White-winged gulls in Orkney and Edinburgh, May 2013

Some great gulling last month with three different white-wingers...

Adult summer Glaucous Gull (on right), Egilsay, 16 May 2013 (with 3cy Herring Gull)

Third calendar year Iceland Gull (on right), Westray, 22 May 2013 (with adult Great Black-backed Gull, Hooded Crow and adult Herring Gull)

Adult type feathers in the back of this 3CY Iceland Gull more obvious in this shot

Isabel dilution mutant Herring Gull (centre), Seafield, Edinburgh, 29 May 2013 (with Herring Gulls)

Glossy Iceland

  Silhouettes: Glossy Ibis and Iceland Gull on North Uist.

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!

2nd winter Iceland Gull, Galway

Like many of the Iceland Gulls of this winter's invasion into north-western Europe, this big 2nd winter bird was clearly hungry and showed little fear of me. Almost Glaucous Gull-like in character, I assume from its size that it was a male bird.

 

3rd winter Iceland Gull in Galway

Still working through my collection of Iceland Gull photographs from the recent trip to Galway. The invasion is really concentrated in the Faroes and the Northern Isles. Hopefully I'll manage to find another in Lothian over the next few weeks...

Here is the first of the Iceland Gulls from one week ago. It was waiting for us on Nimmo's Pier and the whole family managed to see it without getting out of the car - which is just as well because they wouldn't have seen it otherwise! I saw it on three occasions over the next 24 hours and it was ther nearest to adult plumage that I saw on the trip - only a little brownish feathering on the breast and tail and the sub-adult bill pattern giving its age away. A very pale gull, it looked large and ghostly in flight.

Iceland Gull returns to Alnwickhill

I had given up on the 1st winter Iceland Gull returning to Alnwickhill, but it was there again today at lunchtime. A quick visit coincided with some very unpleasant weather and I was in two minds whether to bother getting out of the car. I'm glad I did as the Iceland Gull was one of the few birds on the filter beds and it did not seem in the least perturbed by the conditions. It generally sat tight in comparison to the Herring Gulls which were arriving to bathe. Once again the coarse markings of the Iceland Gull were apparent. Head-on, in particular, it could be the darkest gull in the group.

 I thought the weather was about to improve...

 ... but no...

Sadly, the weather beat me eventually - look at that spray! Iceland Gull in foreground

I was hoping that it was going to fly around a little, but a single wing-flap was all it managed... Think I'll pop back later when the rain has stopped...

Another first winter Iceland Gull at Alnwickhill

I was grilling the Common Gulls at Alnwickhill this morning trying to re-find yesterday's rosy individual when a 'white-winger' caught my eye. Well, I have never managed to see very many Iceland Gulls, so I was really delighted when the white shape turned into the second 1st winter Iceland Gull for Alnwickhill this year.

Today's bird was distinctly darker and greyer than the March bird. In particular its flight feathers seemed to have a greyish wash across them and dark subterminal markings. I could not detect any real contrast between the outer primaries and the inner primaries so I do not think that Kumlien's Gull is a real possibility, but nevertheless it is not the most straightforward glaucoides Iceland Gull either. That said, the strong light this morning was playing havoc with both my camera's and my eyes' abilities to resolve subtle shades. Not that I am complaining that the sun is out in December of course...

Patch tick: Iceland Gull at Alnwickhill!

At last my thick-skinned efforts peering through the back gate of the Alnwickhill Water Treatment Works in Edinburgh have been rewarded. The only viewing point is distinctly unpleasant as it means standing at the edge of the road using a gap barely wide enough for a scope. To passers-by it appears unclear why anybody would stand with their face pressed up against an apparently solid metal gate and anybody who has enquired has had their prejudices confirmed when I reveal that I am looking at 'gulls'...

Today I was delighted to find Edinburgh's first-winter Iceland Gull loafing with the Herring, Lesser Black-backed and Common Gulls on the causeway. While this site is only 4.5 kilometers (2.5 miles) away from this bird's usual haunts I was 'genuinely surprised' to see it here given how faithful it appears to have been to the lochans in the royal park (so is it reasonable to count this as a self-find?...).

The photos won't win any awards, but instead record the initial view as the bird was preening on the causeway followed by it repositioning itself in formation with a line of traffic cones.

Then it decided to move into a variety of positions that showed its nice short legs to best advantage...

What a great bird on the local patch!

Other birds at Alnwickhill included a male Goldeneye and 2 Oystercatchers. Later on, in the garden, three Waxwings and a smart-looking male Brambling added to the winter theme.

Black-headed Gull variation

As I was passing through Holyrood Park this morning, I sopped briefly at St Margaret's Loch to see whether Edinburgh's resident Iceland Gull was still in the habit of hanging around at the lower loch in the morning before heading up to Dunsapie for the afternoon. Sure enough it was still there chasing the smaller gulls for bread. Nice to see half a dozen Lesser Black-backed Gulls back, always the first of the summer migrants to return to these parts.

In amongst the Black-headed Gulls this rosy individual with a flush of pink on its chest and neck was eye-catching. A well-documented variant in this species, it reminded me of the apricot coloured Common Gull that visited the back garden a few times during the winter. Both of these birds were more striking in the field than the photographs suggest...

First-winter Black-headed Gulls are also well known for the variation in their plumage. The following shots shows two contrasting birds - the individual on the left with much more melanin in the primaries, secondaries and primary greater coverts.

I only had a few minutes to try for that 'perfect' image of the Iceland Gull but somehow don't thibnk I managed that today?....