MacKinnon and Angel met with Inverness city leader Councillor Ian Brown and Inverness BID chairman Gordon McIntosh and BID’s operations co-ordinator Janice Worthing.
The meeting comes after a contentious Inverness city committee meeting where it was touch and go whether members would back the full programme – including nest and egg removal – or not.
The initiative integrates falconry with waste management, lasering, scaring devices, and much more, to help address the impact of urban gull populations responsibly whilst not impacting on the conservation of the species.
A key part of that is the use of a bird of prey to keep the gull numbers down not by having the falcon prey on the gulls but to essentially scare them away and leave them too unsettled to nest or lay eggs.
Mr MacKinnon explained: “Gulls are highly intelligent and adaptable birds, but they are also naturally wary of predators. Falcons, as birds of prey, trigger an instinctive response in gulls, discouraging them from nesting in areas where they feel threatened.
“Unlike other deterrent methods, falconry works by leveraging nature’s own balance as gulls recognise the presence of a predator and choose to relocate rather than risk confrontation.
“These birds of prey don’t need to hunt the gulls; their very presence is enough to send a clear message that this is not a safe place to nest. Over time, this leads to a behavioural change in the gulls, encouraging them to establish colonies away from urban areas.”
He continued: “The Falcon is trained to circle above me at a good height, the higher the falcon goes the bigger the killing cone underneath it – so if it was in the wild it's killing for food so in that area everything underneath it scarpers.
“What I do is I manage the falcon's weight so it's hungry enough to return to the lure but not hungry enough to go and kill prey so killing the gull isn't worth its while worth its energy.
“The Falcon is controlled by the lure which is a piece of leather with wings on it that effectively looks like a bird so that's what drives the focus and it knows she's going to get a meal off that.
“Also once the Falcon catches the lure the gulls think that it's caught one of them so that is an additional effect, a petrifying effect. Basically my job was to make their life uncomfortable”.
City Leader Ian Brown said, “It’s incredible to see these magnificent birds up close. I am delighted that through the Inverness Common Good Fund we are trialling one of the most natural and environmentally friendly and effective methods to encourage gulls to nest elsewhere.
“We want to strike a balance between respecting our wildlife and ensuring that locals, businesses, and visitors can enjoy the city centre without any adverse impacts caused by nesting gulls.”
Janice Worthing, who co-ordinates the operational elements of the project, said: “We're excited to have secured three new ‘guardians’ for the city centre.
“Falconry is a highly specialised skill, and we are very fortunate to have the benefit of Allan’s expertise which combined with the natural instincts of the birds will be a big help in our collective efforts going forward in respect to gull management.”.
