Gulls are a traditional part of seaside environments but there s concern about their increasing presence in urban areas.
Seagulls nesting on roof.
As far as the legal side of different species of birds nesting goes it is best for you to ring your local council as they will know exactly whether you can remove the nest or not.
Seeing as how you re not allowed to remove birds from your roof once they ve made themselves at home your only option is to prevent them from entering in the first place.
It is wind protected warm and also high up.
When we work with homeowners with birds nesting in their roof first of all we must consider that it is illegal to disturb or destroy an active nest.
Either the chimney pot itself or the slope of the roof connecting with the chimney is the perfect place for birds to make it home.
Prevent birds from nesting in your roof.
However these birds also love living in areas where there is plenty of moss and seaweed for building nests for laying eggs during their breeding season which is usually during the months of july and august.
We have seen roof nests over 8 stories above the ground.
Seagulls will roost on the highest points of a roof usually the ridge chimneys or along the highest flat roof.
The lingering presence of seagulls will damage roofs due to dislodged tiles and debris that are stuck on the drains.
But special rules do apply if a nest is discovered during renovation or repair work.
Seagulls are at their noisiest during the nesting season which is april to july.
Seagull droppings contain strong acids that can corrode boats and damage the exterior of establishments.
Problem is with seagulls nesting on roofs is the fault of archeitects designing and building flats with flat roofs and other buildings with flat roofs if buildings had pitched roofs then the gulls would not nest on buildings.
You can also take steps to prevent them from returning if you ve had problems in the past.
Since the 1940s some herring and lesser black backed gulls have used rooftops for nesting.
Gull nesting season generally begins in mid april and goes through late june or july and roof nesting is most common if you have a flat roof.
When seagulls are nesting they will pick up anything that they can use including lit cigarette butts.
Any large expanse of roof including houses flats and warehouses could potentially offer nice protected sites for gulls to go and nest on.
If you are able to prevent seagulls from landing on these areas they will often leave the property for good.
It s important to know whether gulls may be setting up shop to nest up on your roof so that you can manage them safely and humanely.