An uninhabited island half-a-mile off the Cornwall coast has been littered with thousands of elastic bands by seagulls that mistook them for worms.

Large numbers of yellow, green and tan-coloured bands were found on Mullion Island by rangers who look after the native colony of gulls.

The bands were spread among pellets regurgitated by great black-backed and herring gulls on the mile-round island, with small mounds of green fishing net and twine also uncovered.

Image: Elastic bands and fishing waste built up on the island

Experts say it is another concerning example of the impact humans can have on wildlife - even though public access to the island, which is managed by the National Trust, is restricted.

Permits are required for people who want to step foot on the island, which is used as a nesting ground for the gulls and other bird species including cormorants and shags.


It is an important site for the great black-backed gull and herring gull in particular, with the population of the former having fallen by 30% in recent years.

The herring gull has found its way on to the UK Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern - indicating an increasingly severe decline in breeding populations.

One gull was found to have died on Mullion Island after becoming caught in a 10cm fishing hook.

The elastic bands are believed to have come from nearby horticultural fields, where they are used to tie together bunches of cut flowers.

Image: One gull was found dead on the island with a fishing hook embedded in its body

Image: Rangers require a permit to step foot on the remote island

They were discovered by Mark Grantham, from the West Cornwall Ringing Group.

"We first noticed the bands on a monitoring visit during the breeding season and were puzzled why there were so many and how they'd got there," he said.

"To save disturbing the nesting birds, we made a special trip over in the autumn to clear the litter. Within just an hour we'd collected thousands of bands and handfuls of fishing waste.

"The gull breeding season was disappointingly poor in 2019 and these hidden human pressures are doing nothing to help our seabirds."

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The discovery has alarmed conservationists at the National Trust, which is calling on businesses to consider how they dispose of plastic, latex and other materials that could cause harm to wildlife.

Image: The great black-backed gull is found on the island. File pic

Rachel Holder, area ranger for the National Trust, said Mullion Island should be a sanctuary for seabirds.

"Ingested plastic and rubber is another factor in a long list of challenges which our gulls and other seabirds must contend with just to survive," she said.

"Despite being noisy and boisterous and seemingly common, gulls are on the decline.

"They're already struggling with changes to fish populations and disturbance to nesting sites, and eating elastic bands and fishing waste does nothing to ease their plight."