Seagull Numbers Dwindling in Tinton Falls

"I wish I spoke seagull," said Borough Council President Gary Baldwin at Tuesday's meeting of the sudden decrease in the number of the birds that had been congregating in the lower half of the borough and menacing residents throughout the fall.

Baldwin reported that borough officials had observed a dwindling in the amount of seagulls that had taken up roost on the rooftops of townhouses in the Fox Chase development and .

"None of us know why," he said.

Officials believe that when the county brought in some falcons to control a burgeoning seagull population at the , the gulls were pushed to neighboring Fox Chase and Seabrook.

After residents began complaining of the influx of birds that covered rooftops with feces and left children afraid to play outside, Tinton Falls officials contacted the county to suspend the use of the falcons and find a better solution to the situation.

Baldwin said that the that should be in place within the next 30 days.

His main concern is "making sure the birds don't just hop across the road" and settle in another neighborhood.

Click to see what Patch found on a visit to Fox Chase earlier this month.