Seawatching in January? Yes!

Seawatching in January. Are you crazy? No, because of nice species as dark morph Fulmars, Pomarine Skuas et cetera.

Westkapelle - fltr: unknown, the hard core counters Pim Wolf (in front), Corstiaan Beeke and Thomas Luiten

Yesterday, my friend Peter Verhelst and I went to Zeeland to get some seabirds for our yearlist. The forecast of a fierce wind from NW (7 Bft) did us decide to start on Westkapelle. The sea was beautiful! We counted from 8:30-10:15 and got some nice Fulmars (including dark morph), Great Skuas (8), struggling Kittiwakes (350) and a Pomarine Skua. Unfortunately we missed a Leach Storm petrel that passed one hour later.

Great Skua (2cy) - Westkapelle - 4/1/2012

Kittiwake - Westkapelle - 4/1/2011

We continued our excursion to the longstaying Greater Yellowlegs of Colijnsplaat. There we met some guys from Swiss which were doing a birding trip for some days. After that, I can conclude I have tot improve my German... Neeltje Jans was our next stop. Thousands of large gulls are staying there for some weeks now, feeding with the many many Ensis arcuatus that came ashore. We call it the grey plague. Also some hundreds of Greater Black-backeds. And some flapping Little Gulls.
Actually, we were looking for the Glaucous Gull and Iceland Gull that are staying here for three weeks now. While looking to the grey plague, we found three Caspian Gulls (2cy, 3cy, and 4cy) and a Yellow-Legged Gull (2 cy). After some minutes, Peter found the Glaucous, swimming among the Herrings argentatus and argenteus. We tried to photograph it and suddenly, I realised I was taking the 'wrong' one. While looking through my camera, I said: 'uh, it is smaller one'. The Iceland had also appeared and passed nearby.

Grey plague

Little Gull - Neeltje Jans - 4/1/2012

During our walk to the gulls, suddenly I heard something like a falling plastic beaker. It turned out to be Peters telescope: a broken body! How sad, but we went on birding.

Glaucous Gull (2cy) - Neeltje Jans - 4/1/2012

Iceland Gull (2cy) - Neeltje Jans - 4/1/2012

Iceland Gull (2cy) - Neeltje Jans - 4/1/2012

Two in one!
 

On the Brouwersdam, we counted up to 1200 Herring Gulls with also this one. Due to the size and p5, I doubt if we can call this an argentatus or the argentatus-type omissus. Could be easily misidentified as a michahellis.

Yellow-legged Herring Gull argenteus - Note the small size, roundish head, not very bright red orbital ring and roundish white top of p10.

p5 with only a little dark spot. Less black in the outer primaries. Not the right mantle color.

At the end of the afternoon, we visited the Iceland Gull of Stellendam, an island northwards. It was waiting for some bread.

Iceland Gull (2cy) - Stellendam - 4/1/2012