Glaucous Gull

This first-winter Glaucous Gull turned up yesterday on the grass strip between the road and shore immediately outside my house. This got covered in debris in the storm on Tuesday last week and the bird spends its time pecking through it. They are irregular visitors here from the arctic - breeding in Iceland, Svalbard and arctic Russia. Some winters we only get one or two (as this winter, so far) but in January 2012 there were an exceptional 25–30 present on the island.
Malcolm

Glaucous Gulls - Gordon Yates

Two lovely shots of a Glaucous Gull feeding on the carcass of a Barnacle Goose.

More photos from Mark and Sally

Thanks Mark and Sally for this excellent collection of white-winged gull photos.

First winter Glaucous Gull feeding on sheep carcass

First winter Glaucous Gull feeding on sheep carcass

Adult Iceland Gull

Second winter Iceland Gull

Second winter Iceland Gull

Second winter Iceland Gull

White-winged gull update

The Iceland Gull total looks to be a minimum of 36 (just 5 adults) with a possible maximum of 49, but c.35-40 birds seems "about right"

The Glaucous Gull total is 20 minimum (6 adults) with possible maximum of c.25 birds.

Peter Roberts

Iceland and Glaucous Gulls on Islay January 2012 - Peter Roberts

Iceland Gull And Glaucous Gull Sightings On Islay In January 2012

Since the severe storms in early January there has been an exceptional influx into the NW of the UK of “white-winged gulls”. Early estimates for Argyll suggest 96 Iceland and 36 Glaucous Gulls plus a scattering of Kumlien’s race of Iceland. Reports of national numbers suggest a conservative figure of 600 Iceland Gulls and 180 Glaucous Gulls – mostly in the NW of UK, especially Scotland. But these are early days, and if anyone manages to collate final UK data this figure may be much higher.
Apart from many individual and random sightings from observers resident on Islay, there were more concerted efforts to census numbers of both species from experienced and reliable birders visiting the island at the time. This has resulted in a mass of records over the middle two weeks of January.
 Birds have generally been “faithful” to location and seen in the same sites (including inland fields as well as coastal sites) over several days or more.
 The (data suggests) a minimum count of 31 Iceland Gulls (with) a possible maximum count of 45 individuals, though some records are quite likely to be of birds moving from one location to another. However there could well be 35-40 birds involved?
The (data suggests) a minimum count of 17 Glaucous Gulls (with) a possible maximum of 23 individuals is possible if all sightings were of different birds – though this figure seems unlikely.

Peter Roberts
Bruichladdich

Larus hyperboreus

Glaucous Gulls - Larus hyperboreus

I finally caught up with the two Glaucous Gulls at Uiskentuie this morning. Yippee!

For Christmas I got many wonderful books including one on lichens which I've yet to inflict on this blog, oops, I mean which I've yet to use to impart knowledge and joy to followers of this blog! Another was one which I shared some time ago - Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. This is a wonderful volume and I decided to look up the scientific names of our recent white-winged gull visitors. I discovered that Larus, the family name, means rapacious seabird (usually a gull).

Larus hyperboreus translates as 'rapacious seabird of northern parts'. (Huperboreoi is Greek for people of the extreme north.)

Larus glaucoides (Iceland Gull) translates as 'rapacious seabird of  blue-grey likeness.' Surely this would be a more appropriate name for the Glaucous Gull. Its English name is also a bit of a misnomer, given that this gull breeds in Greenland and northern Canada, but not Iceland!
Becky

Glaucous Gull

Taken at near the burn mouth at Uiskentuie Strand this evening (in very poor light with a hand held compact at 1600asa!!).  Feeding on what I assume is a sheeps carcass.  I understand that this is a second year bird (although my grip of immature winter plumaged Glaucous Gulls is not that strong).  There were two birds there earlier in the day.
Carl