The mysterious disappearance of seagulls from a town in Wales has left locals perplexed in recent weeks. Locals and holidaymakers in Barmouth are used to the regular sight of seagulls cawing and swooping in, eager to swipe a morsel of leftover chips or ice cream from hapless revellers.
But the usually commonplace sight has been absent in recent weeks, with the Gwynedd town reporting that there have been almost no gulls around. The eerie disappearance of swarms of hungry seagulls, normally heard all around the beachfront, has left locals mystified as to what is going on, reports North Wales Live.
“The sound of the seaside is missing,” Barmouth Publicity Association announced on social media recently, and suggested that a nearby outbreak of bird flu might be the reason behind the gulls' vanishing act. In September a three kilometre protection zone was imposed on premises containing chickens and ducks near Arthog, encompassing the outskirts of Barmouth. It was lifted last week but another protection zone has also been imposed near Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire where avian influenza was discovered.
Recently eight dead gulls and a gannett on Black Rock beach in Morfa Bychan were reported to UK ministry Defra. Dead gulls have also been found on Barmouth beach and a cluster was reported on Talybont beach, Ceredigion. Residents in other towns along the Gwynedd coast also claim their gulls have mysteriously disappeared.
It has also been reported that there have been fewer seagulls spotted at other popular spots along the Welsh coast, including in west Wales. But what is the reason for their curious disappearance?
The suggestion that gulls may have come down with avian flu has been doing the rounds, but it's not clear whether this is the case - not least because monitoring following outbreaks has largely focused on domestic birds such as chickens, and there is no surveillance system with wild birds.
Peter Rock, a leading gull expert who has been researching roof-nesting gulls for over 30 years, said there was nothing to suggest that disappearing seagulls in Wales was down to avian flu. "There has been no evidence of avian influenza [in gulls] whatsoever," he said. "It actually seems that the gulls are less prone to catching this. I am speculating as to why, but the gulls are possibly a bit tougher than some of the birds that are susceptible to avian influenza.
"Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) often occurs in rearing farms where chickens, turkeys etc are raised in close proximity. It's possible that because birds are exchanged between one farm and another that biosecurity has not been a good as it could have been. I know everybody wants to blame large birds and that gulls seem to be an ideal candidate, but I've seen no evidence whatsoever.
"There are all sorts of reasons for gulls dying. Old age is not generally one of them. If there had been storms, it's possible, or if birds are eating unsafe discharges."
For Mr Rock, the real reason for gulls' disappearance is likely to be much more easily explained. "It's quite a straightforward answer. Barmouth has got its own population of roof-nesting gulls and an urban gull colony, several of which there are along the coastline. During the summer they are around but now the season is well and truly finished they have no reason to be in town. So they go off to places they know they can get something to eat." Mr Rock explained that, rather than the odd chip or piece of bread they snatch from an unsuspecting tourist, gulls such as the Herring gull commonly seen in coastal areas rely mainly on food sources rooted in agriculture, fishing and from other means and move on when their supply dries up.
He said this was completely normal and nothing to worry about. "The young ones are flying strongly now and the adults are showing them the best places to eat. Around November or early December a few of the adults will trickle back and the season will begin again. Some of them will stay around as it's their home place but they know where the best eating places are along the coast. It could be Aberdovey or Aberystwyth where there are estuaries. It's nice to see that the people of Barmouth are upset about the gulls, but they will return."
Wales has had issues with bird flu in recent years. A Wales-wide protection zone was put in place on November 3, 2021 after the UK saw its largest ever outbreak of bird flu, but this was lifted in August of this year, and outbreaks since have been sporadic. The consensus from experts seems to be that more monitoring is needed of avian influenza cases in wild birds to find out if there is any link to outbreaks. Dr Rachel Taylor, senior ecologist for Wales with the British Trust for Ornithology, a conservation charity, told the BBC that it was "very hard to tell what is happening with herring gulls in Barmouth or elsewhere in Wales.
"But there is an obvious candidate for any decline this year, because we've had unexpectedly extended and major outbreaks of avian flu viruses in seabirds generally," she said. "There certainly have been cases identified in herring gulls and other wild bird species, but there's not enough information, and we can't use it to understand an outbreak in wild birds."
The Environment Department (Defra) and Welsh Government have set out new guidance to land managers, the public and conservation groups to curb the impact of bird flu in wild birds, while protecting health and the countryside. You can read more about that here.
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