Falconry program takes aim at Thunder Bay downtown seagulls

A program started two years ago to help control the seagull population in a part of Thunder Bay, Ont. appears to be making some strides.

Kym Amonson was hired by the Waterfront District Business Improvement Association to try and thin out the number of gulls nesting on roofs in the city's downtown north core.

Droppings on the ground, property damage even attacks on people were among the reasons the business group called in help to get the birds under control.

"It's when [the seagulls] start to have their young when they become very aggressive," said Amonson. "It's just natural instinct for them, just as it would be for any human parents to be protective of their young."

The downtown north core overlooks Lake Superior, where many gulls nest, Amonson said, making the nearby area very attractive.

"When [seagulls] find an area that is perfectly suited to them for nesting ... where there's no predation going on, nobody's really disturbing them, they'll keep nesting there year after year and their young will return to that same spot."

Multi-pronged approach

While Amonson has two trained birds of prey at her disposal a Peregrine Falcon and a Harris's Hawk she said there's much more that goes into thinning out the seagulls than simply turning her birds loose.

They're primarily used to harass the gulls, making them less comfortable setting up a nest in the downtown. Pyrotechnics are also used.

"We're not necessarily there to kill them out of the sky or anything like that," she said. "It's just [the predatory birds's] presence, being there on a regular basis is enough to establish that 'OK, maybe this isn't a very safe spot.'"

Sterilizing the seagulls's eggs in the nest, or even planting fake ones, controls the number of chicks that are then born, she added. Later in the year, once no young hatch, the nests are removed. Over 600 eggs have been removed over the past few years, she said.

Seagulls are protected under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, which restricts the steps that can be taken to ward them off.

The goal isn't to cull the seagulls, Amonson said, adding that they're very intelligent birds that, as scavengers, play a useful environmental role.

Business lobby pleased

The decision to control the gulls, while expensive, continues to be worth it, said Jim Comuzzi, the chair of the Waterfront District BIA.

"We're really trying to promote, rather than driving up to the door, to have some kind of walkability in this downtown area," he said. "It's, I believe, money well-spent."

Comuzzi added that the area is also cleaner.

"I believe that it's been a huge success, even if you're looking at the canopies, and the sidewalks and the windows," that are less blemished.