THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL Birds and People in Towns and Cities: An Exploration of Human-Bird Relations in Urban Areas being a Thesis submitted for the Degree of in the University of Hull by Daniel James Pedley BA (Hons) BSc March 2010 i Abstract Urban nature conservation and sustainability discourses regularly state a desire to bring more ‘nature’ and wildlife into towns and cities - for the perceived good of both people and wildlife. Yet many wildlife species that already live in urban areas are often seen as undesirable by people, and are caught up in the parallel discourses and practices of pest control. This partial disparity between the types of wildlife successfully inhabiting urban areas and the types that, put simplistically, different people want or don’t want in urban areas is further complicated by the heterogeneity of humans, nonhumans, ideas, practices and space-times that co-constitute the character of, and the uneven geographies of, different human-wildlife relations in urban areas. This heterogeneity, and these uneven relations, creates practical and ethical issues, not only for those directly involved in policy and management, but also for the constitution and potential implementation of a diverse body of social science theory that is concerned with developing an expanded political collective and fostering better relations between humans and nonhumans. In light of these issues, this thesis has examined and compared the specific constitution of particular, different, and uneven human-wildlife relations in urban areas in the cases of different bird species, with a particular focus on the built environment. It has subsequently considered the problems and opportunities that arise in seeking better relations. Using an approach derived from relational thinking, the contingent knowledges/ideas, practices, and human and nonhuman agencies involved in these relations have been assessed, revealing how diverse human-bird relations, and certain urban-space times, are produced. In spite of the problems that the heterogeneity and complexity of these relations presents for living with wildlife in urban areas, this thesis concludes that creatively experimenting with the form and practice of diverse urban landscapes offers opportunities for better relations. ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank a number of people for the help and support they have given me during the process of producing this thesis. I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr Sally Eden and Dr Lewis Holloway, and also Dr Chris Bear and Dr Russell Hitchings who have been part of my supervisory team at Hull at different times in the last few years. I thank you all for your time, constructive criticisms and encouragement. I am grateful to Lewis for pushing me to think more critically, and would like to thank Sally in particular for her patience and understanding, for the time and effort she has put into assisting me, and for her ability to make me leave every supervisory meeting feeling inspired again. I would like to give special thanks to my parents for the continual love and support they give me, without which this would not have been possible. Finally, I would like to give extra special thanks to my girlfriend, Georgie, for the enormous amount of love and support she has given me, and also to Ami and (in memory of) Suzie, our special little feline companions. iii Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Contents iv List of Tables, Plates and Abbreviations x Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Research questions 4 1.3 Structure of the thesis 4 Chapter 2: Nature and Animals in Science and 6 Modernity – A Contextual Background 2.1 Introduction 6 2.2 The Modern concept of nature 6 2.3 Classifications and descriptions of animals 10 2.4 Development of ecology, ecological thought and 16 conservation 2.5 Summary of chapter 21 Chapter 3: Management of Wildlife – 23 Conservation and Control 3.1 Introduction 23 3.2 Conservation and control – early history 24 3.3 Ecology and science in the development of conservation 27 and control iv 3.4 Changing ideas of what should be valued and what should 28 be controlled 3.5 Wildlife seen as valued or as a problem in urban areas 31 3.6 Changing methods and technologies of controlling wildlife 33 3.6.1 Control of vertebrates 34 3.6.2 Control of invertebrates 36 3.6.3 Integrated control 38 3.6.4 Control of wildlife in urban areas 39 3.7 Changing approaches