Cold as Ice

Finally, finally I caught up with one of the many Iceland Gulls that have invaded the UK this winter. It was pounding with rain so following local gen I sacrificed a golden nugget and scoped the beauty from the covered multi-storey car opposite the fish market in the locale where the gulls had been loafing. I was stuck in port due to weather and was damned if I was staying put. I got some nice views of the bird, an adult, flying around the harbour and briefly alighted on the fish market roof. It is a streaky headed individual - not something I readily associated with Iceland Gulls. When I arrived all the birds were facing the car park and not showing the primary tips yet the common gull esque bill was easy to pick amongst the more brutish Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. At sea we had little of interest although I did get offshore ticks in Gadwall, Pintail and Black-tailed Godwit.



Adult Iceland Gull, Lowestoft. Copyright Peter Ransome