Friday, 28 January 2022

Iceland Gull, Goosanders and game bird dumping


   
At last, a first Iceland Gull of this year, and at the usual place the gull roost near the old sewage pipe at the north end of Victoria Park. Found by Graham and then Dan, it was mostly sleeping at low tide and photographed at 125 times zoom.

I'd been at Keptie Pond earlier in the day, then West Links but had left Victoria Park to later, and instead went to look at wild bird cover strips on Corn Bunting survey farms when I got a text about the gull. The strip I was on at the time had 12 Linnets and little seed left other than some rape which had still to grow and reach the seed stage.  

Iceland Gull wing pattern, click here      Iceland Gull zoom      Iceland Gull preening

Game birds being dumped again, perhaps the market is falling due to the toxic lead found in supermarket birds, click here for video



1st winter Iceland Gull at Victoria Park, Arbroath



Possible to view with binoculars and made easier if it stands up, not so easy if it's sleeping and head on




Goosander drake at Keptie Pond







Goosander female










Coot



Yes it was gathering nest building material




More investigation into this duck at Keptie as some think it could be part Red-crested Pochard, we think it's part of a hybrid collection released at the pond




Mallard drake



Mallard duck




Moorhen




Tufted drake



I tried hard to get a readable photo of the metal ring but another Black-headed Gull kept pushing it off the perch. The sun wasn't helping much either




Carrion Crow at West Links




Pied Wagtail, West Links




Rock Pipit, a pair were feeding on the grass behind Chalmers Cinema



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