1st winter Iceland Gulls, Galway

With at least 8 Iceland Gulls being reported at a landfill site in West Lothian today, maybe the Iceland Gull invasion is about to reach us in Edinburgh. There have only been a couple of reports of singles along the coast, but it would be great to catch up with this species again soon. In the meantime here are some pictures of a variety of first winter birds from Nimmo's Pier in Galway at the beginning of the month.

This last bird is a nice dark, coarsely marked individual.

Although I have not managed any Icelands in Lothian this year so far, I did manage a couple of larid year ticks last weekend - Kittiwake and Little Gull both viewed distantly feeding at the sewage works outfall at Seafield. Best bird of the weekend, however, was the female Blackcap that appeared in the garden in time to be logged for the garden birdwatch - the first I have seen there all winter!