By MADDY VITALE
All of Ocean City right now is trying to outwit some aggressive bird-brained bandits.
The suggestions range from broadcasting a fake bird distress call over the loudspeaker along the Boardwalk, placing nets above the businesses to ward off the scavengers and even using dogs to push them out.
Some of the ideas are novel, others were tried with some positive results.
The object of all this consternation are pesky seagulls swooping in to steal pizza, ice cream, French fries and anything else they can get their hands on – claws, rather. They have been harassing innocent beachgoers and Boardwalk strollers.
Swarming, swooping and coasting along the beaches Monday afternoon were some of the seagulls. Some sat on the pavilions or atop businesses waiting for an easy meal. Others steadily circled the beaches and even perched on beach umbrellas.
“I was just sitting here, and they kept flying up and trying to attack. It wasn’t just a couple of them, it was like 50,” said Amaya Collins, a beach tag inspector at the Eighth Street beach. “I didn’t even have any food and they were attacking me.”
Now, Mayor Jay Gillian has declared war on them.
In his weekly Mayor’s Message to the public Friday, July 19, he said there have been “many incidents” and he has heard “many more complaints this summer about sea gulls taking food from people on the beach and boardwalk.”
He continued, “These birds have become very aggressive and pose a public safety hazard. Some people think it’s funny to feed the gulls and see them swarm. For the health and safety of both animals and humans, this must stop. Feeding gulls and wildlife in Ocean City is against the law.”
Gillian offered a simple way of ending the problem.
“Cut off this easy and unnatural food supply,” he said. “That means not just refraining from feeding them but protecting your food from them.”
He has urged Boardwalk merchants to provide enclosed containers for customers carrying takeout.
“I plead with parents to understand that these scavengers will swoop down and steal food even out of your children’s hands,” Gillian noted.
The mayor explained that his administration will work with Boardwalk merchants to explore the feasibility of netting, noise and other ways to prevent the seagulls from pilfering food.
“Please understand that you can’t hit them or throw things at them. But you can help by keeping food away from them,” he said.
Gary Christman, of Gilbertsville, Pa., and his wife, Denise, and their family took a walk down the Boardwalk on Monday. They stopped for an ice cream and carefully held their cones away from the dive-bombing seagulls.
“I don’t know what the answer is, but I think if they aren’t fed, they will be more aggressive,” Gary Christman pointed out in response to the mayor’s plea not to feed them. “I saw a seagull take a piece of pizza from a kid yesterday.”
Christman had an idea.
“I heard that in Aruba they have a feeding ground for the sharks. It is a way to get them away from the people,” he said. “Maybe they could try a place like that here for seagulls.”
The Christman’s son-in-law, Ryan Robison, said he wasn’t sure what the answer is for warding off the gulls. But he believes enforcing the city’s ordinance against feeding the gulls simply is not the answer. People risk fines of up to $500 under the ordinance.
“How would you know who was feeding them or if they were taking the food?” Robison asked. “I’m all for getting rid of them, but fining people isn’t really the answer.”
Wes Kazmarck, president of the Boardwalk Merchants Association, said education is key when it comes to quelling the bird-feeding frenzy.
“I think it’s important for our tourist community to be educated on how dangerous feeding the seagulls can be. They can quickly become aggressive with little notice,” Kazmarck noted.
He said the most important thing is safety.
“That is our biggest concern. In the past, merchants had signs posted not to feed the birds and the city would make announcements on the PA backing that up,” Kazmarck said. “Any additional ideas would also be encouraged and supported.”
Jody Levchuk, whose family owns the Boardwalk business empire of nine Jilly’s stores, had a host of ideas on how to thwart some of the birds, at least along the Boardwalk.
Like Kazmarck, Levchuk agrees with Gillian that something needs to be done and quickly.
Merchants, Levchuk said, have been creative over the years with ways to try and deter the gulls from their businesses.
“I don’t think there is anyone who lives here who doesn’t think there is an issue with seagulls,” Levchuk said.
He called the family-owned Jilly’s French Fry Factory a haven for the birds.
“We keep the awning extended so people don’t have to worry about the birds,” Levchuk said. “We let people know that if you feed the birds, they will take your food. There is only so much you can tell the customer.”
He said the Jilly’s takeout containers are enclosed, but there are certain foods that can’t be shielded from a gull.
“How are you going to package an ice cream cone or a slice of pizza?” Levchuk asked. “The pavilions on the Boardwalk are a big help. And I think there are several ways that people haven’t really thought of.”
Levchuk said one idea, which he admitted might not be too popular, would be for the city to hire a business that uses dogs to ward off the gulls.
Companies do such work at schools, airports and other venues to rid the areas of fowl. The birds are unharmed by the dogs, but are scared away from the areas.
Another idea would be for the city to add better and even humorous signage to alert people not to feed the birds, Levchuk said.
A seagull distress call that could be incorporated into the PA system and played routinely on the loudspeaker might be a bit odd or an irritant to vacationers and residents, but it could prove beneficial in the long run, Levchuk said.
He noted it has been done on a smaller scale by Boardwalk merchants to keep the gulls out of the stores.
Netting for businesses along the 2.5-mile Boardwalk to keep the seagulls out doesn’t seem feasible because of the long length, he said.
While there is no consensus on the best way to rid “America’s Greatest Family Resort” from the seagulls, the idea of educating the public and taking a strong stand is the overriding theme.
“Police need to be firm, ‘Don’t feed the seagulls.’ The ordinance should be read over the loudspeaker. Start enforcing it,” Levchuk said. “Write tickets for people feeding the birds. It is the only way people will stop doing it.”
