Main content

Brett Westwood follows gulls away from the sea and finds them thriving in the urban environment and at landfill sites where birdwatchers gather to observe and ring them.

Brett Westwood follows gulls away from the sea and explores how they thrive in cities and at the landfill sites where birders gather to watch and ring them. Featuring Dominic Mitchell who spotted the UK's first slaty-backed gull, Viola Ross-Smith of the British Trust for Ornithology, Peter Rock on the Bristol urban gull study, artist Mark Dion who built the Mobile Gull Appreciation Unit and Dr Chris Pawson who headed up a study into the behaviour of gulls and our attitudes towards them.

Producer: Tom Bonnett.

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Mon 16 Oct 2017 21:00

Mark Dion

Mark Dion is an artist making work that apprriates archaeological, field ecology and other scientific methods of collecting, ordering, and exhibiting objects to creates works that question the distinctions between β€˜objective’ or β€˜rational’ scientific methods and β€˜subjective’ or β€˜irrational’ influences.

He frequently collaborates with museums of natural history, aquariums, zoos and other institutions mandated to produce public knowledge on the topic of nature. He was commissioned to make a piece for the Folkestone Triennial and on arriving there said:Β β€œGulls are the most conspicuous non-human denizens of Folkestone” and decided to make The Mobile Gull Appreciation Unit, which would be an artwork that functioned as a clearing house for information about the evolution, ethnology, natural history, environmental status and folklore of the often under-appreciated gulls.

Dominic Mitchell

Dominic Mitchell is managing editor of the 's Birdwatch magazine.

His books include ; ; ; Birds of Britain: the complete checklist. He writes a regular blog, .

Dr Chris Pawson

is Head of Psychology at the University of the West of EnglandΒ (UWE Bristol). He led a project studying the interaction between humans and urban gulls in Bath and North East Somerset in a collaboration between UWE and Middlesex University.

Postgraduate student Β and the team monitored gulls to gather information about nesting sites, feeding behaviours and the human response to the gulls in an 18-month study.

Peter Rock

Peter Rock has been studying Bristol's roof-nesting gulls since 1980 and throughout this time has been involved in international gull research at a high level. For the last 15 years he has been the co-ordinator for the colour-marking of the large gulls for all of the Bird Ringing Schemes in Europe.

He is the author of several papers on the subject (including the Lesser Black-backed Gull pages in the Migration Atlas) and has acted as consultant to various authorities on roof-nesting gulls

Viola Ross-Smith

Viola Ross-Smith is science communications manager at the British Trust for Ornithology. She has a strong interest in seabirds, their behaviour, ecology and life history adaptations.

She worked as a Research Ecologist in the BTO's Wetland and Marine Team before being appointed to her current position. Aside from ornithology and communications, Viola is interested in policy, having worked in this field for the European Institutions in Brussels and the RSPB.

Broadcasts

  • Tue 10 Oct 2017 11:00
  • Mon 16 Oct 2017 21:00

Natural History Heroes

Natural History Heroes

Scientists celebrate the pioneers who inspired their work and lives.

Natural Histories Comedy

Humorous perspectives on life from the plants and animals in the series.

10 things we got wrong about dinosaurs

Dinosaur myths, misconceptions and mysteries.