Site Overview
This building is located in Sheboygan, WI and is 70,002sq. ft. on 7.9 acres. It is approximately 1 mile west of Lake Michigan and was in use until 2017 but has since remained vacant.
Ring-billed Gull Colony Moves In
The vacant building has made an ideal location for a Ring-billed gull colony of nearly 5,000 birds. With its proximity to Lake Michigan, quiet building and vast rooftop, the colony found its home in 2019 and wreaked havoc on local businesses and the surrounding neighborhood. With juveniles running through the parking lot, adults protecting the juveniles would attack pedestrians. Also, the amount of gull feces coating the rooftop, sides of the building and the parking lot became a major concern and required professional cleaning on several occasions.
Gull Egg Depredation
In 2020, Migratory Bird Management was hired for egg depredation with the goal of removing all the eggs over the duration of the nesting season. MBM acquired the federal permit needed to remove eggs for the customer; and will submit the gull egg depredation permit report after the season has concluded. Migratory Bird Management then successfully removed over 10.000 Ring-billed eggs and properly removed the eggs from the rooftop. As a result, there were no juveniles running around and the colony proceeded to leave in early July.
Laser Install
In the spring of 2021, an Agrilaser will be installed on the rooftop as a preventative measure to discourage the colony from returning. The plan is to disrupt the nesting environment and get the birds unsettled enough to move on prior to nesting.
“In the Spring of 2019, I was faced with a nightmare scenario as a Property Manager. I had a vacant large box, located in both a downtown and a dense residential area infested with seagulls.”
“Migratory Bird Management offered a turnkey service, keeping us up to date with their progress throughout the process this Spring and Summer.”
-JB
Long Term Plan
While 2020 was successful, 2021 will take the next step between the laser installation and continued gull egg depredation. MBM will continue to handle everything from the paperwork on behalf of the client to the egg removal on the roof once again. The end goal is to manage and eliminate nesting on top of this retail building.
