How seagulls adapt and thrive alongside humans

Archives New Zealand · National Film Unit · CC BY

Human waste caused a gull population explosion

The clip examines how human waste disposal and landfills have fueled massive gull population booms across the globe.

Why Gull Populations Are Exploding Worldwide

A black-backed gull performs a plunge dive to grab a starfish from the sea floor, rinses it clean, and swallows it whole.

Seagull Dives for Starfish

Birds using physics and roads to crack shells

Gulls repeatedly drop hard shellfish from the air to shatter them on rocks, and even adapt by dropping them on roads for cars to crush.

Seagulls Dropping Shellfish from the Sky

They literally memorized the ferry lunch schedule

Seagulls follow inter-island ferries and time their feeding directly to cafeteria PA announcements, showing an incredible ability to exploit human schedules.

Seagulls Learned Ferry Meal Schedules

Built-in desalination glands inside a seagull

Gulls possess specialized nasal glands that act as an internal desalination plant, concentrating and extruding salt solution directly through their nostrils.

How Seagulls Drink Ocean Saltwater

The hidden danger of seagulls near airport flight paths

Aircraft and gulls often share overlapping flight paths near airports, creating dangerous risks of bird strikes during takeoff and landing.

Why Gulls Pose a Severe Hazard to Airplanes

When seagulls turn predatory on farm animals

During the lambing season, food shortages force black-backed gulls to hunt vulnerable newborn livestock, leading farmers to defend their flocks.

When Scavenger Gulls Turn into Predators

Close-up look at a wild chick hatching from its egg

A close-up view shows a gull chick using its egg tooth to crack open its shell before drying off into a fluffy newborn.

Watch a Seagull Chick Break Out of Its Shell

An adult gull splashes vigorously in the water to help loosen old feathers during its molt cycle. The energetic bathing routine provides essential feather care.

Why Gulls Put on a Dramatic Water Show While Molting

Masterclass in coastal flight and soaring

The Karoro demonstrates versatile gliding and banking techniques over coastal waters, showcasing mastery of coastal updrafts.

The Effortless Flight Mechanics of the Coastal Gull

[02:05] Why Gull Populations Are Exploding Worldwide
[05:33] Seagull Dives for Starfish
[06:33] Seagulls Dropping Shellfish from the Sky
[09:20] Seagulls Learned Ferry Meal Schedules
[13:36] How Seagulls Drink Ocean Saltwater
[14:48] Why Gulls Pose a Severe Hazard to Airplanes
[16:22] When Scavenger Gulls Turn into Predators
[20:37] Watch a Seagull Chick Break Out of Its Shell
[24:24] Why Gulls Put on a Dramatic Water Show While Molting
[26:47] The Effortless Flight Mechanics of the Coastal Gull

How seagulls adapt and thrive alongside humans

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