Iceland Gull & Others

April 26, 2026

Patty and I were out birding at Whitehead Wildlife Mgt Area when we noticed some serious dark clouds building to the west. We were already thinking about heading in when her phone buzzed — a text from a birding friend saying she was looking at a rare Iceland Gull over in Biloxi, on the Gulfport side.

We jumped on Highway 90 and headed west, straight into one heck of a rainstorm. On the way, we passed boat ramp after boat ramp lined with empty trailers. I couldn’t help thinking about those poor folks out on the water getting hammered by that squall.

By the time we reached the spot, the rain had nearly stopped — but there was no gull. We searched the area and came up empty. So we decided to work our way back from the Gulfport harbor, pulling off at every available spot along the way. There’s no consistent parking on that stretch of coast, so we’re talking ten or twelve miles of stop-and-scan. Still nothing.

We were probably two miles from the original sighting when Patty said, “I see something white way down there.” No obvious pullout in sight, so she said she was going to walk the beach. I drove ahead and found a parking spot right at the spot — and sure enough, there was the gull. It flew before Patty could get close, but she got eyes on it, and I managed to get a lot of pictures — the bird standing on a culvert out over the Mississippi Sound, and dozens of flight shots with wings fully outstretched.

“The joy is in the journey; the effort is what makes it meaningful.”

That turned out to matter. When Patty reported the sighting on eBird, several other birders — Steve, Holly, and others — had also reported it, and there was a lively debate among experts about whether it was actually an Iceland Gull or the Glaucous Gull; either way it was exciting as they are both rare for our Mississippi Coast. My flight photos settled it. The underwing and belly patterns visible in those shots gave the experts what they needed. Iceland Gull confirmed — and apparently, it has no business being here. Its normal territory is a long way from the Mississippi Gulf Coast; it likely got pushed south by a storm.

If you look at the range map below, you’ll see just how far out of place this bird was.

One more thing: Patty has a little dance she does whenever she adds a life bird to her list. It never gets old.