The Greylag (Anser anser) is the biggest goose that breeds in Iceland. The species counts 20 to 40 thousand pairs. The Greylag mostly breeds in the lowlands, in lush vegetation and scrubs near water.
It lays up to seven eggs. In later summer they can be seen in cornfields and meadows but most of them leave for the British Isles in the autumn. In the last few years thousands of Greylags have overwintered here in Iceland.
Continue reading The Greylag lays up to seven eggs
The Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) is a tiny version of the Common Snipe. It is possibly a rare breeding bird in Iceland but breeding has never been confirmed. It is difficult to see the Jack Snipe on the ground, it sits quite still, then crouches low, before exploding into the air and landing usually only a short distance away. Jack Snipes are annual visitors in Iceland in the wintertime. They can be found where the ground is unfrozen, in and near warm streams and brooks.
This one was in a warm brook near Selfoss, South Iceland, in the middle of January 2015.
In the lack of daylight in the last few weeks photographing birds in the garden has been difficult. Now the days are getting longer and it’s easier to get good photoes. Today I managed to take two rather nice photoes, if I say so myself, of a Common Crossbill and a Redpoll.
The birdlife in the garden has been very lively today.
This is a list of today’s birds:
For further information on the garden birds:
http://ornosk.com/weekly-bird-report/
When thick layers of snow cover everything the Snow Buntings flock into gardens for food. Under these circumstances they are very tame and no need for long telephoto lenses to photograph them. This photo is taken with a 50mm lens about two meters from them.
The Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) is Iceland’s most common Gull and the most dominant bird in cliff colonies and the ocean around the island. The Kittiwake is a loud bird and mostly responsible for the loud buzz in bird colonies. The breeding population is around 530,000 pairs but their numbers are decreasing due to a decline in krill, its main food source, in the ocean.
This photo of a Kittiwake pair is taken in Látrabjarg, Westfjords, Iceland.
Kittiwakes gathering nesting material in the moorland above the cliff.
Látrabjarg is one of the biggest Kittiwake habitats in Iceland. Kittiwakes breed there in dense settlements along with Razorbills, Guillemots, Brunnichs Guillemots, Fulmars and Puffins.
The Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) was an uncommon breeding bird in Iceland until the middle of the last century. The last known breeding was in 1963. Its extinction as a breeding bird is most likely due to drainage of marshlands and the arrival of the mink in Icelandic nature. A few birds are seen here in the winter time.
This bird was seen near Hveragerði in South Iceland in January 2011. There are ditches there with warm water that the bird was attracted to.
Here Kristin is taking a photo of a pair of Razorbills. You have to lie on your stomach to protect yourself from falling.
The cliff below is probably around 400 metres high and actually the biggest bird colony in Iceland and the biggest Razorbill colony in the world.
These photoes are from a birding trip we took in 2011 to the Westfjords, more precisely from Látrabjarg, which is the Western most point of Iceland. It is also the Western most point of Europe if you don’t take the Azore Islands into count.
On New Year’s Eve the fireworks, which have become louder and more powerful, often chase the birds away but today on January 2 there are five Chaffinches here in the garden. One male has joined the group of four that were here before the New Year. Here in the Selfoss area there have not been as many Chaffinches since 1980.
This picture was taken on New Year’s Day.
We also have about 100 Redpolls, 100 Snow Buntings, 15 Starlings, six Blackbirds, four Redwings and two Common Crossbills. – And it continues to snow…
The Puffin is the bird species that counts most birds in Iceland. The twelfth year in a row now their numbers are decreasing, especially in South Iceland and the Westman Islands. There has also been a noticeable decrease in Látrabjarg, Westfjords, where these photos are taken.
Some ten years ago the estimated Puffin population in Iceland was around eight million but has now dropped to around five million. Warmer weather has led to a collapse in Baitfish stock but they are the Puffin’s main food source. The situation of the Baitfish stock is better around the north coast of Iceland and there the Puffin population is not decreasing.
