The squawking of a ring-billed gull colony could be heard over the sounds of the demolition of their home at the southern point of Goose Island on Wednesday afternoon.

Construction workers began demolishing the former Greyhound maintenance facility a month ago, according to the building permit. In doing so, local experts said they were disrupting a gull colony that had been there for years.

Jennifer Frank, a bird enthusiast and resident of a building looking over the site, said she had watched the colony since she moved in eight years ago.

“They’re my buddies, so this is devastating,” Frank said. “I was horrified.”

On Friday evening, Frank was developing photos she took of the birds when she noticed nests on the roof of the facility. Frank proceeded to contact the construction company, Brandenburg Industrial Service Co., to alert them of the gull chicks and received replies about addressing the issue.

By Tuesday morning, Frank had photos and videos of dead gulls around the active demolition site. She said her contacts at the construction company stopped responding to her.

Annette Prince, director of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, said volunteers went to the site Thursday afternoon to assess the situation and move any juvenile gulls.

“We have to get the babies out,” she said. “They’re not safe from predators, that’s why (gulls) nest on rooftops, they’re not safe on the ground.”

Prince said the organization filed a report with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last month, but there was no follow-up after the initial acknowledgment.

When the organization received a call Saturday from a concerned citizen, Prince said she was surprised to hear that Brandenburg had started the demolition despite the nests on the roof.

“There’s a couple of other ways they could’ve gone about it but didn’t,” said Greg Neise, a Chicago birder with the American Birding Association. “So now we’re in this situation where there’s dead gulls all over the place, and there’s quite a few babies wandering around looking for their parents.”

Neise said that gulls only nest until July, so demolition could have happened before or after the nesting took place.

“I realize that projects have to move at a certain pace,” he said. “But it’s not even a matter of oversight, it’s just complete disregard.”

The developer for the land is Onni Group, a real estate company looking to build a residential complex, along with office, retail and hotel space.

Representatives from Brandenburg and Onni could not be reached for comment.

Amar Ayyash, a national gull expert from Orland Park, said the city has a long record of destroying gull colonies.

The largest ring-billed gull colony in Lake Calumet was destroyed around 2011 and was home to about 60,000 birds, Ayyash said.

“The birds that were nesting in Lake Calumet have dispersed all over the city,” he said. “The city in general doesn’t like them around tourist areas.”

There are laws that protect birds from having their nests removed or killed, such as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Ring-billed gulls are protected under the act.

Violating the act is a felony offense but Ayyash said the government doesn’t usually take action since they’re gulls, which are not endangered.

“Gulls sort of get the short end of the stick with that because they’re so invasive,” Ayyash said.

Despite some people seeing them as pests, Ayyash said they play an important role in an urban setting that many don’t understand.

“In some ways, they’re our streets and sanitation crew,” he said. Gulls eat “anything short of rat poison.”

“They really are not doing any harm if you stop and think about it, only good,” he said.

Editor’s note: Greg Neise’s name was spelled incorrectly is some earlier versions.

vla@chicagotribune.com