to nature conservation 41 3.7.1 Nature Conservation 41 3.7.2 Urban Nature Conservation and Ecology 42 3.8 Summary of chapter 47 Chapter 4: Re-theorising Animals and Nature – 48 A Review of Relational Geographies 4.1 Introduction 48 4.2 Nature 49 4.3 Nature and the urban 52 4.4 Animals and geography 55 4.5 The places and placings of animals 57 4.6 Animals as agents and subjects 64 4.6.1 Relational agency 64 4.6.2 Animal subjectivity 66 4.7 Better relations with animals through relational politics 73 4.8 Summary and development of the research interests of the 79 thesis v Chapter 5: Methodology 83 5.1 Introduction 83 5.2 Case studies 84 5.3 Research methods 89 5.3.1 Overview 89 5.3.2 Semi-structured interviews 91 5.3.3 Desk study of texts and documentary evidence 92 5.3.4 Observational field work 94 5.3.5 Analysis of the research material 101 5.4 Practical, ethical and theoretical issues in the research 103 5.4.1 Identity as a researcher 103 5.4.2 Confidentiality and relations with research participants 104 5.4.3 Health and safety, and practical ethics 104 5.4.4 Researching birds and other nonhumans 105 5.4.5 Positionality of research participants 108 5.5 Summary of chapter 109 Chapter 6: Ideas about birds - representing, 109 understanding and producing knowledge about birds in urban areas 6.1 Introduction 111 6.2 Perceptions, representations and knowledges of the birds 111 6.2.1 Introduction 112 6.2.2 Reactions and attitudes to the birds 113 6.2.3 Characteristics, qualities and status 116 6.2.4 Scientific knowledges of birds 118 6.3 Finding, counting and observing black redstarts in urban 121 areas vi 6.3.1 Bird research in urban landscapes 121 6.3.2 Knowledges of black redstarts – some background 121 6.3.3 Looking for black redstarts – who, why and how? 124 6.3.4 Looking for black redstarts – out in the field 127 6.3.5 Knowledges of black redstarts and how they circulate 138 6.3.6 Summary 140 6.4 Marking and following birds 141 6.4.1 Introduction 141 6.4.2 Why do people ring birds? 141 6.4.3 Bird ringing – background and organisation 142 6.4.4 Becoming a bird ringer 143 6.4.5 Which birds are ringed in urban areas, and why? 145 6.4.6 Bird ringing in practice 148 6.4.7 Knowledge claims from ringing 154 6.4.8 Summary 158 6.5 Finding out what, where and when birds eat 160 6.5.1 Food and human-bird relations 160 6.5.2 Finding out what gulls and black redstarts eat 160 6.5.3 Finding out what peregrines eat 163 6.5.4 What peregrines eat 1: impact of peregrines on domestic 163 pigeons 6.5.5 What peregrines eat 2: the composition of peregrines’ diets 165 in urban areas 6.5.6 Summary 177 6.6 Summary of chapter 178 vii Chapter 7: Managing birds in urban areas - practices of 180 nonhuman and human management 7.1 Introduction 180 7.2 Practices of killing, practices of protection 181 7.2.1 Introduction 181 7.2.2 Legitimate and illegitimate killing 182 7.2.3 Culling gulls 184 7.2.4 Egg oiling and egg replacement 190 7.2.5 Protection of peregrines 200 7.2.6 Practices of killing and protection - summary 202 7.3 Co-producing and managing the lifespaces of birds in urban 205 areas 7.3.1 Introduction 205 7.3.2 Lifespaces and affordances 205 7.3.3 Encouraging and assisting birds in urban areas 208 7.3.4 Discouraging and deterring birds in urban areas 221 7.3.5 Designing birds into architecture and planning in urban 231 areas 7.3.6 Managing lifespaces - summary 237 7.4 Getting people onside 239 7.4.1 Introduction 239 7.4.2 Showing people peregrines and other birds 239 7.4.3 Why is people engagement done? 242 7.4.4 Where and when people engagement happens 244 7.4.5 Producing ‘good views’ of peregrines 247 7.4.6 Other practices of people engagement 249 7.4.7 What is achieved? 250 7.4.8 Getting people onside - summary 251 viii 7.5 Summary of chapter 252 Chapter 8: Conclusion 255 8.1 Introduction 255 8.2 How are human-bird relations in urban areas constituted? 256 8.2.1 Difference and similarity 256 8.2.2 Presence/absence in space-time 258 8.2.3 Agency and resistance in the production of ‘order’ and 262 ‘disorder’ 8.2.4 Ethics 265 8.2.5 Urban areas 267 8.3 Living with difference, and seeking better relations 271 8.4 Future research 275 Bibliography 277 Appendix 1: Project Outline for Research Participants 303 Appendix 2: Ethical Statement 304 ix List of Tables, Plates and Abbreviations Tables 5.1 Table 5.1: List of interviewees and field visits 97 6.1 Table 6.1: Qualities, characteristics and status afforded 117 to the birds by interviewees and press accounts.