Adult Iceland Gull at Shawell

March is a good time for 'white-winged' Gulls at Shawell A5 lagoons, but so far this March I had come away empty handed after each visit. That all changed today when this little beauty arrived.

Adult Iceland Gull

This full adult was present for about an hour around lunchtime, although it spent much of its time sleeping. The light was very harsh, but my digiscoping rig allowed me to get the all important record shots.

Just prior to spotting the adult Iceland Gull, I found a splendid adult Mediterranean Gull. I've have only found three Med Gulls at the site in three years, so I was wondering if I'd been missing them. I spotted this one without difficulty in amongst the swarms of Black-headed Gulls. From my own experience I believe the reason I don't see many is because they are scarce visitors to the area.

Adult Mediterranean Gull

As well as the 'white-wingers', a second-winter Caspian Gull put in a couple of appearances. Also three yellow-legged Gulls came in: an adult plus a first and second-winter.

First-winter Yellow-legged Gull

The first-winter Yellow-legged Gull was a beauty. Large pale head with a mask around the eyes and a chunky black bill. The saddle was pale grey with distinct anchor marks. The coverts contrasted with the saddle nicely being dark brown. The tertials were almost black with fine pale fringes. Compare to the Great Black-backed Gull to its right.

Related posts:

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Kumlien's Gulls etc

Iceland Gulls

White Wingers at Shawell

Glaucous and Iceland Gulls