Still, multiple Dunedin organisations are attempting to change that reputation and are throwing their weight behind the birds’ bid to win this year’s "Bird of the Year" crown.
Enterprise Dunedin destination manager and Dunedin Wildlife Hospital chairwoman Sian Sutton said the gulls were cheeky, adventurous "and a little bit overlooked".
"If you can look past their chip-stealing tendencies, they’re really quite beautiful and quite charming."
She said gulls were monogamous, pairs built their nests together, and could mate together for up to 17 years.
"They might steal chips, but they don’t steal partners."
Ms Sutton said Dunedin was the wildlife capital of the country and every species should matter — even if red-billed gulls were the "Jack Sparrow" of the bird world.
Dunedin Wildlife Hospital general manager Suzanne Stephenson said many vets and staff at the hospital were fond of the gulls, and that was due in no small part to "Pesky Pete", their resident lifeguard, greeter, crier, security and "crumb recovery specialist".
He showed up at the hospital with his father in 2021 while still a fledgling and has never left.
Since then, he had met his "wife", a red-billed gull named "Patricia" and together they had built a home and had their own fledgling, "Peeta".
She said Pesky Pete was part of the family and the reason they were backing the gulls.
"Pete represents a species we see a lot of in the hospital here — they are the third-most common species we see."
She said they were "beautiful birds, loving animals" and she wanted to see them in the city for generations to come.
Nationally, red-billed gull numbers were decreasing rapidly, largely due to predation and a shortage of krill — their preferred food — which had driven them to be scavengers.
The bird’s conservation status was "at risk — declining", and the national population was predicted to plummet by an "alarming" 50% to 70% over the next 30 years.
"I don’t think many people know that a lot of our bird species are in trouble. We know about the ones we talk a lot about, like the hoiho, but we certainly would never think that the gulls are declining."
The Dunedin City Council, the wildlife hospital, The Monarch, Otago Shore and Land Trust, Port to Port Ferry and Wildlife Tours, the Royal Albatross Centre and Opera Wildlife Conservation Tours are backing the push to have the red-billed gull named as Bird of the Year.
