Tourist news: developments, initiatives and strategies

[gail.hudson]

Lets hope we get lot's of support for you, We'll be down to take pics this week.  I feel very passionate about the project and if this helps in any way I'm happy.

[Fester]

I have never been against seagulls per se, and I don't detest them as such even now...BUT.
Last year, on the Pier I witnessed several attacks per day by seagulls, some amusing... and some downright nasty.
In fact I even saw them working in teams to ensure they deprived unsuspecting kids of over-priced ice cream etc.

Interesting though it was to watch them, I didn't appreciate it happening to me, which it did about 5 times.

What I did notice, was that on several occasions the guys with the hawks were indeed present on the pier, and it was a VERY effective deterrent.

Apart from being beautiful creatures, the Harris Hawk and the others made sure that the seagulls left visitors unmolested while they ate.
The seagulls wouldn't come within half a mile of them.

[margo]

anything that deters the seagulls from frightening my grandchildren by taking fod out of their hands gets my vote

[Llechwedd]

Where will you be on the 20th?
I've had ice cream cones taken out of my hands in the Happy Valley and on Conwy Quay.

[DaveR]

The Hawks are outside Cafe Culture at the moment.

[Pendragon]

This morning I went down the Quay in Conwy to take some photos of the Coastal Hawk Project birds.  I met the directors Robert Davis and Mike Espley.
Mike and Rob explained that last year the Council encouraged the Project and paid them for 3 months work, the Council also asked them to hand out forms with questions such as "do you think the Coastal Hawk Project has been an effective tool in deterring Seagulls in Rhyl."  308 forms were distributed and 298 forms came back saying YES the project had made a significant difference to the area.  These were the opinions of local people who live in Rhyl.  
The Council however would not acknowledge the results and did not consider them important in the final decision to cut funding?  Mike and Rob both said Phil Rafferty has not entered into any discussion with them regarding the project and the decision was a closed case.  
Rob explained that the Project is also the most humane way to deal with Seagulls as none of the Gulls are actually killed,  the mere sight of the Birds of Prey is enough to put the Gulls off nesting in the area.



My questions are these:

1 Why would the Council pay for the 3 months the project was running in Rhyl, if it was deemed of little or no deterrent.

2 What alternatives can the Council put in place to stop seagull attacks?  

Seagull attacks are increasing and the Council has decided in it's wisdom to do absolutely nothing about this issue.  It's only a matter of time before a child loses an eye or is left traumatized by an attack.  

Pic 1  Scarlet the Snowy Owl
Pic 2  Zazu Bengal Eagle Owl
pic 3  Spirit American Red Tailed Hawk
Pic 4  Jessy the Harris Hawk

Update:  The facebook page now has 204 members.

[Yorkie]

It is a sad fact that if people did not feed the gulls in the first place there would not be any problem.   

In our favourite holiday resort in Portugal there are hundreds of gulls but we have never seen any problems with them.    This may be due to it being a fishing centre and they get plenty of scraps thrown from the fishing boats, or they catch their own food.   ZXZ

[Pendragon]

I remember a friend coming down to Conwy from Preston.   We had chips on the Quay and she started feeding the Seagulls her left overs.  She looked puzzled when I asked her to stop.  Her point was that Pigeons are the nuisance in cities etc and feeding the Seagulls on the beach is all part of the holiday experience.  Most holiday makers are here for a week and then they go never realizing they have added to the problem by feeding the Gulls.

[kitered66]

 As a director of the Coastal Hawks project  i would like to let you all know that the project will be in Conwy all of this weekend  and Llandudno on Tuesday of next week if any body has any questions please feel free to chat to us  but please tell us you use this forum  also please enjoy our beautiful hawks, falcons and owls thank you for all of your comments . the thing that upsets me most is that we will not this year be able to offer any employment to the long term unemployed youth in Llandudno or Conwy  for our training we targe t this group aged between 18 and 24 years old ,who have been inactive for over 6 months , this saddens me greatly    also as north wales relies on tourism as its main industry  if the public get attaked  thay will not holiday here again   we can help , so ca
n you

[DaveR]

Where do the Hawks come from?

[Trojan]

Where do the Hawks come from?

I believe they hatch from eggs Dave. 

[Fester]

You snatched that answer from me, moments before I was typing the very same thing !

[Trojan]

You snatched that answer from me, moments before I was typing the very same thing !

 WWW

[Ian]

You snatched that answer from me, moments before I was typing the very same thing !

A hawkish approach, definitely...



 WWW

[DaveR]

Where do the Hawks come from?

I believe they hatch from eggs Dave. 

I knew I was asking for trouble asking that question.  I meant as in how does a wild bird like a Hawk end up being kept in captivity?