Again we post a picture of the beautiful Rowan tree at Sandfell in Öræfasveit planted in 1923 beside the family farmhouse. In 1947, however, this old church site and parsonage was abandoned. In South Iceland Rown trees rarely reach such a high age as this one, almost 100 years old.
This tree is by many considered the most beautiful Rowan in Iceland. In 2015 it received the title “Tree of the year”by the Icelandic Forestry Association. It is 11 metres high with seven stems. In autumn each stems displays varied colours. This difference is due to the amount of water in each stem, resulting in these magnificent autumn colours of leaves in different stages of wilting. See also Tree of the year 2015.
One of the American guests that has been spotted in the aftermath of the Southwest winds is the Swainson’s Thrush. This lone thrush was spotted in Sólbrekka by Seltjörn in Reykjanes on September 23 and is still there. This is the 10th time this species is recorded in Iceland.
The Swainson’s Thrush is one of the most common thrushes in North America, breeding all across Canada, Alaska, and the northern United States. Its favourite habitat is coniferous woods with a dense undergrowth. In winter they migrate south to Southern Mexico and as far south as Argentina. Only very rarely are they spotted in Western Europe.
Hopefully this American guest will manage to survive the Icelandic winter, to the joy of birders and other guests in the forest at Sólbrekka.
After some strong Southwest winds in the last few days a selection of vagrants have been spotted in Iceland. One of these is the Red Phalarope which can now be seen in many places in Southwest Iceland.
The Red Phalarope breeds in the North, all around the Arctic circle. A few also breed in Iceland. The groups of Red Phalaropes here now are probably coming from their summer grounds in Greenland. They have been blown off course because of the southwesterly winds. Most of these visitors are probably on their way to winter grounds in the Pacific regions South America.
A group of young Red Phalaropes has been on the shore near Eyrarbakki in the last few days.
Trjástelkur – Green Sandpiper – Tringa ochropus and a Black – headed gull
For the tenth time, a Green Sandpiper is recorded for Iceland. This rare vagrant is a breeding bird in Scandinavia and throughout the east of Russia, with winter grounds in southern Europe, Africa and Asia. The Green Sandpiper is a small wader that is usually not seen in groups, it prefers fresh water and is special in that it nests in trees. This bird was spotted in a place we visit very often, Snæfoksstaðir in Grímsnes, South Iceland. Seeing this guy by the river caught us by complete surprise – we just forget that vagrants, of course, can be spotted almost anywhere.
A lot of flowers are in full bloom now in the interior. Vegetation, however, is more often very scarce at this altitude for several reasons. The weather is not favourable, the soil is sandy and is on the move in stormy weather. Therefore the interior is heavily affected by grazing sheep. Letting these domestic animals lose in the interior for the summer has been a custom in Iceland since the Middle Ages. In the moonlike environment, the black sands made of volcanic minerals and lava, are often dominant and it is no wonder that flowering plants are on the top of the menu for the wandering sheep.
Coming across fields of wild mountain flowers in the highlands is very often a great surprise and nothing less than heavenly. Hiking this week we were so happy to come across such a delight.
Barnarót- Coeloglossum viride – Long-bracted green orchid
The mountainside was covered with different kinds of wild flowers in bloom. These include velvet bells, snow gentian, moonwort, rock speedwell and many more. The blue colours of snow gentians and rock speedwells caught the eye and a great surprise was to see a field of wood cranesbill and meadow buttercups high up in the mountainside.
Tonight was the shortest night of the year – summer solstice. Sunset was at 23:55 and sunrise at 2:57. These are nights full of colour when the sun is setting and rising so soon afterwards. This photo was taken at 2:30 in Selfoss, South Iceland, north over Ölfusá River. There is more or less daylight all night and does not get totally dark until July 20.
Today was a beautiful summer day with Bumblebees and Red Admirals in the garden. In recent years studies have reported a decline in insect populations. Entire species have gone extinct but in most cases this decline involves reductions in abundance. Therefore it is a great joy to have such a lot of bumblebees in the garden along with foreign visitors such as the Red Admiral.
This American vagrant was spotted in the middle of May in the little town of Stokkseyri, on the south coast of Iceland. The Spotted Sandpiper is a migratory bird that resides in South America during winter and migrates to North America to breed in the spring. This one got blown of course and ended up here in the North Atlantic.
This is the 9th Spotted Sandpiper for Iceland and the first to be seen in 13 years. This Sandpiper is much smaller than the Redshank, similar in size to the Common Ringed Plover. It was the centre of attention for birders for about two days but has not been seen since.
Redwings have a special place in the hearts of Icelanders. They signal the usually long awaited coming of spring. Huge flocks of them arrived here April 5 and 6 from their winter grounds in Britain and Western Europe. They were, however, not welcomed with spring weather, but with a full-blown blizzard, one of the worst this winter.
Outside our window on April 5
The weather was as bad as it can get, with snow blowing into huge banks, the shivering birds covered in snow and the house trembling from the storm. It is likely that some if them have not survived this harsh welcome.
This sunny morning, in the snow and frost, there are around 30 singing Redwings in the garden, quarrelling over the feed trays – the garden resounding with their song.
A lone Brambling has been here in the garden all winter long. This male comes here daily and visits the feeding trays. He is very shy and not eager to be photographed. The males are different from the females, see: https://ornosk.com/2014/10/18/a-visitor-in-the-garden/
When this male Brambling turned up in the autumn he seemed familiar with surroundings so this could be the one that was spotted singing in and around Selfoss last summer.
Bramblings are annual guests in Iceland. They come from Scandinavia but do not breed here regularly. Despite a difficult winter, with lots of snow and countless blizzards, this hardy bird has survived.
