Ice Ice Baby

Funny how things turn out, isn't it?


I'd been planning to wander down to the Nose this afternoon to see if the nasty tilty front coming in would send anything interesting past, and possibly make up for my plague-aborted watch last week.

That was, until I got a text from Bun telling me about an Iceland Gull on the Axe [It was thus; "Iceland Gull. Axe"]. Hmm, thinks I. Twitching gulls on the Backwater has had some very mixed results in the past [::CoughfuckingAudouin'sCough::]. The time needed to get over there doesn't help. Buut... To get a big year you need to twitch things like this. Annnd, the only gull I have successfully twitched there was an Iceland.

Plus, it has been a very long week, and I need a good diversion.


Sod it.

Tally ho!



I rocked up to Coronation Corner [you want gulls? Start there] and in very quick succession was blasted by the wind, actually had a brief conversation with The Master*, and saw the bird!

Ta and indeed da!

It is physically impossible to photograph an Iceland without burnout.

Sending Bun a text of victory and thanks [and finding out I'd only just missed him] I also learned of a lurking SEO up by the golf course.. Oooh.

So I went for a shufti.


Unfortunately, at this point the front decided to arrive. It rained and hailed sideways with impressive vigour - it almost got around the corner I was hiding behind - and as said front was supposed to be sidewinding across the country, I reckoned the day was going to be a washout. Owls don't like rain and everyone else up there had already bailed. This is not to say I fled at the first drop, oh no. I checked all the fields and links in case the owl was sitting somewhere in view, but no joy. [Smart bird]


I admit I was tempted to try to wait it out, but my li'l car was running on fumes**, and petrol stations have a nasty habit of closing earlier than is convenient on Sunday afternoons, so I headed back Patch-wards.



The bright sunshine and light winds that greeted me were not a surprise. Drat he says. Double drat on seeing how well the owl showed an hour or so after I left.


Oh well, might was well try something. I went to the Nose, on offchance of an Eider or some remnants of passage.

No Eider, nothing passing at all. A couple of Chiffs were new, or newly vocal, on the way down, so not a total blank. Right, I went over the gulls on the Lead Stone as usual, because you nev- wait. I got the Big Scope on a pale one which didn't have its primaries tucked away, they really were white...

Adult Iceland Gull with immature Herrings

It had the typical talent for moving at the wrong moment 

Lovely dinky straight-sided bill, and quite a dark-looking eye [but very white primaries, more's the pity]. The git only gave me these two shots before walking down the far side of the Lead Stone and out of sight, though these are still easily the best Iceland shots I have from here.


How's about that? Two Icelands in one day.





This time I'm sure I can hear the Goddess of Birding chuckling...


[[*Not a very long one, true, but the first time we've actually spoken!]]
[[**When I twitch, I try to do it properly; no stopping if you can get there! Especially when you're racing gulls...]]