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Just got back from a very nice trip to Victoria, BC. I live in Seattle, and took the ferry from Anacortes with my car for a three day trip.
I thoroughly enjoyed it overall! The Legislative building was fantastic, and I had afternoon tea with my wife at the Empress hotel. Also visited Fisherman's Wharf and thought it was cute (we have houseboats in Seattle too, but it was still pretty cool), and overall the shops and restaurants were pretty good. Excellent local beer too, I didn't have a single one I disliked. Visited the Butchart Gardens, excellent (recommend going soon after they open to avoid the crowds!). Also checked out the Oak Bay and the Uplands. Overall a cool experience.
Only thought to the contrary good memories: Why don't the locals do something about the bird droppings covering absolutely everything? I understand it's a port town, but holy moly I daren't wear my sneakers inside any longer because of it!
Only thought to the contrary good memories: Why don't the locals do something about the bird droppings covering absolutely everything? I understand it's a port town, but holy moly I daren't wear my sneakers inside any longer because of it!
When it rains the rain takes care of it. Otherwise, have you any suggestions? What do the locals in other cities do about bird droppings?
That's wild. I arrived this afternoon on my first trip to Victoria. I was so struck by the white seagull droppings covering everything that when I got back to the hotel this afternoon I 'googled' the subject to see if anyone else had noticed. It's all over the roads, pavements, building awnings, windows, cars...I don't get it. I live in Lisbon, Portugal, which has plenty of seagulls but I've never seen anything like this that I can remember. I wonder if it might have to do with tourists feeding them or producing large amounts of edible rubbish that end up in bins that the seagulls can access?
I was talking with my dad about my trip and mentioned that. He said that once upon a time in Chicago (where I grew up) the city had a similar problem with an even worse issue: pigeons. Pigeon droppings are potentially lethal and have terrible fungi which can cause a myriad of health issues in humans.
Anyway, the city's response was to get some peregrine falcons. He says he remembers living downtown and seeing them perch occasionally on his condo porch to scan for their next meal of pigeon, and remembers once he watched one eat a caught pigeon on his porch (with a mixture of fascination and disgust).
This killed two birds with one stone; some peregrine falcons were a federally protected endangered species, so they did an experiment to see if they would flourish, and they did! And they established an equilibrium with the pigeon population eventually.
Now, a falcon may not feed on something as large as a seagull but it might be worth checking into it to see if any natural predators could be used. Canadian geese would be a potential target too, so that would have to be taken into consideration.
Now, a falcon may not feed on something as large as a seagull but it might be worth checking into it to see if any natural predators could be used. Canadian geese would be a potential target too, so that would have to be taken into consideration.
I guess you didn't watch the youtube video. In there they talk about the eagles that are natural predators of seagulls.
I guess you didn't watch the youtube video. In there they talk about the eagles that are natural predators of seagulls.
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No refund for the burger that got splattered? Oy! I wouldn't want to eat there!
Anyway, the explanation for why they're coming to Victoria is logical enough. If eagles have come to the islands where they usually nest then it makes sense for them to fly elsewhere. Given enough time I expect the ones downtown to be a target as well. So, perhaps in a few years, this will be a self-correcting phenomenon.
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