Posted on 11/04/2001 12:53:30 PM PST by dighton
IT COULD almost be the storyline for a modern-day Australian remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic The Birds: hundreds of hungry seagulls soaring above the streets of Sydney, looking for humans from whom they can steal food.
Outdoor restaurants and cafes along the NSW coast have reported a large increase in the number of brazen gulls stealing food from the very mouths of diners.
Catherine Ferguson, supervisor at Boufflers by the Sea fish-and-chip shop in Wollongong, claimed 500 people were "attacked" by seagulls each weekend.
"I've seen them draw blood," Ms Ferguson said.
"They will actually attack people as they're sitting – they will take food [hot chips] out of people's mouths.
"On a weekend, about 600 people a day buy food here, and every second person is attacked. A lot of people crack up about their children being bitten, and I've even been bitten myself."
Although seagulls are fond of human fare, it isn't good for them. Apart from losing their hunting skills as they become more reliant on being hand-fed, they can suffer viral infections and plumage diseases.
A National Parks and Wildlife Service spokeswoman said foods not normally found in nature could also cause seagulls to behave abnormally.
"The gulls become more reliant on humans for food rather than catching their own, and they tend to stick to a certain area," she said.
The seagull problem has become so bad at Joe's Fish Bar, at Cronulla, that owner Hoang Nguyen has been forced to erect a plastic canopy around his shop.
Anne Pellicciari, owner of Pellicciari's at Bondi, said gulls were a problem for customers but pigeons had also become more aggressive.
"If you turn your head and aren't looking at your plate, the pigeons will enjoy your food and drink your coffee," she said.
"We have signs telling people not to turn their backs on the food."
When the birds become too aggressive, Mrs Pellicciari gives her customers the opportunity to fight back by handing out water squirt bottles.
Manly sandwich shop manager Sarah Laird said she did not like going near seagulls because they were raucous and annoying.
Damian Hudson, 28, said the number of gulls on the Manly foreshore had increased. "It's just because there are more people throwing food at them," he said over a lunch of fish and chips.
Experts believe the decision by some councils to cover rubbish tips has forced seagulls to look elsewhere for food.
According to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sydney's seagull population may have peaked, with little room left on the Five Islands, off Port Kembla, where they breed.
NPWS wildlife management officer Geoff Ross said that even though people enjoyed watching seagulls scurry for hot chips, it was important that wildlife not be fed.
"The reason [seagulls] are becoming more brazen is that people are feeding them. They become acclimatised to humans being around, and lose their fear," he said.
© 2001 Mirror Australian Telegraph
You know, getting hit by a sea gull load is supposed to be good luck. But it seems the only luck you had was getting hit by a second.
Away from the coast, crows get my flying deamon vote. I've had them swoop down and steal pancakes off my plate when my back was turned while camping.
On the other hand gulls ruined a fishing trip once when they spent the whole morning raiding and fouling our trolling lines and flying off with the bait, hook and lines. They only drop them once you stop the reel from playing out.
Needless to say, they don't warn you about this in the tourist literature. So, when in Rome, bring an umbrella. And it's not for the rain.
(Those are still legal in Oz, aren't they?)
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