Raptors To Return To Ocean City Boardwalk This Summer

OCEAN CITY, NJ — You won't need to worry about a pesky seagull stealing your slice of Manco and Manco pizza this summer, because East Coast Falcons will be back in Ocean City to protect you.

A three-year contract was awarded to the professional falconers at a recent Ocean City Council meeting.

East Coast Falcons have been present on the boardwalk since 2019, and the program has been a success since its initiation, according to officials.

"This is a good thing," said Mayor Jay Gillian. "It's good for the birds. It's good for our guests. It's good for everybody."

Officials said the program has done its job in reducing the amount of gulls bothering people on the Boardwalk and beach.

The new contract includes an expansion of the program. Falcons will be scaring away the gulls downtown and in business districts, not just the Boardwalk.

Danielle Guerriero, president of the Downtown Merchants Association, spoke for the owners of Hooked on Breakfast, thanking the Council for helping with the seagull problem.

"Once the falcons were present, we had absolutely no problems with any seagulls," she said, calling the program "truly remarkable."

But some were concerned about environmental and budgeting aspects.

Local environmentalist Donna Moore said that more than just seagulls would be impacted.

"The raptors that are hired and introduced interrupt our resident avian inhabitants, too," she said.

"The gulls were here long before we were," said resident Sheila Hartranft. "It is their home. We infringed on it. Now we want to get rid of them."

Officials said that East Coast Falcons is run by an environmentalist and works with the Department of Environmental Protection to ensure everything is safe.

Councilman Bob Barr was the lone "no" vote, saying that he wasn't comfortable voting on something without knowing what the 2023 budget would look like.

"The budget's going to be fine," Gillian said.