View Full Version : Scorrie attack!
Marty McFly
02-Jul-06, 22:42
Looking for some bright spark to come up with a solution to a wee problem.
Imagine you have a nest on your roof, and two young scorries have fallen out...one lands in your front garden, and the other lands in the back garden. The mother is going crazy trying to protect them both, and so attacks anything that moves!
It's bad enough to have the squawking 24 hours a day, and the mess all over the garden, car, and our clothes, but it is now impossible to leave the house without being attacked.
Any suggestions gratefully received! :confused
connieb19
02-Jul-06, 22:45
Seeing as you're not allowed to kill them, the only thing you can do is have an umbrella up when you go out. Pain in the neck I know!![evil] I have a friend with the same problem.
Call the SSPCA to remove them.
connieb19
02-Jul-06, 22:46
Call the SSPCA to remove them.The SSPCA wont remove them.:(
as they are a possible threat to you can they not be removed?
Why not? the young are at risk whilst on the ground and unable to defend themselves.
you could get a piece of bread cover with carbonated soda but the only problem we that is that the scorrie will explode and you dont want that so wait till dark go out with a blanket over your head and hope for the best
Marty McFly
02-Jul-06, 22:51
They're a threat alright. Using an umbrella to get to & from our car just now to protect ourselves, but its not easy trying to manage with a baby and messages etc.
All the SSPCA said was to wait a week and they'll go away...that's not going to happen.
connieb19
02-Jul-06, 22:52
Why not? the young are at risk whilst on the ground and unable to defend themselves.They wouldn'd remove them from my pals house. They come back and nest in the same place every year too, and the young ones from last year are back nesting too. The prolem is getting worse and there is nothing she can do about it. Maybe people should stop feeding them so they will go back and nest on the cliffs where they belong.[mad]
What about the council then as they are a hazardous pest?
connieb19
02-Jul-06, 22:53
They're a threat alright. Using an umbrella to get to & from our car just now to protect ourselves, but its not easy trying to manage with a baby and messages etc.
All the SSPCA said was to wait a week and they'll go away...that's not going to happen.A week!!! That's a joke, wait till next year and you'll have double the trouble when the young ones come back to nest too..:(
connieb19
02-Jul-06, 22:54
What about the council then as they are a hazardous pest?It is illegal to remove them..
Give porshie a call hear she is good we birds .
Borrow a big dog to chase em???
Marty McFly
02-Jul-06, 22:59
Give porshie a call hear she is good we birds .
Might be an idea!!!
Cedric Farthsbottom III
02-Jul-06, 23:01
Its not a cure for this year Marty,but to solve the problem for next year.Get a toy cat and put it where the Scorries have made their nest.It works a treat and scares them off.
willowbankbear
02-Jul-06, 23:02
Ill lend ye my slug gun, if ye want[evil]
Marty McFly
02-Jul-06, 23:21
Not sure if the big dog, the toy cat, or the slug gun is the answer, but thanks for all the suggestions!
Think I'm gonna try to capture the one at the front, and put it out the back with the other baby. Then maybe the mother will ignore the front of the house completely. Then again, maybe not!
dont forget your hard hat!!!!!!!!
changilass
02-Jul-06, 23:31
Good luck, mind and let us know what happens:D
Bingobabe
02-Jul-06, 23:31
I hate scorries its my biggest phobia!!!! I have been dive bombed more than a few times. They nest at a house across the road from me and its a nightmare walking in that direction. The only thing i do is flap my arms and run like the clappers!!!!Not ideal but i am a wimp!!!
Hmm, there was something on the telly the other week about Environmental Health Officers going onto rooftops to shoot the eggs of nesting seagulls.
If these are causing a nuisance have you tried your EH dept?
One of my memories of my last few years in Wick were the ruddy gulls nesting on roofs - and the racket at 3 or 4 in the morning!!!
We have crows nesting in nearby trees and they are bad enough, but those scorries.....:rolleyes:
connieb19
02-Jul-06, 23:42
I watched a programme where they were replacing the eggs in the nest with boiled eggs, this way the scorrie kept sitting on the eggs waiting for them to hatch rather than breeding again, which they would have done if the eggs had just been destroyed.:confused
the best suggestion was to put the baby seagull in the front to the back with the other one. of course the bird is going mad flapping about, wouldnt any mother. please dont be cruel to birds.
i had 2 blackbird babies fall out of the nest and put them nearby and the mother looked after them there and in a few days they flew off together.
Margaret M.
03-Jul-06, 01:18
please dont be cruel to birds.
I love all birds but I think the scorrie is one of the most beautiful. I know this situation is an inconvenience but it is short term. Good luck, Marty.
