

From the stack of fries to the swallowing of whole starfish, the gulls are known for their voracious appetites.
However, a scientist was so surprised to see images on Goélands’s social media who eat “strange and wonderful things” that she launched a citizen science project to study their changing food.
The environmentalist of the University of Salford, Dr. Alice, wants people to be able to download their shots of hungry gulls on the project website, Gulls eat things.
“By studying the diet of Gulls, we can know more about their behavior, their role in ecosystems and the pressures they face in a changing world,” she said.
British sea birds are threatened to warm the oceans, overfishing and avian flu.
The seagull populations are declining, with several species on the list of red concerns in the United Kingdom.


Some gulls come to live closer to people, adding human remains to their natural menu of fish, crabs, starfish and earthworms.
Birds can flock to urban areas to find food to feed their chicks during the breeding season, switching to natural diet once their young people have fled.
Alternatively, gulls can count on human remains for a large part of the year as natural food supply decreases.
“The fact is that we really don’t know – there is very little data,” said Dr. Risely.
“This is why we wanted to use this online photo resource to try to help us understand what gulls eat, and if there are models that we can find.”


A particularly striking photograph shows a seagull that eats a puffy baby.
He was taken by scientist Samuel Schmidt during a trip to the Farne Islands in Northumberland.
Get more information on what gulls eat – near people and that the climate is changing – “could be very instructive,” he said.
“The seagull was not malicious; he was hungry,” he added.
Goélands are known to eat other birds, including pigeons.


The United Kingdom is known for its enormous sea birds colonies nest on cliffs – but the populations fall in the middle of a multitude of pressures, climate change in a lack of food.
Gulls are in difficulty in their natural spaces – and certain species, such as gulls and gulls with a lesser black back seek refuge in coastal cities.
There is very little data on the number of urban gulls – but natural populations are regularly monitored, showing big declins.


Three species of seagulls appear on the list of red concerns of the United Kingdom:
- The big black back gull – a very large gull with black wings and a powerful beak that nests around the coast, on cliffs, roofs and islands
- The Common Gull – A medium -sized gull that its name suggests that the nests around the lakes in northern England and Scotland
- The gray back and pod herb seagull.
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