Oh it's an Iceland Gull!! 14th February 2009.

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Following information from the LROS website the previous day that a 1st winter Iceland Gull had been seen at Shawell tip near Lutterworth I decided to nip out late morning to see if the gull was still around?
Getting to the tip just before the morning shift had finished I parked up in a nearby lay-by and watched the gulls by the roadside.
Scanning through the large number of gulls I could not pick up anything which looked like an Iceland Gull. At this point most of the gulls got up and flew off in a southerly direction, Bugger!!
Checking the fields just east of the village there still no sign of the Iceland Gull but a good assortment of the commoner gulls. From here I moved on to Stanford Reservoir which was just down the road.
Parking on the roadside, I walked down to the dam and noted that most of the reservoir was frozen. In the free bits of water were good numbers of Pochards, Tufted Ducks and 8 Goosanders. Scanning further right over a mix of large gulls standing on the ice I noticed straight way a 1st-winter Iceland Gull. Get In !!!
I don't know if it was the same bird which had been at Shawell Tip as it looked lighter than the bird I had seen on the website.
Walking quickly back to the car I picked up my camera and got back to the dam and then took a number of record shots of the gull so hopefully the local rarity committee can figure out if its a different bird or not?
Please with myself on finding the Iceland Gull I phoned a few friends of the sighting and then made my way back to the car, as there was a very important rugby match to watch in the afternoon, but that another story.....
Folllowing on from my sighting a 1st Winter Iceland Gull was reported via birdguides at Shawell Tip at around the same time I was photographing the Iceland Gull at Stanford Res so maybe there are two birds around in the same area?

Comments

Russ Malin said…
Same bird surely? Only a couple of miles as the glaucoides flies. I wouldn't hold out too much on the differing images, digital images can do that. I've seen the same identical pic look very different depending on the monitor. However, every possibility, so am more than happy to eat my hat if you can tell us otherwise.............
17 February 2009 at 20:17
The Leicester Llama said…
I would have thought it was the same bird, but Dave was adamant that he was still watching it at the same time Neil Hagley and Garsham Roberts were watching the original bird on the balancing lake at Shawell about 3 miles away. It all depends on whether the timings were accurate.

There have been 2 different 1st-winter Icelands at Albert Village Lake recently, so there are a few about...
20 February 2009 at 09:16
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