Gull problem must be solved at dump; not with garbage nets, biologist says
Have you ever wondered why there are so many gulls around St. John's or how they are able to get through net covers to get at garbage bags?
A local biologist says it just has to do with the Robin Hood Bay and the gull's unique evolution as a scavenger.
"They certainly can learn things," said Ian Jones, a bird biologist at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
"They've learned what a plastic bag looks like, and they can see through the net. They've figured out certain things they can do to get at the garbage under the nets."
Jones said the source of so many gulls in the St. John's area is mainly the Robin Hood Bay landfill, which has been attracting tens of thousands of the birds to the region for decades.
While he isn't sure if the numbers of gulls have actually increased as of late in St. John's, he said there has been a noticeable change in their behaviour in recent years.
"There is concern about gulls in terms of a safety issue at St. John's International Airport," he said. "Large numbers of them are flying through the approach and take-off areas, and the source of these gulls is likely the Robin Hood Bay Landfill."
New practices at the dump could curb local gull population
Exposed garbage at Robin Hood Bay has allowed the gulls to have a virtually endless amount of food, and Jones said scientists have tracked different species coming from as far as Japan and Russia to feed there — with some being recorded returning for consecutive years.
He said while people may not notice any drop in the amount of gulls around town this year, that could change as a result of new measures being taken at the landfill to keep them away.
"These are birds that are coming to Robin Hood Bay several years in a row because it's such a fantastic source of food," he said.
"However, gradually things are being done to make it a less gull-friendly landfill — and that's certainly going to cause the gulls to decline in numbers or go elsewhere."
A similar solution was implemented in Halifax in recent years, which led to a sharp decline in the number of gulls around the city.
Jones said that could happen in St. John's too as the gulls realize that Robin Hood Bay isn't as reliable for source of food as it was previously.
"They're really very hungry, so there's a lot of incentive for them to figure out ways to find trash in various forms," he said.
"Perhaps in a decade or so we'll be dealing with a few hundred gulls instead of a couple of tens of thousands of gulls that are hanging out here now."