In a piece of scientific news that likely won’t surprise anyone, seagulls apparently remember where they’ve had fish and chips.
If you’ve been dive-bombed by chip-hunting seagulls along Brighton pier or at the beachfront in Cardiff, you’ll know what we’re talking about.
Researchers at the British Trust for Ornithology used GPS technology to tag gulls in Scotland to watch their behaviour.
They found that, in some cases, the birds would travel to a specific chip shop in the town of Troon on Scotland’s west coast.
Some flew to the Wee Hurrie chip shop in Troon from around 100 miles away – all the way from the Inner Hebrides.
Dr Nina O’Hanlon, study author, said: ‘We downloaded data from at least five individuals at the chip shop.
‘Some of the individuals were making repeated visits.’
The scientists were following herring gulls, which are known for flocking to tourist sites around the UK coast in the summer to scavange for food.
They’re often labelled as a nuisance and there have been calls to control their numbers.
However, the science says this species has actually been in a steep decline.
They’ve been added to the Birds of Conservation Concern Red List because their numbers are down by 48 per cent since 1986.
The study, which was published in the Frontiers in Marine Science, was part of an effort to understand why this decline of herring gulls is happening.
‘Identifying the intertidal areas most favourable to herring gulls and providing effective protection during the non-breeding period could benefit populations,’ the researchers wrote in their paper.
‘For example, through reducing human disturbance, sustainable management of harvesting intertidal invertebrates, and managing conflict between wildlife and shellfisheries, which would likely benefit multiple species using intertidal habitats.’
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