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January 2012
In the past couple of months there has been an unusually large influx of Iceland and Glaucous Gulls into the UK as well as other parts of Western Europe as far south as Portugal. Most winters only a few of these white-winged vagrants venture this far south of their normal winter range which is much closer to the Arctic Circle. This winter the numbers of Iceland Gulls seen far exceeds that of the usually more frequent Glaucous Gull. Iceland Gulls in adult or near adult plumage are not uncommon. In other years it is birds in the pale brownish to almost white sub-adult plumage that one usually sees. Amongst the Iceland Gulls are a few Kumlien’s Gulls that have originated from NE Canada. The specific status of this bird is somewhat in doubt. It is possibly a hybrid between Iceland Gull and the Thayer’s Gull from NW Canada or all three may be one species with a wing pattern that gradually changes over its range. The adult Kumlien’s Gull can be identified by the varying amounts of a frosty grey pattern on the wing-tips.
In the past couple of months there has been an unusually large influx of Iceland and Glaucous Gulls into the UK as well as other parts of Western Europe as far south as Portugal. Most winters only a few of these white-winged vagrants venture this far south of their normal winter range which is much closer to the Arctic Circle. This winter the numbers of Iceland Gulls seen far exceeds that of the usually more frequent Glaucous Gull. Iceland Gulls in adult or near adult plumage are not uncommon. In other years it is birds in the pale brownish to almost white sub-adult plumage that one usually sees. Amongst the Iceland Gulls are a few Kumlien’s Gulls that have originated from NE Canada. The specific status of this bird is somewhat in doubt. It is possibly a hybrid between Iceland Gull and the Thayer’s Gull from NW Canada or all three may be one species with a wing pattern that gradually changes over its range. The adult Kumlien’s Gull can be identified by the varying amounts of a frosty grey pattern on the wing-tips.
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