Bird poo pollution posters at Scottish beaches challenged by experts

Posters warning people not to feed seagulls have been challenged by ornithology experts

The signs are part of a campaign.

The beaches it targeted faced challenges with bathing water quality.

The British Trust for Ornithology did not agree with the message on the posters.

There are signs on the beaches at Saltcoats, Kinghorn, Portobello and Fisherrow.

Seabird droppings are an important source of nutrition for marine life, according to the charity.

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herring gulls have declined by more than 50% since 1970 and are continuing to do poorly due to changes in natural food supplies, according to the RSPB.

All the species that are bred in the UK are of concern with some in very serious trouble.

Guts have traditionally lived along our coastlines and we can help by learning to live with them.

She said that a variety of marine species, from snails to fish that humans eat, are fed by the growth of plankton.

Feeding gulls in urban environments, such as Portobello Beach, was not recommended because it could encourage gulls to steal food from people.

She said the charity did not agree with the idea that seabirds polluted the water.

The site of the world's biggest gannet population is located on the Firth of Forth. The Bass Rock has turned white because of the gannets.

The British Trust for Ornithology has a PhD in gulls, according to Dr. Viola Ross- Smith.

She said she'd challenge the message.

It doesn't compare to the amount of sewage and wet wipes that we put into the sea.

We are the ones who are affecting the environment.

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Scottish Water discharges sewage into the Firth of Forth.

In the past, the Gardyloo boat was used to transport sewage into the Forth.

Seafield Waste Water Treatment Works discharges into the Firth of Forth and serves a population of over one million people.

It takes 120 Olympic sized swimming pools of waste water to treat.

After the final effluent is released back into the environment, the waste is treated to a high standard through a series of processes.

The My Beach Your Beach campaign is about raising awareness and encouraging behavior change among beach users.

Some of the posters in the campaign have advice on how to dispose of fat, oils and greases.

According to a Keep Scotland Beautiful spokeswoman, poop and dog poo can affect bathing water classification.

The Scottish government, City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency have supported the charity's poster campaign.

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Mark Lewis was surprised by the message on the posters.

seabirds will go to the toilet even if we don't feed them

At this time of year, they are more interested in finding natural gull food such as small prawns and crabs.

There was evidence of human, dog and gull sources impacting the water quality.

A Scottish government spokesman said thatbacteria that can cause poor water quality at designated bathing waters come from the stomachs of warm-blooded animals.

Some bathing waters have poor water quality due to gull and dog feces.

Scott Arthur, City of Edinburgh Council's environment convener said that they have been supporting the Keep Scotland Beautiful campaign for several years and welcome any efforts to keep our beaches and bathing water clean.

Scottish Water and Sepa work with us to reduce sewage spills.