'scuse my h'ignorance - what's a scorrie and why are they protected? My guess is that they are jackdaws? If so, don't understand why they are protected - especially in this age of bird flu possibility.
Solution? Go out at night, drop a blanket over each one, pop 'em in the boot and drive them round to the Councillor's house. Stick 'em in his/her garden and scarper.:D
candyfloss
03-Jul-06, 09:18
We've got scorries on our roof too, i'm not to sure if they've got youngs ones up there,and they hav'nt started attacking us yet :eek: but what a racket they make day and night [evil]
'scuse my h'ignorance - what's a scorrie and why are they protected? My guess is that they are jackdaws? If so, don't understand why they are protected - especially in this age of bird flu possibility.
Solution? Go out at night, drop a blanket over each one, pop 'em in the boot and drive them round to the Councillor's house. Stick 'em in his/her garden and scarper.:D
Ricco, a "Scorrie" is a sea gull and yes as far as know they are a protected species
To be honest, scorries are a pest. They are vermin just like rats. Why they are protected is beyond me. It's not as if they are an endangered species and should be treated as if they are. Look at places like Cornwall where the birds will swoop down to steal food from your hands.
I'm sure if a scorrie attacked a child there would be public outrage.
I noticed a lot of spikes, kinda like upright nails around a friend's chimney. when i asked what it was for, she replied, to stop the scorries nesting. And it worked. she does not have any this year. worth a try for next year perhaps?
Looking for some bright spark to come up with a solution to a wee problem.
Imagine you have a nest on your roof, and two young scorries have fallen out...one lands in your front garden, and the other lands in the back garden. The mother is going crazy trying to protect them both, and so attacks anything that moves!
It's bad enough to have the squawking 24 hours a day, and the mess all over the garden, car, and our clothes, but it is now impossible to leave the house without being attacked.
Any suggestions gratefully received! :confused
Put one of the babies with the other: mother limited to one section of the garden, either front or back.
To catch the baby, throw a towel over it. The babies pecking does not hurt, but wear gloves if you want.
I watched a programme where they were replacing the eggs in the nest with boiled eggs, this way the scorrie kept sitting on the eggs waiting for them to hatch rather than breeding again, which they would have done if the eggs had just been destroyed.:confused
Another solution is to make a hole with a needle in the egg shell, leaving the egg on the nest. That way the embryo does not develop.
By the way, not all scorries are protected. The ordinary everyday rat of the sea scorrie is not a protected species, however it is illegal and questionable on moral grounds to inflict pain or suffering on the birds. I cannot remember which ones are protected, but for some reason black back scorrie springs to mind??????
Just checked on the RSPB site - they say that all wild birds are protected by law, so that closes that particular door.
Me, I would just bag 'em up and move them elsewhere. You aren't harming them and you are removing the potential health hazard.
I like the idea of the spikey things. They are used a lot round here to keep pigeons off ledges, etc. Like a sheet with loads of long spines that point up. You fix it to the surface you want to protect and the birds cannot land because of the spines.:Razz
They are anti-roosting devices and you can buy them -
http://www.gullstop.co.uk/default.asp
Or get one of these -
http://birdcontrol.net/html/Hawkkite.htm
Or take up Falconry......;)
cuddlepop
03-Jul-06, 14:07
Marty best of luck.Think the others have come up with the best suggestion pf trying to put both young together.The spikes on top of the chimney is a good idea for next year.
I know their protected species but it must be impossible to try and live with them on your roof.You have my sympathy
Marty, I am so sorry to hear about the terrible accident which occurred to the young scorries during tonight! ;)
Oops, sorry Marty, am I a day early!
pulteney person
03-Jul-06, 18:32
Where are all these vicious scorries everyone talks about?
All the ones I see in Pulteney seem a bit on the tame side, some even eat out of your hand.
Seriously, I do know that some people have had trouble with them but all around here they seem ok.
And as for the 'young' ones coming back the next year to breed, that is so not true.
Scorries are SEVERAL YEARS old before they breed. They are a speckled brown colour for about 3 - 4 years before they start turning grey and white and don't breed for a while after that.
And to end on a happy note. Herring Gulls live for about 30 years so keep the umbrellas handy!!!
