SEABIRDS

Our work with Seabirds

The herring gull is our most common rescue here at WWS. Every Summer we admit over 900 gull chicks. That is a lot of mouths to feed! Gull chicks leave the nest at an early age and many will have simply fallen from a roof nest. Some of these nests are inaccessible or dangerous to return the chick to. Some chicks have fallen onto a road or down a chimney. Sometimes parent gulls will treat the chick as though they have fledged and wont feed them on the ground. And sometimes, a chick will simply wander away from its nest site and we have no idea where its come from.

What we advise for all the above circumstances.

  1. If it is possible to put the chick back onto the roof and it is safe to do so, please do. Parent gulls are very protective of their young so be wary that the parents may try to protect the chick and fly at you if you are near it.
  2. If the chick is in danger (e.g roads), it can be moved a short distance to a safer place, but again, be wary that the parents may try to protect the chick and fly at you if you are near it. Any chicks moved needs to be monitored for a couple of hours afterwards for signs of parent activity. If there is no parent activity, then call your nearest rescue centre for help.
  3. If the chick is injured, or definitely orpaned, i.e. no parents have attended in a few hours, then rescue is necessary.