Category Archives: Birds

Birds

The male’s black cap

Hettusöngvari – Blackcap – Sylvia atricapilla

These last few weeks at least three Blackcaps have been in the garden. Around this time of year these annual guests appear and we blog about them. They now come for the apples we put out but also some small berries from the shrubs which there are not a lot of, after the cold and wet summer here in South Iceland.

As is often the case, the name of the species comes from the colour of the male’s black cap but the females have a brown cap.

In a few instances Blackcaps have managed to survive the winter here in the garden but they are usually too cold and wet for them. There is a lot of competition here for the feed we put out as Blackbirds, Redwings and Starlings often have the upper hand and chase the smaller ones away.

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Birds

North American vagrant visitor

Dulþröstur – Hermit Thrush – Catharus guttatus

One of the foreign guests this autumn is the North American Hermit Thrush, that is now being spotted here for the13th time. It is the most common vagrant in Iceland of the Catharus Thrushes.

The Hermit Thrush was spotted in Hallskot, in the Nature Reserve Flói. It is not easy to spot it as it prefers to hide in the thickest trees and shrubs, and under them.  The Hermit Thrush is very common in North America and a has big distribution range.

A Blackpool Warbler was also spotted in Hallskot in the end of September. So Hallskot is certainly an interesting birding spot.

This autumn two other North American Catharus Thrushes have been seen in Iceland, two Swainson’s Thrushes in Hornafjörður, Southeast Iceland, and a Gray-cheeked Thrush in Ölfus, Southwest Iceland.

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Seeds from the Alder

Auðnutittlingur – Redpoll – Carduelis flammea

Although the Redpolls frequent our feeding trays, they are also diligent in nibbling on seeds from the Sitka Alder and Green Alder. Redpolls eat Birch seeds and all kinds of flower seeds, and insects in the summer time. However, after a cold and wet summer the availability of Birch seeds is scarce.

Recently flocks of Redpolls have been seen feeding on seeds in Alder trees in the South of Iceland.

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Staying for the winter?

Fjallafinka – Brambling – Fringilla montifringilla

Bramblings are annual guests in our garden. In the end of April there were three here but last winter we had up to 15 birds here. Now we have a Brambling again, one which has probably been in Iceland for the summer. The question now is whether this Brambling is staying or migrating South in autumn, as is their custom in their usual habitat.

Brambling feeding with a Common Crossbill

Bramblings are vagrants in Iceland. They breed in Northern Europe, although not in Iceland, and are supposed to fly South for winter. A few instances of breeding have been recorded here. Here is a blog from April this year.

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Birds

Blackpoll Warbler

Rákaskríkja – Blackpoll Warbler – Dendroica striata

This is the fifteenth time that a Blackpoll Warbler is spotted in Iceland a week ago in Hallskot in Floi, South Iceland. Birders had been on the lookout for vagrants after heavy southwest storms, expecting some windswept little creatures from America to end up here in the North Atlantic. Two other American vagrants have been spotted, the Red-eyed Vireo and Swainson’s Thrush.

The Blackpoll Warbler is a breeding bird in the spruce forests of North America and goes all the way to the northernmost regions of the taiga. It is a migrator with winter grounds  in South America.

Although the Blackpoll Warbler is rare in Iceland it is the most common warbler to be seen here.

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Chicks in autumn

Krossnefur – Common Crossbill / Red Crossbill – Loxia curvirostra

Although it is the end of September with temperatures under zero and winter ahead of us, the Common Crossbill is with chicks.  Yesterday there were ten Crossbills in our feeders. Here a mother is feeding a chick which is probably not older than a couple of weeks. In this way the Common Crossbills are different from other Icelandic birds which only breed in spring and summer. The Common Crossbills seem to breed all year round, depending only on the availability of food.

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The predator and its prey

Smyrill – Merlin – Falco columbarius

Now is the time for the Merlin to prepare for the flight to its winter grounds in the UK. It is also migration time for the smaller birds and the Merlin is hunting for food to save up energy for the journey. They can now be seen hunting in heaths and marshlands.

The Merlin is the most common predatory bird in Iceland. It is mostly a migrator with only a small part of the stock remaining here during winter.

Þúfutittlingur – Meadow Pipit – Anthus pratensis

The Meadow Pipit is probably the most important food source but all small birds are also on the menu e.g. Snow Buntings, Redwings, Starlings and even birds as big as the Golden Plover.

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Tougher than we believed

Glókollur – Goldcrest – Regulus regulus

I was thrilled to see that the Goldcrest, one of our new pioneers, has had no problems surviving and multiplying this summer. Adult birds as well as chicks can be seen in the forests in Grímsnes, South Iceland. Despite the cold and wet summer in the South these small and delicate creatures  have managed the breed and the chicks to thrive. Our worries were needless, they are obviously more robust than we thought. A mere bad summer will not affect their life here in the North Atlantic.

On my hike in Grímsnes last week I saw Goldcrests in all the woodland areas that I visited and in one place I spotted five chicks that had newly taken flight.

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Third Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker for Iceland

Safaspæta – Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker – Sphyrapicus varius

From early this summer a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker has been wood pecking near a summer cottage by Lake Apavatn, in South Iceland. Early in August wood pecking holes were noticed, some not new, which indicated a wood pecker in the area. However, this American Sapsucker was only noticed yesterday and identified.

The Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker is a breeding bird in North America and has only been seen in the Western Palearctic six times now and this is the third time in Iceland. The first bird was found dead in the South East in 1961.

In 2007 a Sapsucker was spotted here in Selfoss. That was my first and my photo was actually on the cover of this book.

Extremely Rare Birds in the Western Palearctic, 2012
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