Lately I've seen a about 3-5 dead seagulls in one group each a hand span away from the next dead on the side of the highway, they looked unharmed as in not run over

Today I saw another on the ramp leading onto the highway, he was a large beautiful adult but again looked like he simply dropped dead and wasn't hit.

Is there a disease going around, are they being poisoned, is the heat getting to them? I'm really curious as to why I'm seeing so many dead ones.
Right where that one died there is a huge man-made pond on the other side of a fence so I doubt they were thirsty.

It's just very sad.

How awful! I suspect they have been poisoned since they have been found dead at the same time and in close proximity.

I know seagulls are not popular but I like them. I can imagine how distressing it was for you to see them like this.

I know seagulls eat a variety of food that probably isn't good for them, I wonder if someone threw something on the side of the road which killed so many of them, it is possible since they looked like they gathered to eat, but I wonder what that food could be.

I don't know, since I saw the other isolated case too I wonder if it's poisoning but I sure hope there aren't any poisoning programs for birds here, it's enough seeing the widespread use of those yucky spikes for pigeons which is just ridiculous on store signs and malls ..etc.

It's never easy to see any animal killed, no matter what as you said Jax&Paddy

It's odd that you have brought this up Bella. I've seen a number of dead seagulls myself on the roads around town. The ones I saw however didn't appear to have just dropped out of the air and died. They looked like they'd been there awhile and some where crushed by traffic. One was definitely a juvenile with the brown spots on it's feathers.

This is a bad time of year to see many creatures on the roads dead.

That's the thing, I never saw any juvies dead, just the lovely fully adult feathered large birds, even larger than the ones I normally see at the mall parking lots.
Some of them looked as if they were sleeping, and their bodies totally unharmed which almost made me wonder if they were alive but it wasn't likely.

It is very sad, sure hope no one is poisoning them on purpose, that would be terrible!!
Is west nile still a problem around here, Brad? Have seagulls ever been affected, just wondering.

Sea Gulls are a protected species in Canada. Probably falls under the migratory bird act. I doubt that anyone would deliberately poison or shoot them. The fines are pretty heavy.

Yeah that's true. Poor birdies.

I didn't know seagulls were not popular with some people. Here in France I never see any as we are far from the coast but in Montevideo they are a common sight. I never heard anyone complain about them as some people do about the pigeons.
Could the death of those seagulls be due to some kind of illness epidemic, I wonder. If large numbers are affected surely the authorities will look into it, a postmorten examination should explain the reason for their death.
Poor birds, I hope it is not something done on purpose by some sick energumen.
I can imagine your feelings at this sad sight TTT; I'm sorry this should have happened around you.
Gladys

Hi Bella,

Crows and corvids seem to be one of the more vulnerable birds affected by west nile but I haven't heard anything recently about how circumstances and incidences are playing out this year in the bird community overall. There's been nothing mentioned that I've heard in the news.

Dave, gulls are protected birds here in Canada because they are indigenous species, but gulls are not well liked birds at all. Crows, gulls, pigeons, sparrows, starlings among several other native and non native species are considered pests birds. I would never doubt or question whether or not some sicko was out poisoning birds. I don't know if this is the case here though, I'm sure local incidents could certainly be possible.

The dead gulls I saw, looked like they'd been there awhile and were in various stages of decomposition and decay. I just chalk up what I've seen to summer activities and more bird activity around in general. I don't think the things I've seen have any connection to the dead gulls that Bella has seen.

I reckon that Seagulls here have a much worse reputation than pigeons. Dundee has a lot of them being a coastal city and even thought they are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 the council has licence to use control methods, including culling where there is no non-lethal solution. There has been a lot of press recently about a barbaric act carried out by council pest control workers that is much too upsetting to mention here. There are a lot of people who do like gulls and are understandably outraged by these actions, myself included, but sadly the council officials are defending their workers for their inhumane actions. It appears that having 'licence' means that they can use this to kill birds in any way they see fit.

With regard to what TTT has witnessed, I still think this has been either an act of poisoning by an individual/s or as TTT said that they have eaten something harmful at the side of the road that has resulted in an immediate acute death. I think that if this had been a disease epidemic of some kind the deceased gulls wouldn't have all died at the same time in such close proximity and there would be more of them being found this way reported.

What Brad said is very true, Seagulls do not have a good reputation here and they're regarded as "pests" as all the other species he mentioned, which is very sad.

In places where they are less common and near the beach the sight of a seagull is so very welcoming and a signal of land or water near by, but not here in the city where there are tons of them nesting and flocking almost anywhere.

Regardless we always try to get away with feeding a bit to the seagulls when no one is looking, especially the young ones

Should would like to know what is killing the Gulls!! That is so darn sad!!

Wonder if anyone has sent or taken a carcass for a necropsy??

Love and Hugs
Shi

It's kind of funny isn't it, the name " sea gull " is hardly appropriate anymore. There are thousands of them that live inland and probably never see the sea. They are great scavengers though, I often see people throwing scraps in the air and them catching it on the wing.

All this info about seagulls is new to me, both about people's dislike for them and their presence inland away from the sea. The seagulls I know are those I see when walking along the sea in Montevideo and they are a pleasant sight perching on the rocks or diving into the sea. People take pics of them.
Gladys

I live in New Jersey and I have noticed the same thing this past week. On the road in groups of two or more. It is so sad and so erie. I already alerted the EPA and DEP and COA. I hope it does not have anything to do with the oil spill and the disperseantd they used. I have lived by the ocean my whole life and have NEVER seen anything like this. If you have any updates I would love to hear about them. I will also keep you updated when I find anything out over here state side.

Hi Lp1029 and welcome to the group!

Sorry that you were brought here to divulge bad news though. This thread was from last year however and in my area, I haven't seen any dead gulls around. In fact the opposite, they seem to be thriving as normal.

Can you or do you want to tell us something about yourself? If so, here's the forum to introduce yourself.

http://pigeonchat.forumakers.com/f18-introduce-yourself