Dressed in white

A beautiful day - Toftavatn

This morning was just beautiful. Clear skies, freezing temperatures and new snow. It doesn’t get much better. In this dark time of year the snow really brightens up things. Finally a day where you don’t have to use ISO 100.000.000 x 1466²³ when you take photos.
But it’s not only the landscape that is dressed in white – there is still a white-winged gull-invasion going on. So I decided to try to get some decent photos of the dark gull in Runavík. First I went to the local bakery and got some bread and then I went to Runavík. The sun was shining but the gull did not come in spite of the bread – but about 40 Iceland Gulls including 3 Kumlien’s Gulls came. So it was a nice.

I then checked Toftir were I found another 14 Iceland Gulls and zero Kumlien’s Gull. I then headed to Toftavatn where I found 31 Iceland Gulls including 4 Kumlien’s Gull – but the dark gull was not to be found.

Eiði

I decided to go to Eiði. There I found another 31 Iceland Gulls, but only one Kumlien’s Gull. Slavonian grebe, Common Goldeneye and 3 Great Northern Divers were a nice addition to the gulls.

Gulls in Klaksvík - click to enlarge

Then I went to Leirvík, where I found 12 Iceland Gulls including one adult Kumlien’s Gull. Then I went home to Klaksvík. And ironically the best bird of the day was just a few hundred meters from home – a nice well-marked adult Kumlien’s Gull. The number of Iceland Gulls had increased to about 100 and there were 5 Kumlien’s Gull, but at least two were “old” birds.

Well-marked Kumlien's Gull - Runavík

3. winter Kumlien's Gull with minimal markings - Runavík

Just an interesting photo...

Glaucous Gull

Glaucous Gull portrait

Iceland Gulls, Kumlien's Gull and Herring Gulls - Leirvík.

Kumlien’s Gull tend to have a slightly darker mantle colour than Iceland Gulls. This photo shows an adult Iceland Gull (the very pale bird) and an adult Kumlien’s Gull in the back. All the birds are exposed to the same light and it is evident, that the Iceland Gull is much paler than the Herring Gulls and that the Kumlien’s Gull lies somewhere in between, but surely closer to Iceland Gull than to Herring Gull.

Here is the *star* bird of today - a well-marked Kumlien's Gull along with an Iceland Gull and a Herring Gull. This picture is taken in the fading light in the afternoon and it is harder see much of a difference in the mantle colour.

There are still some other birds than gulls on the Faroes - Purple Sandpiper at Eiði.

SiO