Thursday 4 January 2018

4th January 2018 Unst & Yell NE2 Clear

I seawatched from Lamba Ness early morning for 30 minutes seeing plenty of Fulmars and Gannets offshore, 5 Kittiwakes flying north, a juvenile Glaucous Gull flying north and what I considered was a second-winter Iceland Gull that images reveal was showing characters of Kumlien's Gull also flying north. I then headed to work on Yell seeing a drake Goosander on Sand Water, juvenile Glaucous Gulls at Gutcher and Basta and the female King Eider, albeit rather distantly, in Mid Yell Voe.

Juvenile Glaucous Gull passing Lamba Ness




Iceland Gull passing Lamba Ness
The above two images have simply been cropped whereas the top image has also been lightened. Presumably the contrast between the dark uppersides to its outer primaries and its pale inner primaries suggest that it was actually a Kumlien's Gull. With many thanks to both JFC & BHT for sharing their thoughts on these poor images.

Herring Gull and female King Eider at Mid Yell Voe
I wasn't the only one watching the King Eider, as when it successfully brought a mussel to the surface, the Herring Gull would immediately swoop down on it and rob it of its prey.