There’s nothing wee, cowran or tim’rous about the beasties that roam Aberdeen’s skies, though they do strike a “panic in the breastie” of residents from time to time.
And work is now underway to undo years of damage the city’s trouble-making gull population has inflicted on one of Scotland’s literary legends.
The statue of Robert Burns, the Ayrshire poet revered by generations worldwide, has been showered in something other than respect by the winged menaces.
For years, they have been splattering the Ploughman Poet with an aerial bombardment of guano – the technical name for bird droppings.
Now the bespattered Burns, perched atop a pedestal on Union Terrace, has been surrounded by scaffolding as clean-up work takes place.
Robert Burns statue will be back to its resplendent best within days
The glow-up is part of Aberdeen City Council’s major revamp of Union Terrace Gardens.
And a local authority spokeswoman confirmed that the Bard should be back to his best soon.
She said: “The cleaning process is ongoing and is expected to be complete this week – weather dependant.
“Upon completion, the scaffold will be taken down.”
Rabbie enthusiasts’ mixed welcome
The statue was unveiled in 1892, a huge crowd gathering beneath the plinth for the occasion.
It was made a B-listed structure in 1967, and has been a gathering place for fans of the Auld Lang Syne scribe.
The effort to spruce it up has been welcomed, albeit begrudgingly, by the Aberdeen Burns Club.
Secretary John Mackay explained that it’s not the droppings they are in a flap about.
Their gripe is with the pavilion erected behind the monument as part of the £28 million revamp of the park.
He said: “Our main concern is the building of that concrete monstrosity behind the statue, obscuring a fantastic view we used to have on postcards and tourist brochures.
“That has depreciated the quality of the statue’s surroundings.”
See the difference in the views here:
Mr Mackay added: “The population of gulls in Aberdeen are not very particular about where they leave their… residue.
“And it’s inevitable that every 10 years or so these bronze statues should get a spruce up.”
The two-storey Burns Pavilion is one of three installed around the Victorian sunken garden.
They will be used as cafes, restaurants and other cultural spaces when the gates reopen later this month.
City centre spokeswoman Marie Boulton said the pavilions “make a fantastic addition to Union Terrace Gardens”.
William Wallace spotted getting a clean too
As the massive revamp of the city centre space nears completion, Robert Burns isn’t the only Scottish luminary being tidied up.
Yards away, a statue of William Wallace was spotted being steam-cleaned as snow fell across the city this morning.
William's covered in a very Scottish mist (thanks to a well-timed statue steam clean) on this snowy day in Aberdeen pic.twitter.com/dKjLCQRgiH
— Craig Munro (@crunro) April 5, 2022
Robert Burns statue is not gulls’ only target
This isn’t the first time the city’s pesky gull population has turned against one of its cultural landmarks.
In November, we revealed how the feathered philistines were making a mess of Aberdeen Art Gallery.
The council was forced to erect protective scaffolding around “the jewel in the city’s crown” to deter the bothersome birds.