Iceland Gull (adult) Arbroath

At last, and Iceland Gull at Victoria Park, and even better an adult for a change. I'd went for a look in late afternoon and almost as soon as I arrived one flew directly over my head. You may have guessed, I didn't have a camera with me at that point, only my scope, so I didn't get a classic flight photo. To make it worse, it disappeared and it took another 15 minutes to re-locate it nearer the Steeple Rock at Whiting Ness. Next it flew out to sea and out of sight but I found it again later by the old sewage pipe with the gull flock. The gulls bathe there in the fresh water of the small burn. How long will this one stay around?


Iceland Gull adult, Victoria Park, Arbroath, click here for 32 second video

Iceland Gull adult, more zoom, 115 seconds, click here

Lesser Redpoll, Montreathmont Forest, click here for video  edited from UHD version

Iceland Gull (adult), easy to find and pick out when I knew it was around somewhere, and conveniently sitting on its own. Look up the ID tips on this species, I use the books often and it's very useful when I come across something unusual. In this case, I've been looking for an Iceland or Glaucous Gull at Victoria Park all year!

With the longer optical zoom on the Canon SX60, and the camera resting on the concrete sea wall. Not often I post a shot from the SX60

Same pose as the Herring Gull makes for a good comparison

Note the more rounded head, smaller less colourful beak and no black wing tips. Other photos show a deeper red in the legs than this one. Even Olive (marginally) thinks it's better looking than a Herring Gull and she doesn't like gulls. More Gull love I say!