Baby gulls rescued after falling, jumping from nests in heat wave
A B.C. wildlife rescue centre is trying to help 18 baby seagulls after they jumped or fell from their rooftop nests during a recent heat wave.
Gulls nest on rooftops, which offer safety from ground predators like rats, minks and coyotes, but during heat waves, those homes can be dangerous or even deadly for baby gulls who haven't yet learned to fly, the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C. said.
"What that means is that sometimes they jump off prematurely and end up in the downtown corridor," said Jackie McQuillan, manager of the charity's support centre in Burnaby, B.C.
The centre, on Burnaby Lake's south shore, helps care for wild animals in and around the Lower Mainland. About 18 young gulls are there now, following a spike in calls during prolonged high temperatures earlier this month.
Nearly 20 baby seagulls were rescued after they jumped off roofs during a recent heat wave, rescuers say. (Simon Gohier/CBC)
"Rooftops become dangerously hot, so gull chicks will prematurely jump from their rooftop nest or can burn the bottoms of their feet," said McQuillan.
The gulls, who learn to fully fly when they are about six weeks, are only around a few weeks old, McQuillan said. They will be nursed back to health and rehabilitated into the wild.
SEE ALSO: Honey, I'm hot! What summer heat does to honeybees
Edward Kroc, a quantitative ecologist at the University of B.C., said baby gulls can't control their body temperatures before they've properly developed feathers.
"Depending on the type of roof that they're nesting on, there might not be much shade," he told CBC News. "There might not be anywhere to kind of just be protected from the elements in general.
"This is where we might see these younger gulls try to find some kind of refuge from the sun. And that often happens by jumping and trying to get somewhere else."
Rescuers and ecologists said it is against the law to disturb seagull nests, and that people should keep their distance from baby birds. (Simon Gohier/CBC)
Anyone who sees a young gull on the ground is asked to contact the wildlife rescue centre and provide a photo or video clip.
Gulls normally eat fish and insects and while people shouldn't feed them, they can put things out to provide shade or water for them, McQuillan said.
DON'T MISS: Why dogs need more help than cats in extreme heat
"They are really susceptible to becoming habituated. Admire them from a distance," McQuillan said.
Seagulls are native to the areas around the Salish Sea, and experts say people should learn to coexist with them. (Simon Gohier/CBC)
Kroc said disturbing a seagull nest is against provincial and federal laws, and that Vancouverites should learn to coexist with the birds, which are native to the city. The birds can live up to the age of 30 or even 40 years, according to Kroc.
Drivers should watch out for brown and grey gulls, especially in August and September, as young gulls that have just left their nests often don't know to avoid cars, he said.
"There's a tendency for people to say: 'Oh, they're pests, they're noisy or loud or dirty,'" he said, adding they're no worse than people.
"They have a right to be here just as much as we do."
Thumbnail image credit to Simon Gohier/CBC News.
This article was originally written by and published for CBC News. It contains files from Rob Easton.
