January 4:  2013 is off to a nice start with the first new species – an adult Iceland Gull (Kumlien’s subspecies), at Circle Beach in Madison, CT. Kudos for finding this bird go to Keith Mueller who has honed the skill of picking out the odd bird from a large flock of common gulls, in this case a mixed flock of approximately 260 Herring and Ring-billed. The pristine white wing tips of the Iceland Gull immediately set this bird apart from all the other birds in the flock. Note that depending on the ambient light the Iceland Gull’s mantle can appear anywhere from medium gray to almost stark white.