Harlequin Ducks in Iceland

I got back home this afternoon, after a really enjoyable week in Iceland. A fabulous country, and I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone - it's Scotland on a grand scale with volcanoes, clean air and full of friendly folk. As well as a fair few interesting birds (including the obligatory gulls), and very few birders there is a lot to find and discover. Admittedly, I did luck out on glorious sunshine all week but I reckon these beauties would look pretty special in the rain too: -

 

Harlequins at Grundarfjörður 4th April 2013

Harlequins were quite easy to see, and I managed to locate the odd bird on most days of the holiday - down in the southwest near Grindavik (in the bay at Hraunsvik), in the south at Vik and then in the northwest at Grundarfjörður. April is the time of year when they start heading off from their coastal wintering grounds back onto the rivers where they breed, so some seemed paired up whilst others were still in small flocks feeding amongst the surf and rocky coastlines. Earlier in the winter, they'd be larger flocks in the bays while a few weeks on, it's when the long lens brigade pap them on the fast flowing rivers in their breeding habitat. First time I've ever seen drakes in sparkling plumage so an absolute pleasure (saw some in Washington/Oregon in minging kit last summer).

Iceland introduction

It's been a funny old Spring, especially when you come to Iceland from London and it feels a fair bit warmer. Having arrived late on Saturday night, the last few days of another 'non-birding' holiday have been action packed, with Karen and I making the most of the long days and enjoying the south and southwest of the country while staying in Reykjavik, a lovely city. First morning found us conveniently staying a mile or so away from a couple of American Wigeons at Njarðvík. Here's one of them: -


drake American Wigeon Njarðvík 31st March 2013

Did a nice little loop around the tip of the Reykjanes peninsular, where amongst the nice remote scenery I managed to locate a third American Wigeon of the day - at Garður - before sampling the thousands of distant Eider and gulls, and then half a dozen Harlequins and a Surf Scoter bobbing up and down in the surf at Hraunsvik were pretty neat, albeit a bit distant and into the sun. What have been nice all trip are the copious amounts of borealis-type Eiders, the males complete with sails and orangey bills: -

borealis Eider Bakkatjorn 1st April 2013

Yesterday and today have been predominantly about seeing the sites, which here in Iceland are pretty spectacular - the volcano Eyjafjallajökull that brought Europe to a standstill three years ago, Geyser, The Blue Lagoon and a couple of pretty spectacular waterfalls. Amongst this, though, I managed a couple of lingering Barrow's Goldeneyes on Lake Úlfljótsvatn, a regular adult Ring-billed Gull and an adult Little Gull on the small pond at Bakkatjorn, to the west of Reykjavik, another drake Harlequin at Vik and a bizarre hybrid Wigeon x Mallard. Not as many gulls as I'd have hoped, though local word told me this would be the case down here in the southwest. Off up northwest tomorrow, so hopefully there'll be a few more white wingers to see up there...

adult Thayer's Gull photoshoot

It is now or never on this one, as later today I head off to Iceland hopefully to see Iceland and Glaucous Gulls in good numbers so I'll try and do the odd post from there if I get the time. Anyway, I was hoping to do a post from yesterday when I went to Thetford and saw the (sort of) Black-bellied Dipper and a couple of Otters in the river. But, to cut a long story short, the day was grey, there were loads of people and the whole scene just didn't fill me with much enthusiasm to spend much time there nor write much about. Seems like everyone else has enjoyed their time in Thetford, so fair play.

So let's get back to the job in hand - adult Thayer's Gulls. Like the other ages, and as you'll see below, they are structurally very variable and you have to watch out for American Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull hybrids too. However, what seems to hold true is that on all birds P10 is pale tipped with an indistinct dark subterminal band, with the black on the outer web extending to the primary coverts, a mirror on P9 with black running through the leading edge (this mirror seems more extensive in the field on more individuals than literature suggest) with P6-P8 having pale-tipped tongues. P6 has a nice subterminal band, and on quite a few individuals P5 is unmarked (though on some there is a smudge of dark on the outer web of this feather). Once again, all the photos here are taken 16-23 February 2013 in northern California.

notice the short-legged appearance, dark eye and tepid bill colour. Structurally, too, this bird is quite squat and would be labelled in the 'classic' bracket of this species.

