Authorities probing seagull attacks

Authorities are asking the public's help in finding two seagulls that apparently were impaled by humans, and they want help finding the humans who maimed the gulls.

In the first case, a seagull with an arrow in its head was seen Thursday afternoon near 475 Main St. in Patchogue, according to Chief Roy Gross of the Suffolk County SPCA. He said the gull was gone when SPCA investigators arrived.

In the second case, a photographer took a picture in mid-June of a seagull that was wandering on The Long Wharf in Sag Harbor with a long, narrow dart in its head, Gross said. It flew away when approached, he said, but has been spotted several times since.

Anyone seeing the injured birds or having information about who might have harmed them should call the SPCA at 631-382-7722.

Gross said anyone seeing the birds should not touch them or try to remove the objects. "We have experts ready, willing and able to help these birds," he said.