Bird Profile - Wagtails on Mull - Alan Spellman

Most of us know a wagtail when we see one, after all it’s a bit of a give away with such a self descriptive name as it has.

The wagtail that we see most on Mull is the Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii). It is widespread, resident all year round and breeds here in good numbers. There is however emigration from our area in autumn as some birds move down south to escape our damp, wet and cold winters, (sounds like a good idea to me), returning early in the spring.

In late Sepember, on coastal areas such as Fidden, Calgary, Caliach Point and Loch Spelve there is always a chance to see another wagtail amongst the flocks of Pied Wagtails which are frantically feeding in the adjacent fields and shore, prior to their departure south, and this is the White Wagtail (Motacilla alba alba). This is a handsome bird, and adults stand out very clearly with their clean pale grey back and white under parts. It can however be a challenge to be ‘absolutely sure you have a white’ when looking amongst both adult and juvenile Pied Wagtails in summer and eclipse plumage which usually make up the flocks of 50 and more birds. But it is a delight to find one, followed by a quiet feeling of satisfaction about your own birding observation skills.

The only other wagtail we have here on Mull is the Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) which is also a resident bird and can be found on most of our rivers and burns. Occasionally it is mistakenly identified as a Yellow Wagtail because of its beautiful yellow under parts. Yellow Wagtails do not stay on Mull and are classed as a ‘scarce and less than annual passage migrant’ and we have no Mull records to my knowledge.

There are many other variations in the wagtail family, Blue-headed Wagtail, Citrine Wagtail and others, but none venture this far north. However with our climate changing so rapidly who know what the next year or two will bring?

 

Bird Profile - Iceland Gull - Alan Spellman

The Iceland Gull is known as one of the group of white winged gulls. It is a medium-size gull, a little smaller than the Herring gull and much slimmer, with longer-wings and with a more delicate-looking head and bill. In all plumages Iceland Gulls can be distinguished from most other gulls by the distinctively pale, mostly white, primaries with no sign of any black in the wing. Sexes look alike, the male being slightly larger.

The Glaucous Gull has a similar wing pattern and can easily be wrongly identified, but the Iceland Gull is a smaller bird. Immature birds are mostly a pale creamy-brown with more extensive and less contrasting black in the bill than on a young Glaucous gull. As birds grow, their plumage changes from the first year birds pale creamy brown to a beautiful pure white after about four years when they become full adults.

It is a winter visitor to Mull, with only small numbers of birds, usually seen singly. It breeds in the high Arctic of eastern Canada and Greenland and winters as far south as New York and the UK.

It may be seen almost anywhere around the west coast, and Mull has regularly been visited for the past several years. It Winters on estuaries, coasts, reservoirs and rubbish tips. The most likely places to see this bird in late autumn through to early springtime is on Loch na Keal by the Knock fish farm outflow pipe, usually with other gulls. Also at Bunessan Pier and any of the fish farms around our lochs and the coast. Where ever there is an easy source of food you could find the Iceland gull.

Their main food is Fish, carrion, offal in harbors, marine invertebrates, occasionally eggs and young of other birds; some terrestrial plants, algae, and berries in late summer. It Picks food off surface of water, food typically swallowed while flying and has a Tern like searching flight and fishing behavior.

About 70-80 birds usually winter in the UK

Size: 50-60 cm (20-24 in) Wingspan: 115-137 cm (45-54 in) Weight: 820-1100 g (28.95-38.83 ounces) Medium to large gull. Head and under parts white. Back light grey. Wing tips white or with small, variable amounts of dark. Bill yellow with red spot near tip of lower mandible. (Adult bird) Head rather rounded. Under side of wingtip white. Eyes cream-colored. Legs grey to deep pink.