Hawk employed to control gull numbers

A hawk is being flown around a city centre twice a week in a bid to control the gull population.

Harris hawk Bella patrols Worcester's historic buildings, some of which are Grade II-listed.

Her owner, Gino Belmonte from GCB Falconry and Pest Solutions, said the aim was to establish territory and get the gulls to move on.

Worcester City Council has tried a number of measures to control the bird numbers over the past few years.

Previously, the council said The Tything, the High Street, Copenhagen Street and Fish Street in the city centre were affected by gulls as well as areas in Diglis and Lower Wick.

People are being woken up early by the screeching, cars and houses are covered in mess and there are more gulls than ever, one councillor said.

Bella the harris hawk flies around Worcester city centre twice a week

Mr Belmonte said Bella was on-site for two hours at a time and while she does not harm the gulls, she encourages them to move elsewhere.

He said: "Every time she flies it creates a bit of a red zone for all these seagulls and pigeons to not want to be in that area so over time you build up territory with the hawk which then makes it less appealing for the pest species to nest or relax in those areas."

The gulls have tried flocking around Bella to scare her off, and Mr Belmonte said in the natural world the hawk would usually move to a safer territory.

But because she is trained to stay with him, Bella will not back down and it is the gulls who will slowly move on instead.

The council has issued advice to property owners in the city centre and has urged people not to feed the gulls or leave food waste for them.

It said the majority of gulls in Worcester are lesser black-backed gulls and herring gulls and they are at their most aggressive and noisy during June, July and August when they are protecting and feeding their chicks.

Measures which have been used previously include swapping real eggs with dummy eggs, helping businesses to "gull-proof" roofs and chimneys using a cherry-picker, as well as removing nests, eggs and chicks.