LAUNCESTON GASTRONOMES AWAKE

The people in governance and those who 'egg them on' are always up for missing an opportunity. Here we are boasting that the city is one where 'gastronomes' preside and set very high standards.

AND here we are winging about something that we should be celebrating. Instead of whining way, those who can afford them, could be wining and dining upon our very own GULLSeggs.

ONEday someone will see the dots and join them and do so for a profit. This years season has been missed no doubt and what a pity. Truffles, abalone, mutton birds, scallops, possum and crayfish indeed!

Seagulls commandeer abandoned ship, bomb Launceston businesses

By Hamish Geale Updated November 28 2023 - 8:20am, first published November 26 2023 - 4:45am

Invermay businesses are being bombarded with seagull poo after mass breeding on a Tamar River shipwreck.

Two of Launceston's biggest retail buildings - Bunnings and The Good Guys - have been among the hardest hit, and there are concerns that the booming seagull population could pose a health hazard to the community.

Launceston businessman Errol Stewart, who has helped develop much of the land surrounding the problem site, said the birds had become a big problem.

"They're just an absolute pest," Mr Stewart said.

"Bunnings is absolutely covered in seagull crap, as is the Good Guys, as is our aircraft hangar - you put a car over there and it'll be covered with seagull crap in 10 minutes.

"The Good Guys store has got significant solar panels on the roof and instead of being black they're white.

"I don't know what the solution is, but they're a problem."

A FERRY GOOD PLACE TO BREED

Authorities have been working for more than five years to stop silver gulls nesting on the derelict Harry O'May, which is tied up opposite Tamar Valley Dairy.

Once a car ferry servicing Bruny Island, the vessel has become home to huge numbers of seagulls, particularly around the August breeding season.

Birdlife Tasmania convener Dr Eric Woehler said the vessel provided an ideal hang-out for the "opportunistic" gulls, which are a protected species.

"It's a convenient nesting platform, but it's also close to the Mowbray tip, so you have food close by as well as a safe nesting spot," he said.

"Because there's water between the ferry and the shore - even at low tide - it means the wreck is basically free of predators.

"So the birds can nest there without the threat of predators taking adults or chicks."

Dr Woehler said groups of seagulls were roosting on ground sites - such as a vacant block near Invermay McDonald's - as well as atop large buildings.

"It's simply a reflection of an increased local population making its presence felt by roosting on rooftops and elsewhere around the city," he said.

Derelict vessels sit along Kings Wharf in the Tamar River. Video by Craig George

WHY CAN'T SOMEONE JUST MOVE THE SHIP?

The Harry O'May is one of several ships that have been left rotting on the Tamar River for decades.

The Examiner revealed last week that legal action is under way concerning four abandoned vessels, including the Harry O'May, as authorities attempt to clean up the waterway.

It remains unclear if, or when, the ships will be moved.

Dr Woehler said it was hard to predict how the gulls would respond should the Harry O'May be relocated, including whether they would stop roosting at Bunnings.

"It's likely... the distance to the nearest food supply would be part of the decision that the birds make as to whether they persist or not," he said.

LASERS COULD SOLVE A BROADER PROBLEM

In the meantime, work continues to dissuade birds from nesting on the ferry.

A range of experiments have been tried in the past five years - periodic loud noises, citronella repellents, moving string lines, and human and drone disturbances - but none have proven successful.

Since early 2022, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has engaged CSIRO to see whether pre-August laser lights would keep gulls from nesting on the ferry.

The birds acclimatised to the lights within 24 hours of both trials to date, but researchers aren't giving up yet.

"We are currently in the process of revisiting the design of the lasers by updating the frequency and rapidity of movement," CSIRO environment research scientist Geoff Tuck said.

"Additional deterrents, notably sound-based interventions, are now being considered as we endeavour to devise a more effective deterrent mechanism."

NOTE: The now decessed owner of the PONRABBEL, Peter Smith, knew how to stop the gulls roosting on his ship. He put several cats on board and the gulls stayed well way. SMARTscientists might do well to talk to the locals who know how to spot the dots and then join them. That's their problem, if they worked at Town Hall they just would not fit in!

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Fortnum & Mason

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Gulls’ Egg season is here, and we’ve got the first batch!

We are proud to present the first batch of gulls' eggs to our Piccadilly Foodhalls. For a brief period in early Spring, strictly limited numbers are handpicked by licensed ‘Eggers’, who abseil the steep cliffs of this sea bird, to find the small delicacies.

A fleeting luxury, gamer than hens’ eggs with a vivid orange yolk and delicate flavour. With the season lasting between three or four weeks, it is a true delight to receive such a wonderful delivery.

Wild gulls' eggs are collected under strict licensing that limits the number of pickers and the number of eggs that can be gathered each day. These regulations ensure the practice is fully sustainable.

Pick up yours today in our famous Foodhalls, or head to The Gallery restaurant to enjoy yours fresh from the cliffs.

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One chef describes the taste of the eggs as the ‘creamiest, richest flavour imaginable, with a subtle lingering aftertaste’. These days, he prefers them soft-boiled with a wild salad and home-made celery salt and, although he gave up collecting when the licences were introduced, he has many friends who still do.

Despite the dwindling number of collectors, gulls’ eggs are more popular than ever, their short season only adding to the allure. James Golding, chef director of The Pig Hotel in Brockenhurst in Hampshire has been serving gulls’ eggs for five years with homemade red celery salt and pickled samphire.

‘There is much more awareness of them now,’ he says, ‘and customers have started asking when they’re going to be in.’ Rex Goldsmith of The Chelsea Fishmonger, whose shop has been selling gulls’ eggs for more than 100 years, sells a few thousand every year, mostly to older customers. ‘They always ask the price and when I tell them they say: “Outrageous—I’ll take two dozen please”.’