First-year immature Iceland Gull, center left foreground
The pretty white gull was on the last remnant of ice at Niles Pond yesterday morning, preening and bathing alongsideĀ a mixed flock of Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls. Although doing his/herĀ best to blend with the otherĀ gulls, he appeared to be playing with a feather blowing around onĀ the ice.
I wonder who amongstĀ our readers has seen an Iceland Gull, and where it was spotted. Please write and let us know. Thank you!
Iceland Gulls are most often only seen in our regionĀ during the winter. Despite their name, they do not breed in Iceland, but in the high Arctic and Greenland. Their diet consistsĀ of fish, marine vertebrates, carrion, some terrestrial and aquatic plants, andĀ berries during the late summer.
I wished I could have gotten closer to get a better photo, but if you scroll through the followingĀ pdf, written by Dick Coombs, you’llĀ find an excellent description of a 1st-winter immature Iceland Gull, just like the one at Niles, along withĀ photos of a mature Iceland Gull: http://www.southdublinbirds.com/nimages/fyles/IDofIceland&GlaucousGulls-print(DC).pdf
Niles PondĀ foliage readying to burst
Good Morning Gloucester 