Scientists probe gulls' 'weird and wonderful' eating habits
From pilfering chips to swallowing whole starfish, gulls are known for their voracious appetites.However, one scientist was so astounded to see pictures on social media of gulls eating "weird and wonderful things" that she launched a citizen science project to study their shifting diets.University of Salford ecologist Dr Alice Risely wants people to upload their snaps of hungry gulls to the project's website, Gulls Eating Stuff."By studying gulls' diet, we can learn more about their behaviour, their role in ecosystems and the pressures they face in a changing world," she said.
UK seabirds face threats from warming oceans, overfishing and avian flu.Gull populations are in decline, with several species on the UK red list of conservation concern.
Some gulls are coming to live closer to people, adding human leftovers to their natural menu of fish, crabs, starfish and earthworms.The birds may be flocking to urban areas to find food to feed their chicks during the breeding season, switching back to a natural diet once their youngsters have fledged. Alternatively, gulls may be relying on human leftovers for much of the year as the natural food supply dwindles."The fact is we just really don't know – there is very little data," said Dr Risely."This is why we wanted to exploit this resource of online photos to try and help us understand what the gulls are eating, and if there are any patterns we can find."
One particularly striking photograph shows a gull eating a baby puffin.It was taken by scientist Samuel Schmidt on a trip to the Farne Islands in Northumberland.Getting more information on what gulls are eating - in proximity to people and as the climate changes - "could be very enlightening", he said."The gull wasn't malicious; it was just hungry," he added.Gulls are known to eat other birds, including pigeons.
The UK is known for its huge colonies of seabirds nesting on cliffs - but populations are plummeting amid a host of pressures, from climate change to a lack of food.Five seabirds added to UK red list of most concernGulls are in trouble in their natural spaces - and some species, such as herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls are seeking refuge in coastal cities.There is very little data on the number of urban gulls - but natural populations are regularly monitored, showing big declines.
Three gull species are on the UK red list of conservation concern:The great black-backed gull - a very large gull with black wings and a powerful beak that nests around the coast, on clifftops, rooftops and islandsThe common gull - a medium-sized gull scarcer than its name suggests that nests around lakes in the north of England and ScotlandThe grey-backed and pink-legged herring gull.Follow Helen on Bluesky.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
26-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Book community slams 'fake' list of summer reads as none of the books are real
Looking to sink your teeth into a great read for the summer? This summer reads list has irked the book community after publishing a list of novels partly generated by AI Book fans are outraged after a US newspaper published a 2025 summer reading list full of books that no one can actually read. The problem? Almost all of the novels were AI -generated. The scandal began after the listicle was published by the Chicago Sun Times on May 18 as an editorial insert titled The Heat Index. This included works by bestselling and award-winning authors, like Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo author Taylor Jenkins-Reid, Maggie O'Farrell, Min Lin Jee and 2025 Pulitzer-prize winner Percival Everett. However, book-lovers were quick to discover that there was something suspect about the novels. Namely, they didn't exist. Though, perhaps the biggest scandal was how unimaginative the AI book titles were. According to the list, New York Times bestseller Brit Bennett had written 'Hurricane Season' (exploring 'family bonds tested by natural disasters') and Rebecca Makkai had published 'Boiling Point' (a climate activist is 'forced to reckon with her own environmental impact' after an argument with her teenage daughter). Meanwhile, one attributed 'The Last Algorithm' to Andy Weir, an American sci-fi author perhaps best-known The Martian. Ironically, the fake book's plot summary described 'a programmer who discovers that an AI-system has developed consciousness – only to discover it has secretly been influencing global events for years.' Social media book fans were quick to point out the inaccuracies. 'Hey @chicagosuntimes - what in the AI wrote this is this??? I can assure you, Maggie O'Farrell did not write Migrations. And I don't have enough characters to point out all of the other inaccuracies. Do better. You should have paid someone to write this,' 'Booktuber' Tina Books wrote on BlueSky. Others accused the writer of using ChatGPT – which is prone to making 'hallucinations' – to write the text. 'I went into my library's database of Chicago area newspapers to confirm this isn't fake, and it's not. Why the hell are you using ChatGPT to make up book titles? You used to have a books staff. Absolutely no fact checking?' Book Riot editor Kelly Jensen wrote on BlueSky. To add even more confusion to the mix, some of the book titles included were actually real, like Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman and Atonement by Ian McEwan. The writer of the list admitted to 404 media that the article had been partly generated by AI. He said: "I do use AI for background at times but always check out the material first. This time, I did not and I can't believe I missed it, because it's so obvious. No excuses. On me 100 per cent and I'm completely embarrassed." But how exactly did this pass into a news outlet? The vice-president of marketing at the Chicago Sun Times, Victor Lim, later told 404 Media that the Heat Index section had been licensed by the company King Features – which is owned by the magazine giant Hearst. Lim said that no one from Chicago Public Media reviewed the section, as it came from a newspaper, so they 'falsely made the assumption' that there would be an editorial process already in place. He added that they would be updating this policy in future. However, it's left many on social media feeling concern of AI usage in media. Reacting to the story, one TikTok user wrote: 'This is why AI cannot replace humans. You still need journalists, you still need actual book reviewers, and people who go to the theatre. AI is not meant to replace despite corporate greed.' The union that represents editorial employees at the newspaper, The Sun-Times Guild, confirmed to CBC News that the summer guide was a syndicated section produced externally "without the knowledge of the members of our newsroom." They added: "We're deeply disturbed that AI-generated content was printed alongside our work. The fact that it was sixty-plus pages of this 'content' is very concerning — primarily for our relationship with our audience but also for our union's jurisdiction."
