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Why Seagulls are the Noisiest among Birds?

A seagull picks up crumbs near the harbour in Sydney. Photo: AFP
A seagull picks up crumbs near the harbour in Sydney. Photo: AFP
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Why Seagulls are the Noisiest among Birds?

A seagull picks up crumbs near the harbour in Sydney. Photo: AFP
A seagull picks up crumbs near the harbour in Sydney. Photo: AFP

Once the domain of the seaside, seagulls are becoming more commonplace inland now – with the number of urban gull colonies in the UK having doubled over the past couple of decades.

Councils as far as 40 miles from the sea have been warning about the birds in recent years, which are believed to be attracted to urban areas because of the abundance of food waste. Aside from being potentially aggressive, they can also be pretty noisy, even more so at this time of year. Just why are seagulls so loud? There are a number of reasons why seagulls make a whole lot of noise – although one of the main factors is to protect their nests from potential predators. Seagulls are, for obvious reasons, very protective of their young, and will make as much noise as possible to ward folks off their nests, according to The Metro.

Since they tend to build these in high-up environments, they can often be close to roofs or near the windows of houses, bringing them into closer contact with people, which can add to the din as they attempt to ward intruders off.

Meanwhile, their offspring also add to the din, calling to their parents to be fed, resulting in the adult gulls trying to gather as much food as they can for their young – which in turn can lead to them becoming more vicious as well as making a lot of noise. Seagulls can be particularly loud at this time of year because their chicks are getting ready to leave the nest. It is also mating season for the birds – which runs from April until September – as well as nesting season, which begins a month earlier.

Seagulls tend to return to the same nesting site every year, with pairs of birds building nests from twigs, grass, straw, paper and anything else they can find – while they will also mate several times a year to ensure success in producing a new brood.

Gulls normally lay eggs around April or May time, which hatch a few weeks later – and while their young normally take a few years to begin breeding their own families, they tend to return to the same nesting site when they do.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says on its website that the best course of action with a seagull's nest is to leave it alone – while the best way of discouraging gulls from nesting near your property is to reduce available food sources and attractiveness of nesting sites.

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Australian Government Deploys Military to Assist Flood-Hit Northern Territory

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)
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Australian Government Deploys Military to Assist Flood-Hit Northern Territory

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that troops would be deployed to help communities hit by a days-long flood emergency in the country's north.

Albanese said the center-left government had approved deployment of Australian Defense Force personnel to ‌help communities around the ‌flood-hit Northern Territory ‌town ⁠of Katherine, about 264km (164 ⁠miles) south of territory capital Darwin.

"To everyone doing it tough right now, know we are with you through the response and through the ⁠recovery," Albanese said on social ‌media ‌platform X.

Emergency Services Minister Kristy McBain ‌said in televised remarks that ‌the troops would be deployed for up to 14 days.

Authorities, grappling with floods sparked by ‌heavy rain in the Northern Territory and neighboring Queensland ⁠state, ⁠said this week they recovered two bodies in a search for two Chinese backpackers who went missing in floods in Queensland's Gympie region.

Climate change is causing heavy short-term rainfall events to become more intense in Australia, the country’s science agency has previously said.

Varieties

The Environment, Another Casualty of War in the Mideast

Experts say that war harms the climate and pollutes the air, water and soil. AFP
Experts say that war harms the climate and pollutes the air, water and soil. AFP
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The Environment, Another Casualty of War in the Mideast

Experts say that war harms the climate and pollutes the air, water and soil. AFP
Experts say that war harms the climate and pollutes the air, water and soil. AFP

From the jet fuel used in bombing raids to acrid smoke from burning oil depots, the conflict in the Middle East is inflicting a significant toll on nature and the climate.

AFP interviewed experts about the environmental cost of war that often goes under the radar:

- Bombers and warships -

US and Israeli aircraft use a considerable amount of fuel reaching the Gulf and flying sorties over Iran, said Benjamin Neimark at the Queen Mary University of London.

Deploying stealth bombers and fighter jets around the clock adds a significant amount of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

"The US Navy also has a significant fleet which will be operating remotely for some time," Neimark told AFP.

"That is a significant number of US troops that need to be fed, housed, and working around the clock. These floating cities all need energy."

This is provided in part by polluting diesel generators, even if most larger aircraft carriers are nuclear powered, an energy source that produces far less emissions than fossil fuels.

But many experts take into account everything from the manufacture of weapons and explosives to post-war reconstruction efforts when estimating the total environmental impact of conflict.

According to one study published in the peer-reviewed journal One Earth, the Gaza conflict generated some 33 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent -- an amount comparable to 7.6 million gasoline-powered cars, or the annual emissions of a small country like Jordan.

