The prime time for lekking Black Grouses in Bergen, western Norway is medio to late April. When you get into May they become less active, but stay around the lekking ground until the end of the month possibly to serve females that have gone through a failed breeding. This video was filmed just before midnight 22 May 2012. The sun had set, and the light was poor. Iso was set to 3200!

Today we came by this exciting second winter Mew Gull north of Bergen in western Norway. Several plumage features indicate an origin away from Norway. Could it be an eastern bird, maybe Nearctic, or just part of the local variation?

The Mew (Common) Gull is distributed through Eurasia with three recognised subspecies. Larus canus canus (Eurupean Mew Gull) breeding in Europe, L. c. heinei (Russian Mew Gull) through most of Russia, ending with L. c. kamtschatschensis (Kamchatka Gull) in the far northeast. There are intergrades between all subspecies. In the northwestern part of North-America you find Larus canus brachyrhunchus (Short-billed Gull), a subspecies some treat as a full species. It is proposed that the more east you come, the more immature plumage features you get in immature birds. All Mew Gull subspecies are variable, but distinct characteristics are more frequent in one or the other. Identifying individual gulls out of range is tricky and often you can't conclude with certainty.