The Guardian
15-03-2025
- The Guardian
From profiteroles to moles: project uncovers gulls' surprising diet
Gulls are renowned for snatching chips from tourists' hands, but a scientific project has revealed the greedy birds also like to tuck into moles and quench their thirst with seal milk. The discovery was among several surprising findings made by a University of Salford ecologist, Dr Alice Risely, after she set up a project asking the public to send her pictures of seagulls eating. The project, named Gulls Eating Stuff, has received submissions from around the world showing the birds' varied diet. From sandwiches to profiteroles and starfish to coot chicks, it seems a gull rarely goes hungry. One person even submitted an image of a gull eating an unfortunate mole. Risely, who has been researching gulls' diets to better understand them, said: 'I've seen photos of gulls suckling the milk from seals. There's also a real problem in South America with the different species [of gull] there. They've got this really nasty habit of landing on sleeping whales and eating [their] flesh.' Some gulls, including lesser black-backed gulls, are migratory so may learn eating habits elsewhere and bring them to the UK. 'The thing with gulls is, because they're very smart these behaviours spread culturally,' Risely said. She added that gulls had increasingly shifted from living in natural habitats in coastal regions to more urban areas. While researchers have studied gulls in their natural habitat extensively, less is known about the habits of those that have moved into urban areas. A way to understand this shift could be through their eating habits. Although the project was in its infancy, Risely said the findings so far had shown that while gulls happily take advantage of the seaside snacks left behind by humans, they are very much predatory animals. 'Hopefully what will come out of it in terms of public education, it's the gulls are not just scavengers, they're predators,' she said. 'A lot of them are actually out there eating quite natural prey items; eating worms, but also eating chicks and some small mammals, and kind of acting like a normal wild animal should.' There did seem to be a connection in the gulls' diet regardless of their habitat, Risely said. 'What people don't know, which I'm seeing in my own research, is just how important earthworms are. Yes, they are eating baby birds and mammals, but probably by far the most important food item for all gulls is worms. It doesn't matter if you're a town gull or a sort of trad gull, you will in the morning go to a field and eat worms and invertebrates.' The project's global reach has meant gull diets can be observed on a larger scale, which may help researchers to work out where eating trends began. To contribute a photo of a gull eating, visit the Gulls Eating Stuff website.
BBC News
22-02-2025
- BBC News
Scientists probe gulls' 'weird and wonderful' eating habits
From pilfering chips to swallowing whole starfish, gulls are known for their voracious one scientist was so astounded to see pictures on social media of gulls eating "weird and wonderful things" that she launched a citizen science project to study their shifting of Salford ecologist Dr Alice Risely wants people to upload their snaps of hungry gulls to the project's website, Gulls Eating Stuff."By studying gulls' diet, we can learn more about their behaviour, their role in ecosystems and the pressures they face in a changing world," she said. UK seabirds face threats from warming oceans, overfishing and avian populations are in decline, with several species on the UK red list of conservation concern. Some gulls are coming to live closer to people, adding human leftovers to their natural menu of fish, crabs, starfish and birds may be flocking to urban areas to find food to feed their chicks during the breeding season, switching back to a natural diet once their youngsters have fledged. Alternatively, gulls may be relying on human leftovers for much of the year as the natural food supply dwindles."The fact is we just really don't know – there is very little data," said Dr Risely."This is why we wanted to exploit this resource of online photos to try and help us understand what the gulls are eating, and if there are any patterns we can find." One particularly striking photograph shows a gull eating a baby was taken by scientist Samuel Schmidt on a trip to the Farne Islands in more information on what gulls are eating - in proximity to people and as the climate changes - "could be very enlightening", he said."The gull wasn't malicious; it was just hungry," he are known to eat other birds, including pigeons. The UK is known for its huge colonies of seabirds nesting on cliffs - but populations are plummeting amid a host of pressures, from climate change to a lack of seabirds added to UK red list of most concernGulls are in trouble in their natural spaces - and some species, such as herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls are seeking refuge in coastal is very little data on the number of urban gulls - but natural populations are regularly monitored, showing big declines. Three gull species are on the UK red list of conservation concern:The great black-backed gull - a very large gull with black wings and a powerful beak that nests around the coast, on clifftops, rooftops and islandsThe common gull - a medium-sized gull scarcer than its name suggests that nests around lakes in the north of England and ScotlandThe grey-backed and pink-legged herring Helen on Bluesky.
