19 Nov 2021

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GULL MAINPAGE

Arctic Gull

In winters with prolonged northwesterly storms not only Glaucous and Iceland Gulls (see navigationpage) arrive in the North Sea. This is also the time that pale Herring Gull-like gulls may arrive. These gulls have striking pale plumages which betray an arctic origin. The late Peter Grant in his book 'GULLS, a Guide to Identification', published by T & D Poyser, considered these gulls to be extreme 'pale' examples of first-winter Herring Gull L.a.argentatus. However Grant also noted that these birds could be hybrid Herring Gull L.argentatus x Glaucous Gull L.hyperboreus. Grant wrote: 'It is suggested that such individuals may develop into adults with reduced black on wing-tips'.