The Barnacle Goose has started breeding in Iceland. The main breeding area is in Southeast Iceland. The first known breeding of Barnacle Geese was in East-Skaftafellssýsla in 1988. Now they have become quite common in some areas such as Hornafjörður and Glacier Lagoon. They migrate to the British Isles for the winter.
However, most of the Barnacle Geese that come by Iceland only have a short stopover on their way to and from their breeding grounds in Northeastern Greenland.
The Common Wood Pigeon is a breeding bird in the forests of Europe and Asia. It has breed in Iceland several times and is most often seen here in the spring but also in the autumn.
This spring a considerable number of these pigeons has been spotted and in all likelihood some will breed somewhere in Iceland this summer.
The photos are taken in Southeast Iceland, in Kálfafellstaður in Suðursveit.
The waterfall Brúarfoss has suddenly become a popular scenic attraction in South Iceland. To get there one has to walk for about 20 minutes from a dirt road which was almost exclusively used by the ones staying in the summer houses in the area. Some very adept photographers took some more than amazing photos of the waterfall which went viral, – and Voilà! Click here
The path to the waterfall is a mess. In April when we went there the only suitable footwear was wellies. So before you go consider whether you want to spoil your shoes or make do with watching amazing photos on-line.
Note: This spring landowners were given a grant to construct a footpath from the main road. That means the hike will in future take about one hour.
Pied Avocets are breeding birds in Southern and Western Europe. Last week five birds were spotted in Hornafjörður, Southeast Iceland. Three of them are still there. This is the third time the Pied Avocet is seen here. In 1954 one bird was spotted in Reyðarfjörður, East Iceland, and the second time was in 2004 when five birds were spotted also in Hornafjörður.
The Pied Avocet is a majestic wader with long almost blue legs and a long upturned bill which it swings from side to side to catch food in shallow muddy waters.
It is mostly a migratory bird that winters in Africa although some choose to skip the journey and endure the winter in Southern Spain and even the South of Britain. In 1840 the Pied Avocet had become extinct in Britain but now it has returned and is in little danger of extinction.
Black-crowned Night Herons are very rare vagrants in Iceland. Now three have been spotted in Stafnes in Reykjanes Peninsula. On 26 – 27 April three birds were spotted but in the last few days only two have been seen. These three are number 11- 13 of the birds that have been spotted in Iceland.
The Black-crowned Night Heron is a breeding bird in South Europe and their winter grounds are in Africa. Usually they do not breed more northerly than in France but strong southerly winds have blown them of course all the way to the North Atlantic.
A sighting like this always causes a lot of commotion among birdwatchers. They came from all over the country to see these unexpected guests, feeling thankful for such a rare and precious sighting.
A Black-winged Stilt has been spotted in Iceland for the first time. It must have got a bit mixed up and added several thousand km to its migration route over the Atlantic Ocean. Its habitat is in Central Asia and the southern part of Europe, around the Mediterranean, and up the west coast of France. It winters in the southern part of Africa.
The most prominent feature of the Black-winged Stilt is its very long red legs. With these long legs it can go farther out than many other waders which is convenient when searching for food. It lives in both fresh and salt water, by the shore, in ponds and marshes.
The Black-winged Stilt was first seen on April 20 in Gardur in Reykjanes Peninsula. The bird is there still and a lot of birders and photographers have visited the area to add this special bird to their lists.
We are almost obsessed with the Common Crossbill. They are such a nice addition to the Icelandic bird population with their yellow and orange colours and the special beak. Last weekend we saw the first ones with chicks.
The Common Crossbill breeds earlier than all Icelandic birds. The males start singing in the middle of winter and breed as early as February if there is enough feed.
The males are usually more colourful and come in shades of red, orange and yellow. The females are usually yellow.
A white heron has been seen in Ölfus, South Iceland, in the last few weeks, – and at last I managed to spot it, a Little Egret. This is most likely the white heron that has been roaming the area.
It is difficult to say whether this bird has been here for the whole of winter or if it arrived sometime in February or March. Several Little Egrets were seen in Iceland in the autumn of 2016. This could actually be on of them.
The Little Egret is a small heron and a great beauty. It has a spectacular white plumage. The legs and bill are black and the feet yellow.
A lot of Redwings have arrived in Iceland after wintering in West Europe. The first flocks arrived in the last week of March.
A considerable number of Redwings stay in Iceland for the winter, most of them in urban areas in the southwest part of the island.
Spring comes and goes. This is not uncommon for the month of April in Iceland. We have had some beautiful sunny days and then we wake up to snow and hail. We should be used to this but we are always amazed when we experience what looks like a battle between winter and spring.
The days are brighter and much longer. The dark winter days have retreated, the sun rises earlier and sets later. We feel optimistic and think everything is possible. No wonder we score high in happiness surveys.
Iceland is now number three on the World Happiness Report, with the Nordic countries Norway and Denmark coming first and second.
In OECD better life index Icelanders score on average higher than people in other OECD countries. Icelanders seem to be more satisfied with their lives. We rate our general satisfaction with life 7.5 on the scale from 0 to 10. This is higher than the OECD average of 6.5. – I wonder whether these surveys are taken during summer or winter.
