Gull Watching at RM’s

Today I decided to head down to Rainton Meadows to look for the Caspian Gull that was reported as being present yesterday. I sadly can report I didn’t see the Caspian Gull but had a great afternoon out anyway.

At Rainton Meadow’s I scanned though literally hundreds of gulls searching for the Caspian when I first arrived but no sign at all. There where gulls on the islands, in the water, and in the field out to the back of the reserve. There was nothing much unusual and then something flushed the gulls and they came of the field onto the water and the islands. Another scan revealed this beauty:

(Iceland Gull - 3rd winter - Andrew Kinghorn)

The Iceland Gull stayed around on the water for about 1 hour or more as it swam about and then disappeared. My mate informed me it was a 3rd year Iceland Gull.

Full gull list of birds seen this afternoon is:
- Black headed Gulls
- Lesser Black-backed Gulls x2
- Herring Gulls
- Great Black-backed Gulls
- Common Gull
- Iceland Gull x1

No Caspian but the Iceland Gull pretty made up for that. Nice to meet rokermartin, Cut’n a Long Story Short, and AndyK at Rainton Meadows today.

A walk to get my lift produced a Tawny Owl pointed out to me by Cut'n a Long Story Short. That was a year tick for me and takes me up to 127.

(1 of 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls present with Herring Gulls)