Iceland Gulls at Shawell

It was very cold today at Shawell. I was staring straight into the jaws of a very cold easterly wind. My access to view the landfill site is coming into question at present due to the condition of the walkway to my viewing position. It is really muddy and in many places the mud is very deep. Nevertheless I managed to find a position to stand. Strong winds make gulls mobile and they were not staying on the ground for long today.

My first good bird was a fresh looking juvenile Iceland Gull. After that I located a couple of Caspian Gulls - a first-winter and a second-winter. I also spotted an obvious hybrid Caspian Gull. The gulls then drifted of, but on their return I picked up a splendid adult Iceland Gull. I only managed a few poor images of it, but at one point it came really close. Sadly it never stayed in one position for long.

I gave up just before lunch as the wind chill was starting to bite!

Adult Iceland Gull, Cotesbach Landfill Site