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The Ubiquitous Gull crap

Started by D.L. , Aug 01 2008 03:59 PM

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48 replies to this topic

#1 D.L.

Member
7,786 posts

Posted 01 August 2008 - 03:59 PM

Is anyone else getting fully disgusted by all the seagull crap coating the city? It's all over sidewalks, roads, vehicles and buildings. Last week I was driving up Johnson street and the entire road was speckled in crap. Now that we have had some rain it has washed some of the crap away, but the damp streets have started emitting a foul odor from the crap as the sun comes out. Talk about gross! Should we really be putting up with this, or is there some sort of final solution to the seagull problem??

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#2 Pyroteknik

Member
92 posts

Posted 01 August 2008 - 05:14 PM

too funny, this has been bothering me also. The stuff is everywhere and it looks awful. Isn't there some kind of sound device that can keep them clear of downtown? I heard that there was a device in use at the Ogden Point cruise ship terminal, but that Environment Canada has told the harbour authority not to use it because it is within a migratory bird sanctuary.

Let's move the device to downtown!

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#3 Holden West

Va va voom!

Member
9,058 posts

Posted 01 August 2008 - 05:19 PM

It's really bad in Chinatown and the Design District, probably due to the amount of restaurant garbage and proximity to the water. And these birds don't leave behind little pigeon poops, either. They let go with massive S-bombs that can instantly cover a car or sidewalk cafe table from end to end. It looks like a water bomber releasing its load over a forest fire.

"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

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#4 Mike K.

Administrator
83,455 posts

Posted 01 August 2008 - 05:24 PM

Gulls fear movement, so little windmills on rooftops could keep them at bay ...but only when it's windy.

Anyways, try this for yourself. Next time you see a gull raise your hands up and wave them about. The gull will instantly notice you and either back away or take off.

Know it all.
Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.

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#5 Caramia

Member
3,835 posts

Posted 01 August 2008 - 05:33 PM

There is a reason people call them sky-rats. Funny thing too because when you think of island or coastal life, there is this romantic notion of the white seagull as part of the landscape...

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

Rodents with wings. And don't even get me started on doves....

Still, when all is said and done, they are part of this place, and do add something (besides **** and property damage) to the natural environment. I can share.

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#6 D.L.

Member
7,786 posts

Posted 01 August 2008 - 05:47 PM

I came home one day towards the end of May and found that the kitchen window in my apartment was covered in crap. The window doesn't open and I live on the top floor so there's no easy way to clean it. Normally I have to wait until the next wind and rain storm for the crap to get cleaned off. But of course we didn't get any wind and rain all through June, so everytime I was washing my dishes I had to look out over the city through this bird crap! Finally I decided to get a scrub brush on a long handle, lean out one of my other windows about eight feet away and reach over to the kitchen window to clean the crap off. It worked well. Of course a week later and there's new crap on my window.

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#7 martini

Member
2,670 posts

Posted 01 August 2008 - 05:55 PM

Sorry, but I'm laughing out loud here!

I too was noticing the plethora of poop downtown.

Edited to add:

Does anyone recall a couple of years ago, an air conditioning repair man was attacked by nesting seagulls?
Some issue about not removing the nest because they are marine birds?
Meanwhile the offices where in inferno in the middle of summer.

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#8 Ms. B. Havin

Member
5,052 posts

Posted 01 August 2008 - 09:05 PM

Oh boy... Sky-rats, eh? Another name is "****-hawks"...

Dylan, I feel for you. One of my windows is pooped over and I can't clean it without risking life and limb on a ladder or paying Victoria Window Cleaners... By now it's probably bonded with the storm window glass, never to come off... Grrr...

When you buy a game, you buy the rules. Play happens in the space between the rules.

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#9 gumgum

Member
7,069 posts

Posted 01 August 2008 - 09:25 PM

It was the worst when I lived in James Bay. Awful. There were at least a hundred that nested on top of the nursing home behind my townhouse complex.
Before the crack of dawn every morning they'd *CRAWK* and *CROWL* for ages keeping the entire vicinity awake, until they ****ed off to the nearest beach, or to the next dumpster to leave us humans in our slumber for the next hour or two.

Still. I have an odd affection for the bird. You can't fault them for their resilience. And they are beautiful.

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#10 Newlywednotnearlydead

Member
187 posts

Posted 01 August 2008 - 10:15 PM

It's really bad in Chinatown and the Design District, probably due to the amount of restaurant garbage and proximity to the water. And these birds don't leave behind little pigeon poops, either. They let go with massive S-bombs that can instantly cover a car or sidewalk cafe table from end to end. It looks like a water bomber releasing its load over a forest fire.

That's why I hate seeing people feeding sea gulls and pigeons, those things can scavenge enough food on their own. People toss them leftovers so they can get stuffed, then crap all over the place. I love coming out of a store to see a massive splatter of bird poop all over my windshield...

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#11 davek

Member
670 posts

Posted 02 August 2008 - 07:40 AM

I know its illegal to kill them, but I have it on good authority that they taste somewhat like a cross between a bald eagle and a spotted owl.

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#12 D.L.

Member
7,786 posts

Posted 02 August 2008 - 09:36 AM

lol

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#13 Mike K.

Administrator
83,455 posts

Posted 02 August 2008 - 12:15 PM

UVic rabbits vs. downtown seagulls.

Place your bets.

Know it all.
Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.

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#14 Nparker

Member
40,665 posts

Posted 02 August 2008 - 01:23 PM

Perhaps some sort of "uber-bunny" can be bred that only eats seagulls, then after it has had its fill it goes somewhere quietly and dies. Vive-versa is OK as well, though heaven help us from the gull droppings then.

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#15 Holden West

Va va voom!

Member
9,058 posts

Posted 02 August 2008 - 01:29 PM

Run for your lives!

"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

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#16 Holden West

Va va voom!

Member
9,058 posts

Posted 03 August 2008 - 04:45 PM

Over rocks and trees and sand
Soaring over cliffs
And gently floating down to land
She proudly lifts her voice
To sound her mating call
And soon her mate responds by singing
Caw Caw Caw
Come with me

Lesbian Seagull

Settle down and rest with me

Fly with me lesbian seagull

To my little nest by the sea
With me that's where you belong with me
I know I can be strong when you're with me
She skims the water
At the new time to seek
Her fish and she emerges
With one squirming in her beak

She plays among the waves
And hides between the swells
She walks the beach at twilight

Searching for some shells
Come with me

Lesbian Seagull

Settle down and rest with me

Oh fly with me lesbian seagull

To my little nest by the sea

With me that's where you belong with me
I know I can be strong when you're -- you're with me

And in the evening
As they watch the setting sun
She loooks at her as if to say
The day is done
It's time to find their shelter

Hidden in the dunes

And fall asleep the
Music of the moon
You and me

Lesbian seagull

You just watch the world oh my

Just you and me lesbian seagull

Side by side with me 'till we die
('Till we die)
You and I
We can make it if we try
Our love will keep us flyin' high

Until we die...

"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

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#17 victorian fan

Member
1,923 posts

Posted 03 August 2008 - 06:22 PM

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#18 Baro

Member
4,317 posts

Posted 03 August 2008 - 07:37 PM

We have a seagull that knocks on our doors or windows very loudly and with the same rhythm as a human when he wants food. He'll sometimes even come in the house when you open the door!