A juvenile Glaucous Gull announces its arrival
© AR Jones PhotographyA juvenile Glaucous Gull announces its arrival
From the edge of the Arctic, an influx of Glaucous Gulls has arrived this week, more than 300 recorded across Britain and Ireland.

These are big, beefy birds that spend the nesting season raiding colonies of other seabirds and frequently steal food from other gulls; I've seen one wrestle a fish from the bill of a Great Black-backed Gull, a slightly bigger bird.

Adult Glaucous Gulls are pale grey, with white wing feathers, but most arrivals here are immature birds the colour of slushy snow.

Most Glaucous Gull arrivals have been along North Sea coasts and in western Ireland, but a couple have made it into North Wales, the most showy in Holyhead Bay.

Thanks to the lettered ring on its leg, we know that this one comes from Svalbard (Spitsbergen), 2,000 miles to the north.