Now is the time for Northern Lights to be seen in Iceland. From the end of April until the middle of August the nights are too bright for both stars and Northern Lights to be seen.
Lately solar activity has lit up the Northern Lights around the poles. Near midnight it is dark enough here for the lights to be enjoyed, especially if there is no light pollution.
Last night there was adquate activity and the Moon was not to bright. These pictures were taken in Selfoss by River Ölfusá.
A European Stonechat was spotted west of Grindavík near Brimketill in March. It is a rather rare vagrant here and this is the second time it is seen in the western part of Iceland. This little bird is very quick and shy which is the reason for my poor quality pictures.
The European Stonechat is a common passerine bird that lives in Western Europe and winters in South Europe and North Africa. Its habitat is mostly open country, heaths and moorlands.
The Red-necked Grebe is a waterbird that lives in temperate areas in the Northern hemisphere. It a rare vagrant in Iceland. It breeds in fresh water lakes but winters by the coast or in estuaries. This Red-necked Grebe was in the harbour at Þorlákshöfn in March. It is in its winter plumage which is less colourful than in summer.
See: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-necked_Grebe/id#
A Stock Dove has been spotted in a garden in Hvolsvöllur, South Iceland. This dove, which is quite common in Europe, is very rare in Iceland and has only been reported here four times before.
Since a Stock Dove has not been seen here for quite some time birders flock to the town of Hvolsvöllur to see it and capture it on camera.
The Stock Dove was mostly resting in Aspen trees and now and then eating leftovers on the ground from the winter’s bird feed. For us it is a new species for our Icelandic birding list.
A group of Barrow’s Goldeneyes have been on Ölfusá River by Selfoss in January and February. They are annuals here at this time of the year. They are most likely a part of a bigger group on Sog River about 10 km inland from Selfoss.
Iceland is the only breeding place of the Barrow’s Goldeneye in Europe and the distribution has been more or less restricted to Northeast Iceland. It stays in Iceland the whole year round. Part of the population overwinters here in the South during the coldest time of the year.
In recent years, however, more and more Goldeneyes have started breeding in the South, e.g. in the Southern Highlands, in Lake Þingvallavatn and River Sog. The Barrow’s Goldeneye’s habitat is in spring water lakes or rivers the whole year round and unlike most non-migrators they do not head out to sea in winter.
The garden has been teeming with birds this Christmas. Some very rare visitors that we don’t see every year. Keeping them fed has been one of the Christmas chores and a happy one.
Three Bohemian Waxwings have decorated the garden with their stay. Their beautiful colours are hard to match.
Redpolls stay with us most of the year and in winter they are never far away. There have been at least 20 – 25 every day.
Fieldfares very seldom grant us the favour of a visit at Christmas. Now we have had four of them most days. They are quite dominating and find it hard to share food with the others.
The Crossbills are peaceful birds and their lovely colours make them stand out now when everything is covered in snow. Five of them have come here to feed daily and mingle with the other visitors.
Now Rock Doves are becoming more and more common here in the garden and they make good use of the sunflower seeds that we put out. They are here in the dozens and we are sad to admit that we sometimes wish they would go somewhere else once in a while.
Other birds in the garden are Redwings, Blackbirds, Snow Buntings, Starlings and one very Christmassy Robin.
In October there was a feast in the garden. A lot of vagrants visited us and made our days happier. See captions under photoes.
After heavy Southeast winds they were blown of course and ended here poor things.
All them have by now left us despite the feed we put out every day. Most of them have probably left the country with favourable west winds going to their original destinations in warmer climates.
Now the garden is visited by Redpolls, Crossbills, Redwings, Fieldfares, Blackbirds, Waxwings and Rock Pigeons.
All the photoes are taken in October.
Happy holidays.
Among the great number of vagrants in Iceland now are Bramblings. They have been spotted in groups in most parts of the country. A lot of them reside in gardens where they find shelter and feed. They are beautiful and lively and should be able to survive the Icelandic winter easily given that they find feed.
Today there were 14 Bramblings in the garden. And of course we make sure that there is enough feed for them, mostly sunflower seeds.
A lot of birds have been blown off way in heavy southeast winds. Many European and Asian species have ended up in Iceland. Among them are at least five Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Three of them were found in Southeast Iceland and the Eastfjords. Two in the Southwest (Reykjanes Peninsula), one of them in a birder’s garden in Grindavík.
Great Spotted Woodpeckers are resident birds that stay near their breeding grounds in winter. They are therefore very rare in Iceland.
They are common in woodlands in Europe, Asia and in North Africa.
The pictures are taken in a garden in Grindavík.
The Redpoll is a very common bird in woodlands in Iceland. It is the only original Icelandic woodland bird. Its main diet is insects and Birch seed. In the last decades it has gradually learnt to feed on seeds from other tree species in our fast growing forests.
This autumn the Birch has failed to produce seeds here in the South for the second year in a row. This is also the case with seed production in Spruce trees this year.
Despite this there are a lot of Redpolls in search of feed in Hellisskógur by Selfoss. Their main feed this autumn seems to be seed from the Sitka alder (Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata) and from the plant Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria). Both of these are common in Hellisskógur and form seeds every year.
If there is shortage of feed for the Redpolls they are not shy to come into gardens and eagerly take to seed set out for them. If things are rough part of the stock might leave the country for southerly parts of Europe.