All posts by Örn Óskarsson

Birds

Red-necked Phalarope overwinters in the Pacific

The first Red-Necked Phalaropes  (Phalaropus lobatus) have been arriving in Iceland in the last few days. They are the last of the migrants to arrive along with their cousins the Grey Phalarope/Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) of which there are only a few in Iceland. The Icelandic Red-Necked Phalarope probably overwinters with the North American population on the Pacific coast of Ecuador and Peru. They are seabirds that only come inland to breed but they breed both in lowlands and highlands.

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Óðinshani – Red-Necked Phalarope – Phalaropus lobatus

The Icelandic population is estimated around 50,000 pairs.
More on the Red-necked Phalarope

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Birds

The Tern is here

The first Arctic Terns were seen in Selfoss yesterday. A few days ago they were seen at the coast. The Tern is known as one of the longest distance migrant. It is an agile flyer and is on constant flight over sea except during the breeding time in the Arctic. Its winter grounds, if you can call it that, are in the sea around South Africa and Antarctica.

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Kría (Sterna paradisaea) – Arctic Tern

The Tern is a breeding bird in Iceland, mostly staying  near the coast but also inland, even as far as the interior. The Icelandic breeding population is estimated around 500,000 pairs.

Video from last summer, Veiðivötn, South Interior, Iceland.

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Birds

Meadow Pipits eating leftovers

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Þúfutittlingur – Meadow Pipit – Anthus pratensis

Meadow Pipits visit the garden both in spring and autumn. Now we have had up to four at the same time which is unusual. In the last few days two of them have claimed territory here, one south of the house and the other north of the house. They chase all others of their kind away and are eating the leftovers from this winter, sunflower seeds, something we have not seen before. They will probably move to their natural habitat in the meadows as soon as the weather gets milder.

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Atmosphere, Landscape

Twilight at night

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At midnight May 7, 2015

This time of year the sky doesn’t get dark at night. Today it is twilight all night through. For the next ten weeks the nights will be light. The midnight sun will only be seen in the northern part of the country in the latter part of June but here in the South it will be bright enough to read in the middle of the night.

The photo is taken to the north at midnight over Ölfusá River.

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Birds

Thousands of Dunlins

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Lóuþræll – Dunlin – Calidris alpina

There are a lot of Dunlins (Calidris alpina) on beaches and in river-mouths in South Iceland now. Yesterday morning there were thousands of them on the beach in Eyrarbakki where these photos were taken.

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The most densely populated  Dunlin breeeding area is in marshlands in South Iceland. The Icelandic breeding population is estimated around 270,000 birds.

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Birds

The Whimbrels come from Africa

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Spói – Whimbrel – Numenius phaeopus

Despite cold northerly winds the Whimbrels  (Numenius phaeopus) are coming to Iceland, ony by one. They come all the way from West Africa, south of the Sahara, where they have been since autumn. The Whimbrel is common in lowlands all over the country. The breeding population is estimated 250,000 pairs.

The pictures are taken by the seaside in Eyrarbakki yesterday. Whimbrels are not common by the seaside but this one was probably dead tired after its long flight from Africa.

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Birds

Three Slavonian Grebes

On our bird watching trip Sunday morning we saw these three Slavonian Grebes by the old dock in Eyrarbakki.

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Flórgoði – Slovonian Grebe – Podiceps auritus

The Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus) is a species with an unfavourable conservation status in Europe, amber list criteria according to RSPB. The population is recovering and the population size has more than doubled in the last 25 years. The estimated population in Iceland is around 700 breeding pairs.

In the winter time the Slavonian Grebe stays in the sea, some in the ocean around Iceland and some also in Western Europe. You are most likely to see them in and around Mývatn in the North, Ástjörn in Hafnarfjörður and Reykhólar in the West. The Slavonian Grebe lives in lakes and ponds in the summer time and the nest floats on the water among the reeds.

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Birds

Ringed Black-tailed Godwits

This morning we went to the Flói Bird Reserve, not far from Selfoss. There we saw two tagged Black-Tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa). One of them was marked OW-YL and is the same bird I saw on June 2, 2013, in this same place.  Its story is known. It was tagged in  Flói Bird Reserve June 14, 2010. The other one I have not seen before and I am waiting for information about it. A lot of Black-tailed Godwits have been ringed in this area in the last few years. It seems that many of them over winter in Portugal.

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Jaðrakan – Black-Tailed Godwit – Limosa limosa

Reading for OW-YL

14.06.10        Fridland, South Iceland
06.09.10        Moëze, Réserve Naturelle, Charente-Maritime, W- France
23.07.12        Flag Creek, St Osyth, Colne Estuary, Essex, E England
07.10.12        Cudmore Grove Country Park, East Mersea, Essex, E England
02.06.13       Fridland, South Iceland
03.05.15        Fridland, South Iceland

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Jaðrakan – Black-Tailed Godwit – Limosa limosa
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Birds

Merganser and Mallard

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Toppönd – Red-breasted Merganser and Stokkönd – Mallard

The Red-breasted Merganser  (Mergus serrator) and the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) belong to the same orders of ducks, anseriformes, and the same family, anatidae. The Merganser is a fish-eating duck, a great diver, and mostly stays in freshwater lakes. It is a migratory bird in Iceland.  The Mallard is a dabbling duck, it doesn’t dive but tips forward in the water to find food. It stays in Iceland the whole year but goes down to the shore in the winter time. Both of these ducks are common in Iceland.

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Landscape

A cold spring

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Farms in Ölfus, South Iceland, April 29, 2015.

We will probably have to wait a while longer for the summer  although the first official day of summer was last week. In the South it is more or less snowless now but the temperature went down to minus 7°C tonight and everything is still barren. In the North everything is still snow covered and the same goes for the interior.

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Veiðivötn area in the South Interior, May 1, 2015 (webcam: http://veidivotn.is/vefmyndavel.htm).
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