They’re back... and just as terrifying as last year
AGGRESSIVE gulls are terrorising residents near Roath Park Lake with some streets becoming impassable for post deliverers and milkmen.
Residents in Farm Drive and Coed-y-Llyn in Cyncoed, where there are an estimated 15 breeding pairs of gulls, say they have been dealing with the airborne menace for more than a decade.
Some residents allegedly have to arm themselves with umbrellas when leaving their homes to protect themselves from the gulls – and say the problem is about to get worse with the start of the nesting season.
They also claim that postmen sometimes miss out their streets altogether at times for fear of the gulls, and children have also been attacked. Recycling waste left in bags is also strewn across the street by gulls tearing into bags in search of food, and their droppings are regularly making a mess of the area.
Moya Campbell, who lives in Coed-y-Llyn, said: “They attack everything. If you go out when they are nesting they are terrible. The noise is horrendous. It can be very scary, especially when they dive-bomb you. You have to be careful.”
Mrs Campbell is calling for the council to give residents bins for recycling, rather than the bags they have now, and to remove the seagulls’ eggs from the area.
Cardiff council has given advice for homeowners to deter the gulls from breeding in the area, but said it is not bound by law to manage the gull population of the city.
John Criddle, who has lived in Farm Drive for 30 years, said the gulls are attracted to the area by people feeding them bread in nearby Roath Park Lake.
He said: “They break into the waste bags and on collection days spread stuff all over the road.
“They nest behind the chimney stack and their dropping cause a load of mess. My roof has to be cleaned every three years. I had my chimney stack removed but now they nest behind a flue – I can’t beat them. They are generally a nuisance. They make a mess around the area. Once the youngsters are born when they are fledgling they really get aggressive.”
Another Farm Drive resident of more than 50 years, who wished not to be named, also said more should be done to deter people from feeding the gulls.
“It’s not the birds, it’s the nuisance they cause,” he said. “They can be quite aggressive. I would like to see is something about the volume of bread thrown into Roath Park Lake.”
Cardiff council offers egg replacement services to businesses but not to residents.
Councillor Bablin Molik is calling for Cardiff council to take more action to reduce the threat of gulls on the residents. She said: “I would like these services to be offered to residents
“On health and safety grounds I would like to see the council be more proactive. They are not actually doing anything for residents.”
Surveys show Cyncoed isn’t a ward which has been identified as a problem area for nesting
gulls, the council has said. The wards in residential areas where the largest number of breeding gulls were found were in Butetown with 463 nests, Newport Road East with 372 nests, Leckwith with 345 nests, Gabalfa with 107 nests and Llanishen where 91 nests were identified. It is estimated that Cardiff has the largest urban gull population in the Severn Estuary
But Cardiff council also said it has seen a 5% decrease in the number of breeding gulls, from 3,311 to 3,147 breeding pairs between 2011 and 2017, due to egeneration of the city.
A council spokesman said: “All gulls are protected species in the UK through the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and there isn’t any statutory duty on the council to manage their population.
“If home owners would like to take measures to stop nesting gulls on the roof of their house, then they are able to take action themselves or hire a pest control company to put measures in place.
“The council does have a licence to replace real eggs with plastic ones and this service which is charged is available for commercial customers.”