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The Science
In response to growing concerns from residents and business owners about gulls in St Andrews—particularly their nesting on rooftops and attacks on rubbish—St Andrews BID commissioned a detailed survey to better understand the extent of the issue. Conducted by a biology student from the University of St Andrews, the study set out to gather data on gull behaviour, including nesting patterns, interactions with waste, and foraging from people in the streets.
Gull Foraging Findings
As part of the survey, researchers investigated how often gulls were found foraging for food in public spaces. Observations were made over 30 hours at various locations across the town, including Market Street, The Scores, and the cathedral grounds. Overall, incidents of gulls stealing food from people or attacking rubbish were relatively rare — with a successful food theft from a person occurring on average once every 4.25 hours.
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Some hotspots did stand out. The benches on The Scores near the aquarium saw the highest activity, with attempts to snatch food happening around 2.6 times an hour. Other locations, like near Waterstones and the cathedral benches, also saw occasional incidents.
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The survey also found that gulls were more likely to attempt food theft in places with more food and fewer people. These incidents were more common around lunchtime and in areas where people often stop to eat.
While many locals have their own "gull story," the data suggests that these memorable moments are relatively uncommon — but do happen more often in certain areas.
Gull Nesting in St Andrews
Researchers also investigated where and how frequently gulls nest within the town. Over 1,050 buildings across central St Andrews were surveyed. Two species were recorded nesting: the herring gull (Larus argentatus) and the lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus). Herring gulls were by far the most common, making up 92% of the nests and nearly 90% of chicks observed.
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A total of 49 nests were spotted during street-level observations, but by factoring in vantage point corrections and instances where chicks were found without nests ever being recorded, the study estimated a minimum of 108 nesting pairs across the survey area. That means roughly 1 in every 10 buildings in central St Andrews had nesting gulls on them at the time of the survey.
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Interestingly, some buildings had nests but no chicks, suggesting that a portion of nests may have failed during the breeding season. Others had chicks without nests having ever been spotted, likely due to the difficulty of seeing some nest sites. Chicks were generally easier to detect and were used as a strong indicator of nesting activity, especially where rooftops were hard to observe from street level.
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The likelihood of gulls nesting varied by location. The highest nesting densities were found around The Pends, including the cathedral grounds, St Leonards School buildings, and along the old town wall. Butts Wynd also had a noticeable number of nests. In general, nesting was more concentrated in the town centre, where the building density is highest and flat or gently sloping roofs provide suitable nesting surfaces.
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A particularly useful observation was that the number of gulls seen “loafing” or standing on rooftops correlated strongly with the presence of nests or chicks. This means that if a building frequently has gulls perched on it during nesting season, it’s likely a nest is nearby — a helpful sign for anyone monitoring gull presence without access to rooftop views.
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While the nesting gull population in St Andrews is significant, the survey concluded that fully preventing nesting is neither practical nor likely to succeed. Gulls are highly adaptable and will simply move to the next suitable building if nests are removed or access is restricted. Instead, understanding where nesting occurs — and educating building owners on what to expect — is a more sustainable approach to managing the urban gull population.
Conclusion
This isn’t just a gull problem — it’s a people problem too. While their presence can be frustrating at times, especially when they scavenge rubbish or surprise someone eating lunch, the data shows that these incidents are relatively infrequent and often concentrated in specific areas. Nesting is widespread but focused in the town centre, and efforts to deter it entirely are unlikely to succeed. Instead, by understanding gull behaviour and making small, practical changes — like using gull-proof bags correctly and managing waste more effectively — we can reduce conflict and help people and wildlife coexist more comfortably in our historic town.
Recommendations
While gulls are a part of coastal life in St Andrews, there are practical steps we can take to reduce the more frustrating interactions. The survey highlighted some simple, effective ways to limit gull access to food and rubbish, and to better manage the spaces where conflicts tend to occur. By making a few small changes — and encouraging others to do the same — we can help keep our streets cleaner, our lunches safer, and our relationship with the local gulls a little less dramatic. Here’s what we recommend:
