Seagull summit: Does Scotland have a bird problem?

A summit is being held in Inverness later to look at the impact of urban gulls on towns and cities in Scotland.

Businesses, pest controllers and scientific advisers will discuss bird droppings, dive bombing, bin raiding and other common complaints.

It comes after Highland Council set out a plan for problem gulls in Inverness, and Scottish Borders Council heard that birds in Eyemouth were "out of control".

Chaired by Scotland's agriculture minister Jim Fairlie, he will be joined by NatureScot and other conservation groups to consider these problems against a backdrop of declining seabird numbers.

The issue has been extremely controversial and led to the resignation of Scottish government minister Jamie Hepburn after he clashed with former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross.

Gull-related incidents have made news headlines in towns across Scotland.

Last summer The Sun reported that a hockey venue in Inverness had to close temporarily because of the level of mess left by the birds.

Highland Council's measures include using a trained falcon to scare away gulls, spikes and nets to discourage nesting, and ad campaigns to stop people feeding gulls.

Dumfries and Galloway Council has also said it was spending tens of thousands of pounds to combat the issue of "dive-bombing" birds scavenging food in its towns.

And Scottish Borders councillors was told seven children were attacked by herring gulls in the space of a month and left with gashes to their scalps.

In Eyemouth it was reported that gulls were "out of control" and in Aberdeen, there have even been problems with gallous gulls "shoplifting".

Commonly referred to as seagulls, there are several species of gull in Scotland.

The five that breed in urban areas are great black-backed, lesser black-backed, common, black-headed and the herring gull.

Herring gulls, which are often encountered in towns and cities, number about 740,000 birds in the UK, according to the RSPB.

Scotland has half of the British and Irish nesting population, but numbers have fallen by 44%, with the largest decline along the west coast.

The Scottish Seabird Centre says that Herring gulls are now on the UK red list of serious conservation concern - putting them at risk of extinction.

Gulls are naturally a coastal species, but have been drawn into towns due to plentiful places to build nests, a lack of predators and the opportunities to find food.

In their natural habitats - the coast and farmland - the birds eat carrion, seeds, fruits, young birds, eggs, small mammals, insects and fish.

There are other gull species in Scotland, which are more rare, and more than 50 species that breed around the world.

[Source: BBC Scotland]