Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis) was found today in Flói, South Iceland not far from Selfoss. Only the fourth to be found in Iceland and a new X for me. Photographed from a distance of 400-500 m.
Red-breasted Goose
Category Archives: Birds
Geese in big groups
Geese are now in big groups in meadows and fields in the south of Iceland. They come from their winter grounds in the British Isles.
Most of the geese are Pinkfoot (Anser brachyrhynchus) and Greylag (Anser anser) which are breeding birds in Iceland. Groups of Greenlandic Whitefront (Anser albifronssem) come and stopover in Iceland on their way to and from their breeding grounds on the West coast of Greenland.
The photo is taken this morning of a group of Whitefronts, along with one Greylag and one Pinkfoot. Click on the photo to and see if you can spot them.
April weather
The Goldcrest endured the winter
Today I saw a Goldcrest in a grove in Hellisskógur in Selfoss. This is the first Goldcrest I spot since December. I was beginning to think they had all died in the blizzards and cold this winter. But here at least is one that endured throughout the winter and I am amazed at its resilience.
This winter has been the toughest in the south of Iceland in 15 years and therefore quite a feat for a small bird like the Goldcrest to survive. The Goldcrest is the smallest bird in Europe, weighing only 5-7 grammes. In 1996 the first known breeding in Iceland was confirmed and since then their numbers have been increasing.
Spring is back
Spring postponed
We had spring for a few days and then it is snow and frost again. The migratory birds that have arrived try to find shelter and survive storms and blizzards like this Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) that was looking for food under the snow on a meadow outside Selfoss yesterday. The weather forecast predicts that spring will give Iceland another try next week. We wait patiently.
Brent Geese stopover in Iceland
Five Brent Geese (Branta bernicla) were today at the coast near Eyrarbakki, South Iceland. They are on their way from Ireland to Canada.
Brent Geese have a stopover in Iceland in spring and autumn on their way to and from their breeding places in Canada to their winter stations in Ireland. They stopover here for about 4 – 6 weeks on all their trips and now the first are here, a stopover on the way to Canada.
Fifty Golden Plovers by Selfoss
A group of around fifty Golden Plovers (Pluvialis apricaria) were in a meadow by Selfoss today. These are the first Golden Plovers here in the South but the first birds this spring were spotted in the East on March 18.
More on the Golden Plover in an earlier post.
Eider on Öflusá River
The first Eiders (Somateria mollissima) this spring were seen on Ölfusá River by Selfoss on April 4. The Eider usually keeps to the sea and breeds in dense colonies not far from the shore. It breeds by Öflusá River all the way up to Sog River which is the furthest from the sea that it breeds (20 km). The Eider is the most common duck in Iceland, the breeding population counting around 300,000 pairs. The male is black and white and the female is brown.
Black-headed Gull on the river
The Black-headed Gull is mostly a migratory bird in Iceland but some prefer to stay in the ocean around the country in winter time. It was first seen by the seaside some weeks ago but yesterday big flocks of them were seen in the south and south east part of the country. Yesterday we saw the first individuals flying up the river Ölfusá by Selfoss.
It is estimated that there are around 25 – 30,000 breeding pairs in Iceland. The Black-headed Gull started breeding here around 1930.