By JOHN APPLETON

jappleton@repub.com



BELCHERTOWN - Naturalists are asking for the public's help in a program designed to shoo ring-billed gulls from the Quabbin Reservoir - a drinking water source for more than 2 million people.



State Department of Conservation and Recreation employees are asking people to report any gull they see with a fluorescent tag on its wing. Employees captured, tagged and released more than 200 gulls found roosting at Quabbin Reservoir and the Wachusett Reservoir, which is to the east and linked to the Quabbin by water pipes.



By tracking the gulls the naturalists hope to learn more techniques for scaring them away from the water and reducing their food supplies.



"With many eyes out there, as opposed to just ours, we get back more information to use," said Daniel E. Clark, director of natural resources for the conservation department's water protection division.



Knowledge of their daytime habits and haunts is extremely helpful in this pragmatic study of the gulls, so Clark wants to hear from anyone who spots a ring-billed gull with one of his bright orange or yellow tags.



The tag for each gull has its own letter and number combination. People are asked to report seeing a tagged bird, even if they can't read the identification number, and even if they see the same bird more than once.



Messages may be left on Clark's telephone line, (508) 792-7423, extension 215, or by e-mail to Dan.Clark@state.ma.us.



Clark said that the ring-billed gulls are the ones commonly seen in parking lots and fast food restaurants. They roost at night on the water. In the fall and winter Quabbin attracts up to 4,000 each night.



The gull harassment program was started about 15 years ago with the realization that the droppings from large numbers of the birds roosting at Quabbin could potentially lead to a public health problem.



The state has used various techniques at Quabbin, such as setting off loud noises near the gulls, to scare the birds away from the water intake pipes that provide the drinking water supply for more than one-third of the state.



State officials said those techniques have proven effective, but they are looking for a more efficient approach.



The Quabbin and Wachusett reservoirs provide drinking water for 2.2 million people and 5,500 industrial users in the eastern part of the state and a few Pioneer Valley communities, including Chicopee.



