Iceland Gull in Göteborg

The same day that we went to the peninsula Årnäshalvön at the Swedish West coast a juvenile Iceland gull was reported in Göteborg. Göteborg is about 70 km from Årnäshalvön and was more or less on our way back anyway, so we headed there. Me and Hans had both seen Iceland gull before and guess where - in Iceland, or more precisely at Reykjavík harbour. It was a first in Sweden for all four of us, though. And here you are: An Iceland gull to the right. (The one to the left is a juvenile European herring gull, I guess.)


Juvenile Iceland gulls can be hard to distinguish from glaucous gulls (vittrut, Eismöwe, Larus hyperboreus) but apparently the best characteristic is the bill. The bill of an Iceland gull is slimmer and the transition from the black tip to the pink part of the bill is more diffuse than that of a glaucous gull where the bill looks as if it was neatly "dipped into ink". (Source: http://www.birdwatch.co.uk)

Well, as if 470 km back to Stockholm wasn't enough, we additionally went to Falköping on our way home which corresponds to a detour of about 100 km. All to see an Oriental Turtle-Dove which had been reported there the same morning. However, when we arrived there in the late afternoon it chose to hide well from us and all other - more or less desperately - seeking birders. I guess three new species for Sweden in one day was asking too much.

Obviously, the next day it was reported from the same spot again in the morning. By then we had finally made it home, though. :-)

Bird of the day: Iceland gull -- Vitvingad trut -- Polarmöwe -- Goéland arctique -- Larus glaucoides