I normally spend my February trip to Aviemore playing in the snow, but gale force winds and white outs limited my outings into the Cairngorms to just two.
On the non-mountain days I spent my time birding. The coast between Nairn and Burghead provided some of the highlights, but trips to Gairloch, Gruinard Bay, Thurso and Scrabster were also memorable.
Gulls, surprise surprise, provided lots of entertainment. The list included a Bonaparte's, two Glaucous, two Kumlien's and five Iceland Gulls. The other highlights of the trip will feature in future postings.
The first Iceland Gull I saw was at a pig farm near Elgin. An adult was resting in a field close to the pig farm and for a while I thought I'd got a juvenile Kumlien's Gull, but on close inspection I realised it was a partially leucistic Herring Gull. It showed pale buff markings on the longest primaries, but structurally it was not right although at least it was educational.
At Gairloch I visited the outflow of the Kerry River where two juvenile Iceland Gulls had been reported. Three maybe four juveniles were there and involved in a feeding frenzy near the end of a pipe. I'm not sure if it was sewage or just the outflow from the fish farm.
Thurso and Scrabster provided real entertainment. On arrival at Thurso I found the regular Bonaparte's Gull roosting on an island in the river, but the light was really poor, so photography proved difficult. At Scrabster juvenile Kumlien's and Iceland Gulls showed well and posed for photographs. The first 'white winger' that put in an appearance was what I considered to be an Iceland Gull. It was much paler and the longest primaries were clean white. Once the Kumlien's Gull put in appearance there was no mistaking it.
![]( "Juvenile Kumlien's Gull") |
Juvenile Kumlien's Gull
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Juvenile Kumlien's Gull
Juvenile Kumlien's Gull
Juvenile Kumlien's Gull |
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| Juvenile Kumlien's Gull |
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| Juvenile Iceland Gull |
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| Juvenile Iceland Gull |
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| Juvenile Iceland Gull |
Juvenile Iceland Gull
After the excitement at Scrabster, I returned to Thurso. The Bonaparte's Gull had disappeared but what greeted me was every bit as good. Resting amongst the gulls on the riverbank was, what in the bright sunlight, appeared to be an Iceland Gull. I moved places, so I wasn't looking into the sun and quickly realised it was a Kumlien's Gull - get in there! I also realised that the gull next to it was juvenile Glaucous Gull.
In the photo below you can see the grey wash to the longest primaries. Initially I thought it was a third-winter because of the amount of grey on the mantle and scapulars, but Kumlien's second-winters are often said to show grey saddles. The actual grey wash was very obvious when viewed through my scope, I believe more so than in the photograph. The eyes were dark, which is a good feature, as many Iceland Gulls at this age have paler eyes. The flock of gulls were disturbed by a car alarm (to be honest I was disturbed by it as well). As they wheeled around I got back onto the Kumlien's, and from my position higher up on the river bank I saw the upperwing and the grey wash was most obvious on the outer primaries and the inner primaries appeared paler. I also noticed that the tail band was quite distinctive.
Second-winter Kumlien's Gull
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| Glaucous Gull |
