Rare Sighting Of Arctic Glaucous Gull At Dockyard

Bermuda had a rare visitor from the frozen north this weekend when this adult Glaucous Gull was seen at Dockyard yesterday [Mar. 2]. There have only been seven confirmed sightings of the huge gull on the island since 1990 according to the Bermuda Audubon Society.

The Glaucous Gull breeds across most of the high Arctic. It winters farther north than most gulls, but it does occasionally turn up as far south as California and Virginia in the US.

This is a large and powerful gull, very pale in all plumages, with no black in the wings or tail. The term glaucous describes its blue-gray colouration. Adults are pale grey above, with a thick yellow bill. Immatures are very pale grey with a pink and black bill.

This species is considerably larger, bulkier and thicker-billed than the similar Iceland Gull, and can sometimes equal the size of the Great Black-backed Gull, the largest gull species. They can weigh anywhere from two to six pounds and can range from 22 to 30 inches in length with four- to five-foot wingspans

Photographs courtesy of the Bermuda Audubon Society  

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Category: All, Environment