White-wingers on their way

I made my weekly visit to Cotham Landfill this morning (it's a pain having to go to work...). Having scanned the tip multiple time to no avail, I was giving it one last go when I noted what looked like a white-winger at the back, partly obscured. It soon revealed itself as a 2cy Iceland Gull; very nice too. However, it spent most of its time feeding just behind a ridge in the rubbish, making observing (and photo'ing it) problematic. And then I had to leave it. The fist white-winger of the winter here, and about time too!

Back to the weekend, and I managed two brief visits to the patch, adding Peregrine, Lesser Redpoll and Coal Tit, the latter two at Primrose Hill in Besthorpe village, a spot a only ever visit a couple of times a year...


Postscript (May 2017)

I've been meaning to do this postscript for quite a while. With the benefit of hindsight, I am now of the opinion that the white-winger pictured above is, in fact, the Kumlien's Gull which frequented the tip, Hoveringham roost, and Kilvington Lakes during most of February and March - something that has been suggested to me by a couple of other people. Comparison with photos of the Kumlien's (at similar angles) shows a number of plumage similarities:

Head ('white winger' on top, Kumlien's below):

Both birds show a dark spot in front of the eye, a pale arc beneath the eye (with a dark arc below that), and a dark area on the rear of the head

Wing tips ('white winger' on top, Kumlien's below):

Both birds show very white underwings, with shadowing from the dark hooked-tip markings on the upper wing showing through

Tertials and wing coverts ('white winger' on top, Kumlien's below):

A darker subterminal marking on the innermost tertail behind a unmarked white area is shown on both birds, along with a neat white line across the greater coverts part way up the feathering. The darker internal markings on the primaries of the top bird can just about be imagined (and indeed, weren't always obvious on the Kumlien's depending on angle and light).

So all in all, I'm happy they're one and the same. In my defence, the sighting detailed above was brief, distant and in very strong light, so I don't feel too stupid for missing this at the time..!