MY FRIEND THE HERRING GULL

HERRING GULL ON WALL

STREETS AND LANES OF DUBLIN ADELAIDE ROAD IN DUBLIN ANGLESEA STREET IN TEMPLE BAR ARBOUR HILL ROAD DUBLIN 7 ARDEE STREET - CHAMBER STREET ARD RI ROAD AUGHRIM PLACE OFF OXMANTOWM ROAD AUNGIER STREET BACK LANE NEAR CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL BEDFORD ROW IN TEMPLE BAR BENBURB STREET BIRD AVENUE IN CLONSKEAGH BLACK HALL PLACE WHERE THE LAW SOCIETY IS BASED BLACKHALL STREET BLOOMFIELD AVENUE OFF THE SOUTH CIRCULAR BOW STREET DUBLIN 7 BRIDGEFOOT STREET BURGESS LANE BRUNSWICK STREET NORTH CAMDEN STREET CAMDEN ROW CARMAN'S HALL CATHEDRAL VIEW COURT CHANCERY PLACE - CHANCERY STREET - WEST CHARLES STREET CHARLEVILLE ROAD RATHMINES CLANBRASSIL STREET UPPER A QUICK VISIT TO CLARENDON STREET 26 JULY 2020 CLYDE LANE CLYDE ROAD IN BALLSBRIDGE COOK STREET - AUGUST 2020 CROSSTICK ALLEY - CATHERINE STREET IN THE LIBERTIES OF DUBLIN DAME LANE DEAN STREET - NEWMARKET AREA OF DUBLIN DOMINICK STREET DORSET STREET DORSET STREET LOWER DORSET STREET UPPER DRUMCONDRA ROAD UPPER THE DOORS OF DUBLIN - FITZWILLIAM PLACE FISHAMBLE STREET - TEMPLE BAR AREA OF DUBLIN FLEET STREET IN THE TEMPLE BAR AREA FOSTER PLACE FRANCIS STREET FRANCIS STREET - JUNE 2020 FRANKFORT AVENUE - RATHGAR DUBLIN 6 FREDERICK STREET NORTH - 22 MAY 2020 GLASTHULE ROAD DUN LAOGHAIRE GARVILLE AVENUE - BRIGHTON SQUARE TO RATHGAR ROAD NORTH GEORGE'S STREET - DOORS OF DUBLIN LOWER GRANGEGORMAN 13 JUNE 2020 GRAND CANAL STREET ON A REALLY WET DAY GREEN STREET OFF NORTH KING STREET LOOKING DOWN HARCOURT STREET FROM ADELAIDE ROAD HAROLD'S CROSS ROAD HENRIETTA STREET HENRIETTA PLACE HENRIETTA PLACE - APRIL 2020 JEROME CONNOR PLACE PENCIL SHAPED BOLLARDS AND THE FRANCIS STREET SCHOOL ZONE ON JOHN DILLON STREET - ST NICHOLAS PLACE - CLARENCE MANGAN SQUARE KILDARE STREET KINGS INNS STREET KING STREET NORTH LAMB ALLEY - WHERE THERE IS A SECTION OF THE OLD CITY WALL LIBERTY LANE OFF CAMDEN ROW LINDSAY ROAD LITTLE BRITAIN STREET DUBLIN 1 LURGAN STREET OF NORTH KING STREET MANOR STREET - AUGUST 2020 MARY'S ABBEY MEATH STREET AND NEARBY MOLESWORTH STREET MOLESWORTH STREET [AS IT WAS IN APRIL 2017] MOUNT STREET UPPER - DOORS OF DUBLIN NICHOLAS STREET - BETWEEN ST PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL AND CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL NORTH CIRCULAR ROAD NEW BRIDE STREET NICHOLAS STREET O'CONNELL STREET ORMOND PLACE OXMANTOWN ROAD PARNELL STREET - DUBLIN'S CHINATOWN RANDOM IMAGES OF PEARSE STREET APRIL 2017 PETERS PLACE - NEAR HARCOURT STREET TRAM STOP RATHMINES ROAD LOWER RICHMOND HILL RATHMINES ST PETER'S LANE IN PHIBSBOROUGH SAINT LUKE'S AVENUE OFF DEAN STREET SITRIC PLACE SITRIC ROAD SOUTH RICHMOND STREET THOMAS STREET THOR PLACE TOWNSEND STREET VIKING ROAD AND VIKING PLACE WESTERN WAY - BROADSTONE AREA YARNHALL STREET OFF BOLTON STREET STREET PHOTOGRAPHED IN 2019
Herring gulls – the most abundant roof-nesting species in Dublin – are presently red-listed.

As a street photographer I have been harassed by aggressive gulls but I am totally against them being culled as has been suggested by some. To be honest I do like them but I do not feed them.

Dublin City Council does not have a role in controlling seagulls but their officials strongly advises people not to feed the gulls as this influences the interactive behaviour between birds and humans.

Since the 1940s, some herring and lesser black-backed gulls have used rooftops for nesting. It's not known exactly what prompted this move, but abundant inland sources of food and safe, predator-free nesting sites on rooftops were definite factors.

The 1956 Clean Air Act prevented rubbish tip operators burning waste, so gulls took advantage of the huge amount of organic material increasingly generated by our 'throw-away' society and sent to landfill. Many urban streets are also frequently replete with discarded food and accessible rubbish and some people feed gulls.

The birds nesting on roofs of houses are most likely to be herring gulls, whilst lesser black-backed gulls tend to concentrate on the larger expanses of industrial or commercial buildings with flat roofs. Although numbers of roof-nesting gulls, especially lesser black-backed gulls, are still increasing, the overall population of herring gulls is plummeting, making them a red list species. The lesser black-backed gull population has also declined in recent years.

Government licences allow the killing of urban gulls only as a last resort, where a significant risk to public health or safety has been identified. While it is appreciated that roof-nesting gulls can cause problems,the RSPB questions the appropriateness of lethal control on a declining, red-listed species and highlight the need to comply with European bird protection law.

Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to distinguish between the nests, eggs or downy chicks of herring and lesser black-backed gull - even fledged young look identical to all but an expert eye. This makes species-specific control measures difficult.
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