Bird ID

[fergie68]

I was trolling a large loch yesterday I passed a wee white bird sitting just feet from the boat I mentioned to George look at him he's not scared. A minute or two later I had a take on a small westin Tommy the trout on my planer board it felt like a decent fish for a while then it surfaced and squeaked it was the wee white bird.
I got it into the net and cut the hooks out it was hooked on the wing. It had a small serated beak which George found out the hard way when it bit him.
He just said I wonder how this would taste and a millisecond later it had him.
Ive been googling fish eating birds of the UK but can't find this wee bird. And ideas. Itwas a really good swimmer pure white.

[davelumb]

Smew?

[John Milford]

Ivory gull? They're an arctic bird, but occasionally make their way as far south as Scotland.

(Keep it quiet, or you won't be able to move on the loch for 'twitchers' ).

[Andrew]

How wee ?

I cant think of a small pure white bird

[fergie68]

I will Google those two.

[fergie68]

Size of a pigeon Andy
It was a Ivory Gull right enough.

ivory-gull-jomilo75-285.jpg

[andypee]

Looks like a white cormarant to me

Andy.

[fergie68]

If it was one of those it wouldn't have went back.

[andypee]

If it was one of those it wouldn't have went back.

Andy.

[Old School Piker]

Smew would be my guess. They are a “saw billed Duck”, like Mergansers etc!

[fergie68]

Im pretty certain it was one of those ivory gulls pure white and looked like a small dove.