A FLOATING love-nest has been created to prevent birds from attacking workers at an industrial estate.
Staff at a pharmaceutical plant in Montrose have been swooped on by over-protective Arctic terns when they nest.
Hawks, electric fences and even recorded mating calls have all failed to dissuade the rare birds from nesting in the grounds of the Gl
axoSmithKline (GSK) plant.
Now a £10,000 purpose-built nesting raft has been launched in an attempt to end the Hitchcockian scenes in the Angus town once and for all.
The platform, covered in crushed scallop shells to reflect their traditional nesting terrain, was towed and secured into place in Montrose Basin.
The first birds have already taken up residence on the raft, and staff at the nature reserve are confident that it will prove a success.
"We have got our first few terns nesting now and they seem to be settling in well," said ranger Richard Averiss.
"I think next year it will be full to capacity.
"If that does prove to be the case we would look at putting in another raft."
The raft has been moored opposite the Scottish Wildlife Trust's visitor centre so people can watch the fledgling colony's progress through high-powered binoculars at a viewing gallery.
In previous years employers installed audio equipment broadcasting gull-colony calls on the rooftop of factory buildings in a bid to stop terns from nesting.
Arctic terns will attack humans, usually striking the top or back of the head.
Although they are too small to cause serious injury, they are still capable of drawing blood.
The full article contains 277 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
