Iceland Gull is brummie show off

The more time you spend birding the more you come to appreciate a good gull. Birding in the midlands has few advantages being land locked however there are always opportunities to see some rare gulls. Whilst I'd seen two Iceland Gulls already this year a juvenile had been discovered on Moseley New Pool in Swanshurst Pool in Birmingham, this was a great opportunity to see the species at close quarters.

Taking about 25 minutes from work I was quickly parked up with a minutes walk of the lake. The first twenty minutes passed without any sign of the bird then suddenly it  flew in from the north to land within 50 metres on the water and then got out allowing me to take a few quick shots. 

I switched the camera onto the tripod as the light wasn't ideal but it was certainly worth it as I managed to capture the bird in a few different locations around the lake over the next hour. It was interesting to see the bird close up and it was certainly bigger than my impression of watching them through my scope. Before leaving I found Morton Bagot patch birder Richard Harbird on the near side of the lake, we had a good catch up & moan about a lack of birds on our patch before going our separate ways.

For those who are not aware Iceland Gulls actually breed in Greenland & North Canada but not in Iceland !