There are still some summer birds around although most have migrated to warmer climates. The weather has been exceptionally good, no harsh autumn winds yet and the temperature a bit higher than the average. No need to rush when life is so good.
These are two of the guests that still honour us with their presence.
Autumn colours catch the eye everywhere at this time of year. Red, orange and yellow in adundance. The bright red here is the autumn colour of the Rosebay Willowherb, more commonly referred to as Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium). This beautiful plant is used both for food and medicine. Fireweed builds a thriving plant community by spreading its tiny seeds and with lateral root networks. In an island in River Ölfusá this is the case and the plant is overrunning other vegetation.
After a warm summer Goldcrests have prospered in Icelandic forests. They mostly keep to spruce trees but can also be spotted in larch trees, birch and contorta pine groves.
The winter should also be a good one for these little birds that once were vagrants. Their main food source in South Iceland are minute bugs called aphids that suck sap from spruce trees. These aphids are now reproducing rapidly on the Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis).
We spotted at least four Goldcrests last week in Hellisskógur by Selfoss.
This rainbow appeared after a rain shower around noon today. Notice that on the inside the sky is brighter than on the outside. Such a perfect rainbow brings to mind Judy Garland´s song “Over the Rainbow” from the Wizard of Oz.
For the last few days a juvenile Baird´s Sandpiper has been seen in Bakkatjörn in Seltjarnarnesi /Reykjavík. It is a vagrant in Iceland. This is a tame bird that is easy to observe from a short distance as it searches for worms in the in the mud.
The Baird´s Sandpiper is a rather uncommon breeding bird in the Artic regions of East Siberia, Alaska, Canada and in Northwestern Greenland. Its winter grounds are in South America.
Baird´s Sandpiper is seen once in a while in Europe. In Iceland it has been spotted eight times, first in 1994.
Even Icelanders do not expect to see the Northern Lights until winter but last night’s clear skies sported these beautiful colours. Forecasts say that in the next few nights Northern Light activity will be high. The best time to see them is usually around midnight.
Meadow Pipits have now gathered in groups and roam the countrysides in search of food. They are eagerly preparing for the long journey to their winter grounds in South Europe and Africa. Most of them will leave in the coming week when flying conditions over the Atlantic are favourable. The groups are exceptionally big now which indicates that breeding was very successful this summer.
In the South Interior last week Meadow Pipits were by the thousands, bigger groups than we have seen before. They were eating berries, larva and spiders, all of which seemed in abundance. This Meadow Pipit was in Veiðivötn, South Iceland.
The summer has been exceptionally good in Iceland and its effects can be seen in both fauna and flora in the interior. Golden Plovers, Ringed Plovers and Purple Sandpipers are common breeding birds in the highlands and for them life has been good. Breeding was very successful and when summer is coming to an end bigger groups than in recent years can be seen all over the Icelandic highlands.
The photos are from Veiðivötn (Fishing Lakes) in the southern interior.
