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This shot shows the long white wingtips and the small dark bill. There is some color on the upperparts of the otherwise essentially all white (therefore late first winter) bird. Olsen says of first winter Iceland Gulls: "With wear, some birds appears almost white, with only faint brown upperpart markings."(pg 206) and of Kumlien's, "Worn first-winter, appearing identical to certain, more frequent, very pale Iceland glaucoides."(p 210)....."Olsen" refers to Gulls of North America, Europe and Asia (Olsen & Larsson). I also referenced Gulls of the Americas (Howell & Dunn) which concludes that "bleaching by midwinter can render .. distinctions moot" (pg 468)
(c) 2022 Frederick Bowes