After part of the iconic Santa Cruz Wharf collapsed into the ocean amid powerful waves on Monday, feathered culprits have been found to factor into the pier’s damage: seagulls.

Two people were rescued and a third swam to safety after a California pier under construction partially collapsed and fell into the ocean Monday as the state’s central coast was pounded by heavy surf from a major storm expected to bring hurricane-force winds to the seas off the Pacific Northwest,