Herring Gull in garden

I wonder if anyone can help me- for the past few months we have been visited by a Herring Gull who shouts for food on our fence. We have been giving him/her breakfast and dinner because he is extremely greedy! Is old cat food ok to give him? He also gets bacon fat and any leftovers from dinner. Is there anything he shouldn't be having? Also, I am a little worried because he sometimes just sits on a chimney for an hour or so even in the pouring rain. I feel a bit sorry for him because he doesn't appear to have a home or a mate. Can we do anything in our garden to make him more settled? Last of all- is there any way of telling the gender? I would really appreciate any advice in order to help him!

Hi Tara welcome to the forum.

It sounds like the Herring Gull has found a good food spot, someone will probably be along to tell you what is good for them to eat but seeing them at the seaside they will eat almost anything lol.

Don't worry about him sitting on your chimney in the rain if it was unhappy it would move and is most likely getting heat rising up the chimney.

Can you get a photo of it and put it on the forum?

Cat food is the best. He/she would best like sitting in the rain and, if he shelters from an approaching storm or bad weather he/she will sit for ages waiting for the skies to clear. Try not to give the gull too much bread or doughy treats. My Herring Gull companions like their bowl of water replenished daily too.

There you go Tara straight from the Gulls beak(so to speak)

That's great! Thank you for your help. I will try to get a photo of him to post on here. We're very lucky that he chose us and our garden!

Hi Taratweets- I have a resident seagull too, he scoffs the suet pellets and mealworms I scatter on the grass. He's always first in when I open the back door in the morning- as I have only one ( any others come near he flies off with them to lead them off the scent and returns a few minutes later), I don't mind but any more and I would have to stop ground feeding as I'd be bankrupt!! Heres a few pics of mine until you get a photo of your visitor! I don't know if theres any difference between sexes.

Flat feet are useless for perching on food trays!

Best wishes- Jayne

Feeding gulls like this may create a problem with your neighbours,once the gulls find a good free food spot they may take advantage of it and arrive in bigger numbers.If your neighbours are not bird lovers they may not appreciate the noise or mess.

I adore gulls but they are certainly greedy things! How about tinned sardines? Supermarket brand ones are quite cheap. But yes, if you started getting lots of gulls you could have a bit of a problem with the mess and noise.

I hate to spoil anyones fun but if you get too many birds at your "feeding station" you could get people calling for a cull and the poor gulls end up getting a bad name again.

I totally agree with you Seaman- the gull I get has been coming for the past year and no others have joined him. I certainly wouldn't put anything out to actively attract them- he eats the suet pellets I scatter for the blackbirds. As a fatter of fact I've stopped putting anything on the ground a few days ago due to jackdaws - I'm getting about a dozen at a time landing on the fence and hanging off the feeders. It's difficult to get a balance especially when most species have young at the moment and doing their best to survive,but you have to respect you neighbours first and foremost.

Best wishes, Jayne.

Love the pics Jayne!

The secret is to feed only one gull - preferably the male if there is a pair; he will feed the female in the breeding season ONLY. The rest of the year you can safely feed the pair. The males are territorial and will fight if you start feeding more than one pair: we see it every year round about us. So keep the gulls safe and out of fighting as far as possible.

Kind regards

Pete

I like this idea but could you explain how you can feed just one bird ? It could solve a problem with feeding birds in a nearby garden.

Easy! They are brilliant catchers - so toss the food in small bits to the gull just above the beak and they will soon learn to catch the food from you. Individual feeding gets rid of the flock that will eventually gather as they communicate with one another that 'food is available' here! You will get to know the individual gull and his/her mate this way also. Best of luck...

Never thought of that one,cheers.