A more snouty individual with a pale eye - see the two images below for the same bird. Note the bright pink, relatively short legs and relatively dark grey mantle.

Purplish-pink orbital ring, tepid bill and even though the eye appears pale there is still some speckling present.

Thayer's Gulls have a very pale looking underwing, with dark markings restricted to the tips of the outer primaries. The leading edge of P10 shows a darkish tongue.

A typical individual, looking quite Iceland Gull-like in its facial expression - though note the dark iris

Same individual as above and below, illustrating a relatively well-proportioned looking gull

Just like a pale iris isn't always wholly pale, good views of a gull with a dark iris from a distance show paleness on closer inspection. Note the peppering in the iris of this bird; its orbital ring is pretty indistinct but it is purplish pink.

Quite a nice pose here, illustrating the upper and under primaries on a pretty classic looking bird - though many birds showed a more extensive mirror in P9 than I was expecting. This bird was no exception - the white mirror protudes well onto the outer web though is still bordered by black on the leading edge. Also note how on P9 and P10 the black tongue goes up as far as the primary coverts.

Another photo of the bird above.

A pretty classic looking, presumably female Thayer's Gull. This is the image of the species I grew up with, but there is far more variability in this species which presumably means that in a WP context, not all vagrants are being picked up.

A paler-eyed, longer billed individual to the bird depicted above. Again, note the distinctive nape hue and darkish grey mantle

A heavy-billed individual with a pale eye, though this is still peppered by dark spots. The rich pink legs and short tibia are typical of Thayer's Gull.

And finally for this post, watch out for imposters such as this bird - presumably an American Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull. They're pretty common in California, so must be pretty common in the Arctic regions where they interbreed. So, although unrecorded as a vagrant to Europe, they shouldn't be discounted: -


Glaucous-winged x American Herring Gull - note the rather dopey look and smudging akin to Glaucous-winged Gull and the paler mantle compared to Thayer's Gull.

same bird as above - very Thayer's-like primaries (though a large P10 mirror is almost tipped and note the extensive dark on the undersides of P7-10).

3rd-winter and near-adult Thayer's Gull photoshoot

It's been a while since I had the time to delve into the copious amount of images of gulls from California. And while still thawing out from today's trip to Crossness (where I had an adult Little Gull and a pair of Common Scoters), here are some more images of Thayer's Gulls of ages that you don't see too many photos of. In fact, in the week long trip I only managed to photograph the one 3rd-winter bird and a couple of near adults (presumably fourth-winters).

3rd-winter Thayer's Gull
This bird was photographed at Half Moon Bay, California during the late afternoon of 22nd February 2013. Though there is a fair bit of variation in this age, this bird is what you'd deem a 'classic' - the dark, speckled iris on this bird (some birds of this age can have pale irises, just like some adults), blackish subterminal bill band and adult-type primaries.

Note the well proportioned look to this bird, typical of what would be deemed a 'classic' Thayer's Gull. Deep pink, relatively short legs and mid grey mantle (slightly darker than Herring Gull)

primary-coverts still showing signs of immaturity, with black on P5-P10 and mirrors on P9 and P10

note the pale underside to the primaries, with just P10 showing an obviously dark tongue bleeding down on the leading edge from a large white mirror, and P6-P9 all pale tipped subterminally marked by small dark bands

Near-adult Thayer's Gull
Like the age detailed above, there were very few - just a couple - of near-adult Thayer's Gulls seen all week. This bird was on the beach at Jenner on 17th February 2013. A relatively large, snouty individual it was pretty much like an adult except for the dark on the gonys.


Essentially an adult plumage wise, with a dark gonys suggesting immaturity, tepid bill colouration and perhaps the streaking on the lower nape more extensive than on an adult. Note the 'almost black' primaries extensively pale-tipped and mid grey mantle colour



Showing a fairly classic adult-type primary pattern - extensive white mirror on P10, the mirror on P9 extensive yet restricted to the inner web, P6-8 showing nice grey bayonets and just a slight dark smudge on P5. Although crinkled on this photo, also note the lack of significant black/darkness on the underside of the primaries

The first signs of Spring in the snow

I looked outside when I woke up this morning, to be greeted by the usual grey clouds, so typical of this winter, along with a deluge of snow falling. Being London, with all the heat and that, it wasn't sticking so I ventured out locally. The Rotherhithe gulls feasted on my bread, but alas it was just the usual suspects and so I headed on to Crossness.

