Extreme Migrant in the UAE - Franklin's Gull 20.05.11

An extreme migrant, 1st Record of Franklin's Gull in the UAE - it all started here Birding Forum thanks to Dr Reza Khan !

Discovered on Tuesday 17th I had to wait till Friday morning before I could get out there.
Very early start (got up 4:15am yawn !) arrived at 6:15am . Thought I was early , however Ahmed and Steve were already there !   Amongst all the Sooty Gulls the bird was relatively easy to find on the stretch of beach close to Fujeirah Port.,  it seemed pretty settled until a bunch of Fisherman started to haul their nets so off it flew,  fortunately only 150m away where it quickly settled again.  As the sun was rising over the sea it was obvious that the only way to get good light was to approach the bird from the sea.    The tide was coming in and the waves were very high - was not long before I was completely drenched by the odd Tsunami that caught me by surprise. Seems my camera is water resistant - glad about that !   You can hear the waves lapping around me in the video.

Article in the UAE National !  National Article

Franklin's Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan)

Franklin's Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan)

Franklin's Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan)

Franklin's Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan)