Overview
- The Great Easter Egg Hunt in Inverness, held Friday and Saturday, saw 16 reports of adult gulls swooping and in some cases striking families, which organisers described as coordinated.
- Highland Council has opened an online form for people to log dates, locations, and descriptions of gull encounters to spot patterns and hotspots.
- The council says the reports will steer targeted, lawful, non-lethal deterrents, given it is illegal to harm birds or disturb nests under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
- Officials note aggressive flights often stem from nest defence or food scavenging during breeding season, so each behaviour needs a different fix.
- Inverness and nearby Nairn have faced years of gull conflicts, with residents flagging trouble spots like Fraser Park, and a new pilot plan aims to map impacts and guide future management.