Iceland Gull at Creekmouth

It's been another pitiful winter for white-winged gulls across Britain, with disappointingly low numbers nationwide and particularly so in the south-east, where they're always thinnest on the ground.

So, it was a bit of a surprise when Dante found this bird with George Gay at Erith Pier just after Christmas. Since then it's become strangely loyal to Beckton sewage works and the adjacent creek at Creekmouth. Sometimes it is one of the only large gulls present!

When I saw it on 28th, the bird was loitering on the sewage tanks and only viewable through the fence. Fortunately I'd come prepared with several loaves, so started lobbing them into the creek. The bird couldn't resist the sound of the squabbling Black-headed Gulls and came in pretty quickly, giving fairly good photo opportunities.

It's only the second Iceland Gull I've seen in London, following the bird I found in Hammersmith back in December 2016 (which, incidentally, has recently returned for its fourth winter running and is now in pristine adult plumage).

Juvenile Iceland Gull, Beckton, 28 January 2020