Bird watchers flock to West Berks for sight of rare bird
The Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) is a medium sized gull, smaller than the average Herring Gull, with a pale plumage, white wing tips, a rounded head and a smallish beak - giving it a dove-like appearance.
A winter visitor to Britain and New York, the gull is usually seen singly and breeds in the Arctic regions of Canada and Greenland, but not Iceland, where it is seen in Winter.
It is on the RSPBs amber list because of its rare breeding status in Britain.
Compton resident Stephen Collier snapped one of the feathered migrants in flooded fields between East Ilsley and Compton on Tuesday.
Mr Collier, who has been interested in birds since he was a child, said: “Iceland Gulls are very rare for Berkshire, and a relatively rare bird full stop.
“This is the first time I have seen or photographed an Iceland gull. I should also say that Redshank and lapwing have been using the same flooded fields and in previous years, Ringed Plovers and even Curlews.
He said that he had only seen one Iceland Gull in the fields but mentioned that three had been sighted earlier in the day, along with an unusual rise in twitchers.
He said: “If I'm being honest, I very rarely see twitchers,scopers or birdwatchers around Compton, although this particular spot is on a main road, so they are pretty prominent. I know there are some about but it's such a large area, which includes the downs, that you rarely come across anyone else unless there is a rare sighting.
“Up until the Iceland Gull was spotted I saw nobody around the fields really. Since the Gull was spotted there have been maybe two or three people there every time I have passed.
“[On Tuesday] there were five or six different people pulling up while I was there, some were getting phone calls to say it had been seen in a ploughed field near the A34 and they would nip off and see if it was there, and then come back.
“I don't doubt that the flooding is a pain for farmers and some locals, but for birds and birdwatchers, the floods come as a welcome change in bird diversity.”