Item — HN Reader

I went to university by the sea in a town known for its pterodactyl-like seagulls. Not only were the sculptures ineffective the real hawks they hired to scare the gulls apparently got turfed out by them!

You could always tell who the freshers were on sight, they were the only people who didn't know you don't eat outside without suitable cover.

3 comments

> real hawks they hired to scare the gulls apparently got turfed out by them

Lots of raptors, especially falcons, are essentially specialised sprint predators and won't pick a fight with another bird any more than a cheetah would try to fight a hyena.

Pigeons are rats of the air and seagulls are hyenas of the air. Sounds about right. And Canada geese are cobra chickens.

Interestingly, pigeons fly fast and in a straight race can outfly many falcons. The falcons rely on a very fast stoop from above, slamming talons-first into the target bird hard enough to break its neck or even decapitate it.

Dinosaurs never really went away, they just Moore's law'd themselves.

It doesn't take a lot of effort to research potential predator/competitors for seagulls and then hold trials on what works. There's a lot of options, and if the gang doesn't seem intimidated by your choice of predators, invent one.

I'm sure this would be a very interesting project for any student!

Unless you're reintroducing a native species to the area or providing habitat for existing-but-endangered species, you're probably going to raise the wrong kind of eyebrows with that kind of research.

These researchers say they're rooting for the birds after all.

Humans have a long history of solving small problems by introducing bigger problems re: introducing non native species.

I was thinking about little resin sculptures of birds. Not living creatures.

I'm rooting for the birds too, but I'd also like humans to stop putting metal spikes on stuff.