Life-like decoy kittiwakes and recordings of their distinctive calls could be used in the future as part of a potential "peace plan" in a coastal town.
Feathers have been ruffled as locals express concerns over the state of Lowestoft town centre and what they say is an "appalling" mess being left behind by kittiwakes and herring gulls.
As the Lowestoft Kittiwake Partnership (LKP) and East Suffolk Council oversee regular clean-up operations, the partnership continues to help to safeguard endangered kittiwakes nesting in Lowestoft while reducing conflict with businesses and building owners.
With young kittiwakes soon to leave their nests and head out to sea for the winter, ornithologists have come up with a "peace plan" that they said could hopefully "end Lowestoft's kittiwake conflict."
As hundreds of the red-listed birds nest on town buildings, it has led to major clean-up operations as mess and nest material spills out onto the streets below.
And now ornithologists have hatched a plan to coax the Kittiwakes to new nests.
They claimed that life-like decoy Kittiwakes and recordings of their distinctive calls could be used next spring to tempt the birds to nest on the new onshore Kittiwake 'hotel' structures recently built in the town's harbour.
Earlier this year developers Vattenfall and ScottishPower Renewables unveiled the UK’s first kittiwake nesting structures in Lowestoft to mitigate the impact of planned offshore windfarms.
Construction of the kittiwake 'hotel' - with new artificial nesting structures in the port of Lowestoft - opened in March.
Last month Ørsted - the global offshore wind leader - completed three "industry-first" nearshore artificial nesting structures (ANS) off the East Suffolk coast.
With two of these structures now located 1km off south Lowestoft beach, they were installed to compensate for potential impacts of the Hornsea 3 wind farm on the species.
As the structures opened in the spring as a means to increase the size of the colony in the future away from the town centre, ornithologists - led by Julie Martin - have monitored the new sites.
Pleading with locals to have patience as the peace plan is enacted, Mrs Martin said: "Construction was only completed this spring and, as anticipated, kittiwakes have not yet used them.
"This winter we will employ measures to attract the birds that will include the placement of decoys, installing voice lures for their return next March, and transferring nests to the ledges on the new structures.
"Kittiwakes are highly site-faithful and birds that have been successfully nesting on buildings in the town for years will take time to relocate and attract birds reaching breeding age for the first time.
"Measures are under way to displace birds from the main breeding colonies in the town and we ask property owners to be patient as soon the birds will hopefully move to their new homes."
According to the ornithologists "almost 1,000 nests" have been counted in Lowestoft this summer.
The independent ornithologists' plan adds to conservation efforts of the LKP - the collaborative cross-sector partnership that was formed last year.
The LKP - which consists of Lowestoft Vision, East Suffolk Council, Lowestoft Town Council, Associated British Ports, RSPB, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, BT, Waveney MP Peter Aldous, Groundwork East, community members and independent ornithologists - was formed to find sustainable solutions that enable kittiwakes to nest safely while minimising conflict between the birds and businesses.
With Ørsted and Vattenfall pledging funding to the LKP to help support its work with people and businesses in the town to "enable kittiwakes to nest safely in suitable locations while minimising the impact of the mess the birds make where they nest", a LKP spokesman said the "funding agreements" are being developed.
The spokesman added: "In the meantime, the LKP has been using some of the money East Suffolk Council put into the partnership to pay for regular cleaning to reduce the mess and smell at some of the worst-affected nesting locations around the town.
"We hope that interventions like this can help to mitigate the negative aspects of kittiwakes nesting in the town and reduce the need to resort to measures like spikes and netting."
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