Today is December 1 and the weather has been most winter-like. In the morning there was a winter storm and people were advised to stay at home if possible. As the day progressed more and more snow piled up and people have had a difficult time getting home.
Now is not the time to think about tomorrow. Let’s just enjoy the snow and watch how beautiful everything is, or go outside an make a snowman.
The winter has been mild so far. The Blackcap is here again after having been away from some time. There are still enough berries on trees and shrubs so Blackcaps, along with other small birds and vagrants, are not as dependent on the food put out form them. At least not yet. The mild weather increases their chances of surviving the winter.
This diligent little Wren was very busy today hunting spiders on the garden fence. It searched carefully up and down along the rails and the catch was good.
Searching carefully in all nooks and comers.
Aurora Borealis light up the estuary where Ölfusá River flows into the Northern Atlantic. In the dead calm just before midnight the sea was like a mirror creating a magnificent sensation. Seldom have I seen the sea as calm as last night.
The Razorbill is on the list of threatened species. It is listed near threatened within Europe. Here in Iceland the decline has not been very noticeable and it is estimated that 300 thousand pairs breed here, 75% of them in Látrabjarg, in the Westfjords.
The European Commission issues the European Red List of Birds, compiled by BirdLife International, 2015.
The Atlantic Puffin is on the list of threatened species. It is listed endangered (EN) within Europe. In Iceland this decline has not gone unnoticed. It is especially noticeable in South Iceland where breeding has been poor for years.
The European Commission issues the European Red List of Birds 2015, compiled by BirdLife International.
The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) is a vagrant in Iceland. Every year several of them come from Scandinavia and stay for the winter. A few are also seen here in the summer time. They stay near lakes, rivers and ponds where they catch fish which is their favourite food.
The Grey Heron is a big bird and on flight sometimes mistaken for a bird of prey.
This Grey Heron was in the Eyjafjöll area in South Iceland. We saw it around mid day resting on one leg and also later near the close of day where it was fishing.
We spotted this season’s first Blackcap, a male, in the garden today. Blackcaps are annual vagrants and the first ones are usually seen in the end of October but most of them come in the first week of November. Blackcaps have sometimes stayed in the garden the whole winter. How well they cope depends on how mild the winter is. They mostly eat berries from shrubs and the apples that we put out. They also like fat and compete with the other birds for food.
This Blackcap was in our garden in Selfoss today.
Yesterday was the First Day of Winter. According to Icelandic tradition First Day of Winter is on the Saturday in the period 21st to 27th October. This day is not celebrated in Iceland, although in the olden days there was a tradition of feasts at this time of year when the meat supply was at its greatest. The winter weather was e.g. predicted by the behaviour of mice, birds and other animals.