The Search For Iceland Gull

An elusive species for many birders this year was Iceland Gull, an uncommon gull in New York City. Many look for it time and time again without success. I had only seen my first one less than two weeks ago in Montauk. My first attempt this year was going to Roosevelt Island in late January to search for a young bird reported earlier in the day. No luck. On Thursday, I looked for another young bird reported on the Reservoir. No luck. On Monday, an adult was reported on the Reservoir a half hour before I got there. No luck. However, with the frequency of reports, I pledged to check the gull flock on the Reservoir every day until I found one. That brings me to Tuesday. I looked among the gull flock at the north end of the dike, carefully scrutinizing each gull, until one came to my attention. This gull was different. It was sized midway between Herring and Ring-Billed Gulls, nearly all white, with white wingtips and a black bill. An Iceland Gull! Finally after all of this searching I had found one! Unfortunately, the gulls were moving around very frequently, and I quickly lost it in the flurry of birds. This is a great bird for my year list, my first county lifer of 2018! I also added Northern Mockingbird to my list as well. Now to see if I can find any more rare gulls of the Reservoir...