Birds The Whimbrel comes for the summer February 25, 2015 Örn Óskarsson Spói – Whimbrel – Numenius phaeopus The Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) is a common breeding bird in Icelandic lowlands. The whole population migrates to West Africa in September and comes back to Iceland in May. The breeding population counts around 250,000 pairs. Share