Just pick the chicks up at night and chuck them back on the roof. It's a wonder they haven't been killed by dogs.
tiggertoo
03-Jul-06, 21:13
the seaguls willny attak u, they'll joos swoop doon low, to scare u away, u should hae a heart an d put the young scorries together in ur back garden the seaguls will look after them untill they can fly. i have lots of seaguls nesting at my work and ive been watching the eggs as they hatch and and seein and handling the young scorries as the grew bigger and some are now just starting to fly and havn,t been attacked by any seaguls, it has been good to watch everyday from the egg untill they learn to fly, they might be a nuicence to most people but the have as much right to be on this planet as us
peedie man
03-Jul-06, 21:27
scorries do a great job cleaning up the streets of old chips, ect
the seaguls willny attak u, s
Tell that to the hole in my head!
tiggertoo
03-Jul-06, 23:21
scorries do a great job cleaning up the streets of old chips, ecti if us dirty humans didnay thro oor rubbish oot on e streets and a thi fishermen didnae dry oor seas o fish the seaguls widna need tae come inland
Dog-eared
04-Jul-06, 00:03
scare them off with plastic owls on your roof. available from ship's chandlers.ie gael force or caley marina , both inverness, will post.
yachties use them to keep scorries from messing their boats.
Marty McFly
04-Jul-06, 15:52
Was gonna take my life in my hands and go with my original idea of moving one of the baby scorries to the back of the house beside the other one.
But when I went to move it, it had already decided to wander off into a neighbouring disused driveway that runs the full length of our house.
The result is they're both at the back, separated by our garden wall, and the mother can see them both at the same time. Phew!
Thanks for all your suggestions!
changilass
04-Jul-06, 15:56
Was gonna take my life in my hands and go with my original idea of moving one of the baby scorries to the back of the house beside the other one.
But when I went to move it, it had already decided to wander off into a neighbouring disused driveway that runs the full length of our house.
The result is they're both at the back, separated by our garden wall, and the mother can see them both at the same time. Phew!
Thanks for all your suggestions!
Nice to hear its sorted, glad you can finally come out of the house again without fear of being attacked:D
Cedric Farthsbottom III
04-Jul-06, 15:56
Where are all these vicious scorries everyone talks about?
All the ones I see in Pulteney seem a bit on the tame side, some even eat out of your hand.
Seriously, I do know that some people have had trouble with them but all around here they seem ok.
And as for the 'young' ones coming back the next year to breed, that is so not true.
Scorries are SEVERAL YEARS old before they breed. They are a speckled brown colour for about 3 - 4 years before they start turning grey and white and don't breed for a while after that.
And to end on a happy note. Herring Gulls live for about 30 years so keep the umbrellas handy!!!
Just pick the chicks up at night and chuck them back on the roof. It's a wonder they haven't been killed by dogs.
Pultneytoon Scorries Warning......Top o' Kinnairdy going towards the street!!!
I absolutely hate scorries! I got splattered the other week in Wick by two young ones.....both scored a direct hit......going down that little alley way from Wares Lane to the Mart car park. To add insult to injury, their droppings are two tone.....so my black fleece got huge white "decorations" all down the front and my trousers and shoes got the greeny-brown bit......so MUCH of the filthy stuff! Good thing I was on my way home! Wouldn't want to go shopping like that!
The only good thing I could see about it was that their droppings don't smell.......just imagine if it was a flying dog or pig!!!!!!! :grin:
Glad yu got it sorted, Marty.
Protected species indeed, next they'll be protecting sewer rats!
scare them off with plastic owls on your roof. available from ship's chandlers.ie gael force or caley marina , both inverness, will post.
yachties use them to keep scorries from messing their boats.
The flat roofed building across from where I work have revolving plastic owls. Honestly the scorries still nest around it, and when it starts whirring they don't even look anymore. Think it may hove worked at the start, but not now they know nothing will happen to them. Different on a boat mind coz it's always moving, but it's static on the roof so they soon suss it oot.
pulteney person
04-Jul-06, 21:29
I don't know how anyone could hate the Herring Gulls. Don't you all think they are beautiful with their snow white underparts and light grey uppers. they are so graceful, gliding along on the wing.
And you just CANNOT have an excuse for sleeping in between April and September because it is just not possible with your early morning wake up call from Mr and Mrs Herring Gull and all for free. What more could you want?
And I must say, they do a better job of cleaning the pavements than the workers. No chips, crisps, takeaway food etc left behind with the Herring Gulls. It's all gone. How could anyone compare them to rats, I don't know. At least they clear up the thrown away fast food on the streets instead of leaving it for the rats from the riverside to come up and have a feast!
I could see the point if people were complaining about those horrible ugly starlings that are always squacking and making a mess of peoples washing. Starlings are so greasy looking.
Now someone will write in defence of the starlings. lol :D :roll:
Dont even get me started on this one.!!! :mad:
I HATE SCORRIES!!!!
If people wouldnt feed them inland they would have to go back to the harbours where they belong.......
Rant over now!! :grin:
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