Red Billed Gull

Scientific Name Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus

Native Yes

Family Laridae

Common Weight 240-320 grams

Common Height 20 CM

Common Length 30 CM

Identification

The red-billed gull also known as the “Seagull” is common around New Zealand Coasts. Located everywhere on Waiheke beaches where food or bait is readily accessible.

They are commonly seen in coastal towns, garbage dumps and at fish processing facilities or hanging around fisherman.

The seagull is a medium-sized white gull with pale grey mantle, back and wing coverts, black main flight feathers with white tips, white iris, and bright red bill, eyelids and legs. Sexes are similar, but males are slightly larger with a longer and stouter bill.

The iris is white and the bill, eyelids and feet are scarlet, especially in the breeding season, being more dull during the rest of the year.

Immatures are similar to adults, except they have brown patches on the mantle and the primaries are brownish in colour rather than black. The iris, bill and legs of immatures are dark brown.

They have a wide range of calls that are used in different circumstances.

Waiheke Wildlife

White Fronted Tern

The white-fronted tern is a medium-sized, long-tailed sea tern commonly around New Zealand coasts. Spotted congregating on Waiheke wharfs such as Matiatia and Orapiu.

Spur-winged Plover

The Spur-winged plover is a large stocky wader with a yellow bill and spurs on each wing, locations found on Waiheke are Blackpool, Maori hill and Whakanewha.

Black Bird

The black bird is a medium-sized songbird that is entirely black in adult males with a yellow bill. Abundantly found on Waiheke around household properties and trees.

Pied Shag

This large black-and-white shag is often seen individually or in a group, usually spotted in the ocean searching for food or hanging around fisherman by the rocks of Waiheke.

Common Myna

Mynas are stocky brown birds with a shiny black head and shoulders. Commonly found on road sides on Waiheke, usually playing chicken with cars while foraging for food.

Thrush

The thrush is a medium-sized songbird with a speckled brown-on-cream breast, usually heard before it is seen, found in grass reserves, gardens and trees on Waiheke.

Spotted Turtle Dove

The spotted dove is a medium-sized, long-tailed dove, with a greyish head and speckled greyish brown upperparts. Found on Waiheke around gardens and the rooster reserve.

Variable Oyster Catcher

The variable oystercatcher is a stocky coastal bird with a long, bright orange bill, it is located on many quiet beaches such as Blackpool, Whakanewha and Anzac bay.

Little Shag

The little shag is a small shag, with a short yellow bill, black feet, a relatively long tail, usually spotted in the ocean searching for food or hanging around Waiheke…

Sacred Kingfisher

The sacred kingfisher is a distinctive bird with a green-blue back, buff to yellow undersides and a large black bill. they can be found nearby tidal beaches on waiheke.

Kaka

The Kaka is a large, olive-brown parrot with grey-white crown, red-orange underwing and deep crimson belly, located in tree covered areas around Onetangi.

Great black-backed gull

The Black-backed gull is a large black-and-white gull with a white head and underparts, black back, yellow bill with a red spot near the tip. Located on Waiheke beaches.

Tui

The Tui is a iridescent blue-green honeyeater with two curled white feather tufts on the throat. Locations found on Waiheke are around flaxes feeding off nectar.

NZ Dotterel

The New Zealand Dotterel is a shorebird which breeds on beaches in NZ's North Island. Locations found on Waiheke are Whakanewha, Anzac Bay and Blackpool.

Pied Stilt

The pied stilt is a dainty wading bird, It is common at wetlands and coastal areas, found on Waiheke at Putiki Bay, Anzac Bay and Blackpool.

White-Eye

A small songbird, immediately recognisable by its distinctive white eye-ring. This quick little bird can be found feeding off flax and kowhais or fruit trees on Waiheke.

Fantail

The Fantail is a well known NZ bird due to its distinctive fanned tail. Locations found on Waiheke are any well-treed parks, bush walks and even properties.

White Faced Heron

The white-faced heron is a tall, elegant, blue-grey bird usually spotted stalking prey. Locations found on Waiheke are Mangroves, Anzac bay and quiet beaches.

Magpie

The Magpie is a large black-and-white songbird, It was introduced from Australia. It can be found on Waiheke around farmland and large grass reserves.

Australasian Gannet

The gannet is a large slender-bodied seabird with mainly white plumage, buff-yellow head and neck. Occassionally seen around Waiheke searching for food in ocean depths.

Grey Warbler

The Grey Warbler is a tiny olive-grey song bird often heard before seen. Locations on Waiheke are dense woody vegetations. The warbler can be difficult to spot.

Welcome Swallow

Welcome swallows are small fast-flying birds, they are usually seen around waiheke during breeding season between August and February on powerlines, fences and beaches.

Wood Pigeon

The Wood pigeon is a large distinctively-coloured pigeon, it is easy to find on Waiheke due to its size, they are usually perched on powerlines or trees.

The red-billed gull also known as a "Seagull" is common around New Zealand Coasts. Located everywhere on Waiheke beaches where food or bait is readily accessible.

Bar-tailed Godwit

The Godwit is a migrant from Alaska, they fly 8-9 days straight to arrive in NZ. They can be found on Waiheke from September - March located at Blackpool.

Pūkeko

The Pukeko is a large relatively compact rail with a deep blue-violet head, breast and throat and a red bill. Found in swamp/Mangrove areas of Waiheke Island.

Breeding

Red-billed gulls breed in large, dense colonies on the mainland.

They have an extremely long egg-laying period that can extend from mid-September to January.

They are monogamous, with the sexes sharing approximately equally in nest-building, incubation and provisioning the chicks.

Nests are well developed and consist of grass, seaweed or twigs.

The clutch size is normally two eggs, but one and three egg clutches sometimes occur. Supernormal clutches of up to five eggs can occur in female-female associations. Eggs are ovoid, mainly brownish or greenish-grey with dark brown spots or blotches. Incubation lasts 21-25 days and chicks begin to fly at 35 days and continue to be fed for another 30 days.

Food

The Red billed gull feed on Earthworms, small fish, garbage and kelp flies, but they are dependent upon an abundant and regular supply of the surface-swarming krill for successful breeding. Outside of the breeding season the diet is highly variable. Some still feed at sea; others feed on small invertebrates along the shore, or from human sources such as handouts in towns or cities,beaches and offal being discarded from fishing boats and garbage at rubbish dumps.

Waiheke Locations

Waiheke Beaches – Oneroa, Onetangi, Palm Beach etc ( If you have food with you they seem to just be around begging at your feet or trying to steal from your hands. Yes it does happen I once had a pie knocked out of my hands and taken away (watch your food!).

Fishing Spots – Oh yes they are there too, waiting for bait to be unattended to they are cunning. They swoop in and hang around slowly moving closer to your bait and then they make there move when you not looking. ( Please make sure bait is not on any hooks unattended they will take whatever they can get).

Waiheke Dump – Found hanging around scavenging for their next meal inside the building or outside.

Rooster Reserve – Found associating with the rooster during feeding times.

The Red Billed Gulls are flying birds so they can really be anywhere on Waiheke but not just Waiheke they are all over New Zealand. These are just areas I’ve spotted them and photographed.