– I really have faith. We have to be optimists, says deputy chairman Lasse Bjørn Nilsen in Birdlife Grenland. He stands by the newly built raft in the Børsesjø nature reserve in Skien. Here he hopes hooded gulls and mackerel terns will build nests in the spring. The goal is also for the stock to increase. Want the seagulls back The hooded gull is critically endangered, while the mackerel is highly endangered in Norway, according to the Norwegian Arts Data Bank. – The mackerel nested here in the late 1960s. The hooded gull nested here at the beginning of the 70s, and then they disappeared, says Nilsen. Smooth edges around the raft should prevent mink from climbing up and eating eggs or baby birds. The mink is an alien species in Norway, and poses a threat to endangered seabirds. Erik Thoring is general manager of the Nature Conservancy in Rogaland. In connection with the fact that Stavanger municipality will introduce a higher shooting premium for mink in the north of the municipality, Thoring told news that the mink is an animal that can cause great damage to the natural diversity in Norway. – It can destroy entire seabird colonies in a short time. Lasse Bjørn Nilsen stands by the raft, which will be placed 100 meters from shore in the Børsesjø nature reserve in Skien when the ice has gone. Photo: Helena Rønning / news Decoy sounds, sand and artificial nest The fleet in Børsesjø will have sand, artificial terns, nests and speakers with bird sounds. It should make seagulls want to build nests. Advisor Morten Helberg in Birdlife Norway says that the birds like to build nests in familiar places. Therefore, the rafts must be attractive for the birds to build nests. In Mandal, two rafts have been equipped with loudspeakers with bird sounds until the seagulls have established themselves there. The third fleet to be launched this year will also have a sound system. – We have to “negotiate” a bit to get them to nest on our fancy, safe nesting raft. So then we set up what we call the tern disco or hooded gull disco; we lure the birds with sound to nest in the right nesting place. The sound is played for short periods in the morning and afternoon, he says. This is what a disco for birds can look like. Good experience Besides Børsesjø, there are now nesting rafts in Mandal and Nordre Øyeren nature reserve in Viken, says Helberg. He has good experience with nesting rafts. – The birds have more young per breeding pair when they nest on rafts compared to natural nesting sites. He says the birds can be taken by mink and foxes when they nest in the archipelago. Nesting rafts have been tested in other countries. He assumes that Birdlife will deploy 4-5 fleets in Norway this year in Agder, Viken and Trøndelag. Less conflict with people According to Helberg, nesting rafts are also a measure to get seagulls to areas where it is practical for the birds to nest. The seagulls must find other places than buildings or in cities. – There will be a lot of noise. They screw up a bit. Young come down from buildings where they have had nests. We at Birdlife want to contribute to reducing the number of pairs in urban environments, he says. – Many people can observe many seagulls around them. Are these measures necessary? – This is not a measure for there to be large numbers of seagulls. It is a measure to see if we can get the birds to nest where there are fewer conflicts with us humans. Hoping for nesting success The state administrator in Vestfold and Telemark has supported the nesting fleet in lake Børsesjø with NOK 35,000. Head of department Arne Christian Geving says experience from other places shows that birds seek out the rafts when they cannot nest on natural islands. – We believe it is a measure that can strengthen the nesting success of a number of endangered and vulnerable species, such as the mackerel tern and herring gull, says Geving. The fleet can help strengthen the population of vulnerable, endangered species and bring out young, says head of department Arne Christian Geving at the State Administrator in Vestfold and Telemark. Photo: Mads Thygesen / news He says there are few natural nesting places for the seagulls in the area such as islands. Therefore, baby birds and eggs risk being eaten by other animals. Said yes to fleet despite nature reserve The state administrator is restrictive in allowing artificial installations in a nature reserve. Geving says the fleet in Børsesjø was given the go-ahead to see if the population of seagulls is increasing. Since the mackerel are so endangered, every pair that produces young will be positive, he says. – We hope to bring back the mackerel terns and hooded gulls here, says Lasse Bjørn Nilsen in Birdlife in Grenland. Photo: Helena Rønning / news
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Will attract seagulls to nesting rafts – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
