Ross's Gull: A round trip to Cornwall, there and back in a day with Kris for company to see this gull. I know gulls evoke a wide spectrum of emotions and imagery, ranging from the nostalgia of coastal, seaside life to frustration regarding their difficulty to ID. But this gull is Top of the Pops.
These small gulls are a very rare Arctic winter visitor to the UK, with sporadic sightings mostly in northern Scotland, Shetland, and the east coast of England.
These small, pink-tinged gulls are highly sought after by birders, often appearing between November and January. These are small, dove-like gull with a wedge-shaped tail, often with a pinkish breast (in breeding/sub-adult plumage), small black bill, and red legs.
Kris and I set off from Wigan at 2am arriving in Newlyn for around 9am were Kris saw the bird fly out of the harbour not long after we arrived. We had to wait another 2 hours for it to come back before getting better views.
Formerly known as the Cuneate-tailed gull it is now known as the Ross's gull, is named after the British naval officer and Arctic explorer Sir James Clark Ross. He procured the first specimens of this species in June 1823 while exploring the Melville Peninsula.
The gull spent some time on the roof of the nearby Lidl, before feeding around the harbour entrance and in the harbour itself. This was one of my top targets on BUBO, but I have not had much chance of twitching one as they are becoming incredibly rare in recent years.
