Christine's walking & birds blog

There have been more fishing boats than usual in the harbour for the last two days; yesterday at least, some of them were perhaps waiting out the storm - although several refrigerated trucks seemed to be loading up on the quayside. Today conditions were a bit easier, although the wind was still strong in gusts, and it was fairly cold. The Iceland gull was one of the hopefuls hanging around for any discarded fish; I think it's 3rd winter, but in any case it's the closest to an adult I've seen.


There were also at least two large white-wingers (she says carefully); this one with adult plumage coming through and a pale eye.....


......and this one, with the immature plumage and dark eye of perhaps a 1st winter bird.



Now, either or both of these could be a glaucous gull or a Viking gull (a hybrid between glaucous and herring gull); I've never read up on the distinguishing features, and I'm not sure I want to start at my time of life. In fact, I might well go back through my blog and take away some posts/pics because I didn't realise until recently that blooming Viking gulls existed!

Well, I'm pretty sure this fellow can only be a juvenile great black-backed gull - and I don't think anyone hybridises with them. Who would dare?


And if the Iceland gull is actually a Kumlien's gull - I don't want to know!