Trivia: the seagull is the state bird of Utah - which is quite a distance from the ocean.
That said, are there pohutukawa trees there? You'd have noticed them as they bloom red around christmastime - or at least they do on north island. I've never been to SI around that time of year - stayed on NI my last time there as it was a work trip. I'm on a mobile, will add photos once I'm at my desktop...
