Gulls of New Zealand

Gulls are fascinating creatures, yet they are often disliked by people: “they are noisy”, “they poo everywhere”, “they are aggressive”… These people forget that we are the invaders, and that gulls, like all wildlife, are just trying to adapt to the changes we bring to the natural world. At that, they have proved expert, thriving on our waste. Ask a larophile (a fan of gulls; from Laridae, the latin name of the gull family) the best place for gull-watching, and the answer will most likely be the local landfill! A geo-tracking study showed that gulls nesting in Belgium were doing regular trip to a certain place in France… that proved to be a chips factory! Oh, and haven’t you seen this picture of a gull that fell into a tikka masala vat in the UK, turning completely orange in its quest for food scraps? In Helsinki, it’s a lot of fun to watch gulls diving on people’s ice creams at the market square (Kauppatori). They make the scoops fall to the ground, for they know humans won’t pick them up from there. Then the feast begins. Unfortunately, in a natural world unbalanced by human activity, gulls can also be a nuisance for more sensitive species, eating eggs and chicks.

Herring gull (Larus argentatus) on the ferry to Texel (NL)

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NATURE

The Silent World

“It seemed to be like small bells most exquisitely tuned”

These were the word of Captain Cook when he arrived in New Zealand in the end of the 18th century. He referred to the sound of New Zealand bellbirds (Anthornis melanura), a common bird at the time. More generally, New Zealand forests were thought to be much alive with the chatter of birds before human, and especially European, colonization… but this has changed.

Before human settlement, about 85% of the country was covered by forest. Now, native trees cover only about 30% of the land (Click here for a cool, albeit depressing, animation). Large trees were cut down by the wood industry, while the rest was burnt down to create agricultural land, essentially pastures. Of course, wildlife didn’t take it well.

In addition, the introduction of exogenous mammals had a dramatic impact: rats, stoats, possums eat birds and eggs; possums and deer eat vegetation. For millenia, the only land mammals in New Zealand had been bats, so native wildlife had evolved accordingly and didn’t know how to respond to the invasion. Defenceless, species started to decline and disappear.

New Zealand bellbird (Anthornis melanura)

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