Walking east along the Thames path, all I seemed to be getting was a face full of snow. Upwards of a thousand Black-headed Gulls, the odd Oystercatcher and Curlew and a couple of Black-tailed Godwits, but that was it. Hundreds of Teal and Gadwall were squabbling away at the incinerator outfall as I headed towards the paddocks, where I was greeted by this sorry looking chap: -


1st-summer male Northern Wheatear, Crossness 23rd March 2013

I did feel a little sorry for this Wheatear as on its first journey north, having done the Sahara and the rest of Europe, it was only to be greeted by the near zero temperatures here in London. However, on the plus side, they're hardy little things given where they tend to breed and the ground wasn't frozen, so it seemed content on pulling up innumerable earthworms to keep itself going.

adult Mediterranean Gull, Crossness 23rd March 2013

Walking back along the Thames with Mike, I heard the familiar call of a Mediterranean Gull over the river and it was only a matter of seconds before a couple (presumably a pair) did a neat fly by before heading off downriver. After that, with optics and clothes sodden, enough was enough and it was back to the warmth of home for the evening.

Blinged gulls from the weekend

One thing is for sure, gull ringing coordinators aren't half efficient in getting back to you when it comes to ring reporting. From the 10 ringed gulls I read on Saturday, I've had all 10 back already, including one from Belgium and one from Norway. In fact, it's a real blessing when you get a Norwegian ringed bird as you get the results immediately submitting it through Ringmerking - a phenomenal, user friendly database. So here is a nice, docile looking 1st-winter Great Black-backed Gull: -

JP783 - ringed as a chick on 7th July 2012 at Store Vengelsholmen, Mandal, Vest-Agder, Norway (844 km away as the gull flies)

This 3rd-winter Herring Gull was Belgian ringed, and from a scheme I've come across on a couple of occasions previously. This bird is a regular at the tip: -

PH.AS - ringed as a chick at Zeebrugge, Belgium on 8th July 2010, turning up at the tip on 17th December 2010 and 22nd January 2011. It then headed back across The Channel and was seen at the massive landfill site at Blaringhem, Nord, France on 13th October 2011 before arriving back at the tip here on 24th December 2011. It again went back to Belgium on 15th April 2012 before favouring Blaringhem landfill on 26th April 2012, 4th and 19th October 2012. Then came this sighting. Gulls are certainly creatures of habit.

This adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, although ringed by the NTGG on the tip, it had ventured as far south as Madrid: -

KB9T - ringed on the tip on 24th March 2012, it was still here on 21st July 2012; by the 16th September 2012 it was at Colmenar Viejo landfill, Madrid, Spain. Saturday's sighting is the first since then.

Once again, reading gull rings is becoming a decent part of my birding, especially this winter with the general level of birding having been so poor here in the London area. Perhaps there'll be some sign of Spring come next weekend, but that seems hopeful judging from the current forecast.

Glaucous, Caspian and other tip gulls

With it getting nowhere near spring, and those days of migration seeming a long way off still, yesterday I headed back to the tip to see what was about. Presumably the cold weather had pushed gulls from the continent, and it was obvious there were many more gulls than last weekend. It didn't take more than 10 minutes to pull out this juvenile Glaucous Gull - a nice biscuit coloured bird, which seems to be the case for a lot of the east coast birds we get (they seem rather more pallid in Ireland).

Then it was onto Caspian Gulls, with three stunning 1st-winters present. It has been over a month since I've seen anything but this age, so perhaps at least the adults have already departed eastwards towards their breeding colonies.

Bird 1

Bird 2

Bird 3

Bird 3

Four Yellow-legged Gulls included this 1st-winter, and although ringed isn't that interesting - it was ringed at the same site exactly a month ago!

1st-winter Yellow-legged Gull (ringed YY1T)

There were also quite a few ringed birds, many from the NTGG (with the most interesting being an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull that had been to Spain and back) as well as a Belgian Herring Gull and a Norwegian Great Black-backed Gull. Half a dozen Mediterranean Gulls were getting a bit frisky too.