3 2 1 launch!!Black-backed gull takes off!

Black backed gull launching off a wall near the river.

the black-backed gull is the only large gull in New Zealand.The black-backed gull is a circumpolar navigator, living in and around the coasts of South America, South Africa, south?east Australia and New Zealand. Being a scavenger by nature, it lives and breeds in a multitude of places, from rocky ledges to open areas of pasture.

Unlike most of our native bird life, the black?backed gull has adapted well to European settlement, from taking advantage of an abundant supply of insects and small animals off pasturelands to scavenging off refuse tips in the urban environment and foraging along the coastal front.

They have caused problems on Stephens Is taking and killing tuatara.

They are often to be seen dropping shellfish on the beach to open them.