The shifting diet of karoro / black-backed gulls

[Neil Fitzgerald]

Diet of Auckland / Hauraki Gulf is now much less marine derived than just a century ago, and diet has changed noticeably over the past 4500 years.

https://phys.org/news/2025-05-reveals-d ... aland.html

[paradoxdinokipi]

I know Kelp Gull populations really took off post European colonisation but I believe I had also heard claims of them arriving to NZ post-Maori, makes sense that they've always been around.

[andrewcrossland]

I don’t know where your “post Māori “ theory came from as they were a pretty significant food source for Ngai Tahu who harvested eggs from colonies on braided rivers and considered a taonga species (unlike black- billed gull or red-billed hill which aren’t taonga species).

[Jan]

Yep, their eggs make delicious eating. Just put them in water and make sure they sink, that way you know they are fresh. Fabulous food.

[Hypno]

Yep, their eggs make delicious eating. Just put them in water and make sure they sink, that way you know they are fresh. Fabulous food.

I don't think we should ever encourage Harvesting of Gull eggs. IF we start normalizing such harvesting, non birders taking up the hobby could easily broaden their harvesting to other species through ignorance or deception, MPI already have huge problem where any sea creature is harvested from the tide line, it strips every limpet or starfish from whole areas, if the harvesters are given a green light for SBBG eggs, it would be nightmare to police and educate. Many eggs found on the ground are the same color, an oyster catcher egg on a beach for example is almost identical to a SBBG egg.

I don't agree on any native bird being vilified, SBBG included. The braided river org have graphics calling SBBG's "Bad predatory gulls," a public campaign making them as enemy's to be destroyed, they seam lost the fact all gulls are predatory or that a healthy environment has predators. What the difference to them and fish and game labeling shags as predators of fish