Caspian Gull, Dunbar - December 2006/January 2007

Although no longer a national rarity the 1st-winter Caspian Gull, found originaly by Colin Davison in Dec 2006, was the 1st Scottish Record. This seems like a funny thing to say but numbers of Caspian Gulls were becoming increasinly high over much of England and it was only a matter of time before this recent split found Scotland, luckily it chose Lothian. After been found in December at Belhaven Bay the bird went missing until being relocated by Mark Wilkinson in Dunbar Harbor nearly 2 weeks later on the 7th January, it would stay here for at least the rest of the month.

Often spending it's time with other large Gulls and offering good comparison, this bird was a good learning curve for many trying to get to grips with the species. Because of this, other Caspian Gulls have been seen around Scotland since this bird