And by one estimate, the war in Ukraine has caused more than 300 million tons of additional emissions -- equivalent to France's annual output.

This estimate, by the Initiative on GHG Accounting of War, takes into account military operations and reconstruction efforts, forest fires, and longer flight routes.

- Climate cost -

This conflict is playing out on the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial artery for the passage of oil and gas supplies to global markets dependent on energy from the Gulf.

Ships transporting these highly flammable fuels through the narrow waterway -- along with the region's oil and gas refineries and storage facilities -- were "all a target" in this war, said Neimark.

"Clearly this conflict is different," he said.

"We have already seen a significant amount of refineries targeted. These toxic flames are deadly and have a severe climate cost."

The oil wells set ablaze in Kuwait in the 1990s during the first Gulf War took months to extinguish and released an estimated 130 to 400 million tons of CO2 equivalent.

- Ripple effect -

Since erupting on February 28, the conflict has sent oil prices soaring and focused fresh attention on the global transition to cleaner, more climate-friendly forms of energy.

Andreas Rudinger, from the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations, said the economic knock-on effects of the war had put policy makers "under pressure to reduce the burden on prices over climate action".

Brussels has faced pressure to relax its emissions trading rules in response to surging energy prices, while other governments have taken steps to help motorists fill up at the pump.

But there's also a "glass half-full perspective", said Rudinger.

"From a purely economic standpoint... rising fossil fuel prices make decarbonization and electrification solutions more attractive," he said.

He pointed to the rise in popularity of heat pumps in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which caused energy prices in Europe to rise sharply.

In general, the increase in energy costs stemming from the war in the Middle East should temper demand in what economists call price elasticity.

- Pollution risks -

Apart from climate concerns, strikes on energy infrastructure, oil tankers and military targets pollute the surrounding air and water and spread highly toxic chemicals far and wide, experts say.

In Tehran, attacks on fuel depots last weekend plunged the capital into darkness as poisonous black clouds rose from burning oil facilities.

Mathilde Jourde, from the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), said targeting nuclear, military and energy sites had "extremely polluting" consequences for air, water and soil.

"We're just scratching the surface but can already see that there are hundreds of damaged facilities in Iran and neighboring countries that pose pollution risks to people and the environment," Doug Weir, director of the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS), told AFP.

"We have particular concerns around damaged oil infrastructure, military facilities and the sensitive marine environment of the Arabian Gulf."

Varieties

Dinosaur Fossils in Brazil Reveal New Giant Species

An employee works at the excavation site where dinosaur bones were found in Davinopolis, Maranhao state, Brazil, April 28, 2021. Giovani de Toledo Viecili/Handout via REUTERS
An employee works at the excavation site where dinosaur bones were found in Davinopolis, Maranhao state, Brazil, April 28, 2021. Giovani de Toledo Viecili/Handout via REUTERS
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Dinosaur Fossils in Brazil Reveal New Giant Species

An employee works at the excavation site where dinosaur bones were found in Davinopolis, Maranhao state, Brazil, April 28, 2021. Giovani de Toledo Viecili/Handout via REUTERS
An employee works at the excavation site where dinosaur bones were found in Davinopolis, Maranhao state, Brazil, April 28, 2021. Giovani de Toledo Viecili/Handout via REUTERS

Brazilian scientists have identified a new species of giant dinosaur with ties to a similar animal found in Spain, reinforcing knowledge that land routes once connected parts of South America, Africa and Europe about 120 million years ago.

Named Dasosaurus tocantinensis, the species is one of the biggest found in the South American country and was described this month in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, Reuters reported.

The fossils were uncovered in 2021 at a site hosting infrastructure works near Davinopolis, in Brazil's northeastern state of Maranhao, and the research was led by Elver Mayer of the Federal University of the Sao Francisco Valley.

The remains include a femur measuring about 1.5 meters (59 inches), which helped researchers estimate the animal stretched roughly 20 meters long.

"As the excavation progressed over the days, we began to see the evidence of that huge bone, which is the femur," said Leonardo Kerber, a paleontologist at the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) who contributed to the research.

"This indicates it was a very large dinosaur. Today we know Dasosaurus is among the biggest dinosaurs ever found in Brazil," he noted.

According to UFSM, analysis indicated the species is the closest known relative of Garumbatitan morellensis, a dinosaur described in Spain.

Their lineage was European and may have dispersed into what is now South America roughly 130 million years ago, likely via northern Africa, before the Atlantic fully opened, the university said.

Dasosaurus tocantinensis's name combines references to the region where the dinosaur was found, including the Tocantins River, a major waterway whose eastern margins lie near the fossil site.