Hardcore Gulls

Tarāpuka, the black-billed gull endemic to New Zealand, is one of the world’s most endangered seagulls. Populations have dwindled so fast that, some years ago, the Department of Conservation placed the bird on the list of nationally critical species. As a result, it is illegal to disturb the black-billed gull when it’s nesting. But what if it’s the gull itself that is causing disturbance?

For the past couple of years, hundreds of black-billed and red-billed gulls have made themselves at home in the waterlogged basement of a demolished building