All posts by Örn Óskarsson

Landscape, Vegetation

Wild flowers in the Highlands

Blágresi – Geranium sylvaticum – Wood cranesbill

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.

Steindepla – – Veronica fructans- Rock speedwell
Hvítmaðra – Galium normanii – Slender Bedstraw

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.

Dýragras  – Gentiana nivalis – Snow gentian
Blágresi – Geranium sylvaticum – Wood cranesbill
Brennisóley – Ranunculus acris –  Meadow Buttercup
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Garden

Bees and butterflies

Red Admiral (aðmírálsfiðrildi)

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.

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Birds

Spotted Sandpiper

Dílastelkur – Spotted Sandpiper – Actitis macularius

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.

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Birds, Garden, Weather

Harsh welcome for our summer birds

Skógarþröstur – Redwing – Turdus iliacus

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.

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Birds, Garden

Male Brambling

Fjallafinka – Brambling – Fringilla montifringilla

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.

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Birds, Garden

Sparkling snow flakes

Snjótittlingur – Snow Bunting – Plectrophenax nivalis

Snow Buntings are like sparkling snow flakes and observing huge flocks of them in flight is a beautiful sight. They only appear in towns in the coldest of weathers when snow makes it impossible for them to find food.  Sometimes they can be counted in the hundreds.

For Icelanders the Snow Bunting, in Icelandic “snjótittlingur” (snjór=snow) is a winter bird. In the summer it is also a symbolic bird, representing the summer time.  Then it is referred to by a different name “Sólskríkja” (sól=sun). Its plumage changes with the seasons, see in summer time: https://ornosk.com/2017/07/28/a-good-year/

The Snow Bunting is a high Arctic bird that breeds as far as the northernmost regions of Greenland and Canada. It is common in Iceland where it lives the whole year round although in many countries it is a passerine. It used to be a very common breeding bird in the highlands but with rising temperatures the Icelandic stock is decreasing.

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Birds

White-tailed Eagle near Selfoss

Haförn – White tailed Eagle – Haliaeetus albicilla

White-tailed Eagles are not so uncommon around Selfoss in winter although they breed in the Western part of Iceland. At this time of year they can sometimes be seen flying over the river in search of prey especially when it is cold and snowy.

River Ölfusá is the ideal winter habitat for ducks and geese because it never freezes over, thus making it also an ideal spot to visit for birds of prey such as White-tailed Eagles.

This adult White-tailed Eagle has been spotted several times in recents weeks in the area and I managed to catch these long distance photos on one of my trips.

The White-tailed Eagle’s main breeding territory is around Breiðafjörður Fjord in West Iceland.  In total around 75 pairs breed in Iceland and two thirds of the population in the area around Breiðafjörður.

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Atmosphere, Weather

Mother-of-pearl-clouds

Glitský (perlumóðurský) – nacreous cloud

Mother-of-pearl-clouds have been seen in many places over Iceland in the last few days. These are magnificent manifestations that sometimes appear in Arctic regions from the end November to February. This only occurs in the twilight and can both be in the evening and morning.

This phenomenon appears when it is very cold in the stratosphere (in the altitude of 15–30 km) with temperatures below the ice frost point, near -80°, which turns all moisture in the air into ice crystals.

These luminous clouds are also referred to as Ice polar stratospheric clouds or Nacreous clouds. The photos are taken about one hour before sunrise, at about 10 o’clock, from our house in Selfoss, Iceland.

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Birds

Gyrfalcon chasing ducks

Fálki – Gyrfalcon – Falco rusticolus

Gyrfalcons are out and about at this time of year in search of prey but they are annual guests here in the winter time.  At other times of the year they keep to their territories, most of them in the North. In the last two weeks an adult and a young bird have been spotted in the area. They fly over the river, chasing ducks and occasionally manage to succeed.

These predatory birds are always of interest and these photoes show the young Gyrfalcon. The ducks seemed to feel secure on the water although the falcon was in the air.

 

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