Glaucous Gull

After a poor show on Saturday due to no tipping I was compelled to go to work early in order to get over to Shawell again at Lunchtime.

The first interesting gull I spotted was a giant of a Caspian Gull, which I first saw a few weeks back. It matched the Great Black-backed Gulls in size.

Next was a large Herring Gull that I have seen a few times recently. Apparently it was identified as a Glaucous Gull today, but it is most likely a Herring Gull with faded bleached primaries; certainly not a Glaucous Gull. The primary projection  is too long for a Glauc to start with.

Anyway, the pièce de résistance was a new Glaucous Gull. A tricky one to age, but the obviously pale eyes, faded black tip to bill and the amount of adult like grey feathering on the mantle, scapulars and some coverts led me to conclude it is probably a third-winter.