Category Archives: Birds

Courtship in February

Krossnefur – Common Crossbill / Red Crossbill – Loxia curvirostra (males)

In the end of January and in February the male Common Crossbills become quite noticeable in the tops of the Lodgepole Pine forests (Pinus contorta) in Grímsnes area, South Iceland. They sing and try to catch the attention of the females.

Krossnefur – Common Crossbill / Red Crossbill – Loxia curvirostra (females)

Although it is still mid winter in Iceland they have obviously started courtship. Some seem now already paired and are feeding their spouses which is a sign that the nesting period is not far away.

A female and male Common Crossbills

The cones and seeds of the Lodgepole Pine are now becoming ripe and that seems to be the indicator that tells the birds that it is time for mating.

Snow Buntings in flocks

Snjótittlingur – Snow Bunting – Plectrophenax nivalis

Snow Buntings have frequented Icelandic gardens all over the country this winter. In the past few weeks they have been seen in huge flocks and we counted 400 birds here in our garden in Selfoss. Last year, however, we didn’t see any Snow Buntings here.

This winter has been harsher than in previous years, with long lasting frost and snow. In the last century The Snow Bunting was the typical Icelandic winter bird and usually the only bird to be seen in winter along with the Raven. In the last few decades there has been a change and the Snow Bunting has been seen more rarely in Icelandic gardens.

The reasons for this change are not certain and people speculate whether this is due to a decrease in the stock. However, an increase in corn production in agricultural could be reducing the Snow Buntings need to come into gardens for feed, at least when snows do not cover the fields.

Still here

Glóbrystingur – European Robin – Erithacus rubecula

Since autumn this Robin has been a daily guest in the garden.  Our Robin roams the neighbourhood but always turns up again. We have news of another one just over the river. Hopefully they are a male and a female that will pair up and breed here in the spring.

The Robin is a rather common vagrant in Iceland and is known to have breed here.

Garden birds today

Blackbird (svartþröstur) and Starling (stari)

Today there is a blizzard and a lot of birds in the garden. It is their shelter from the storm, an oasis with food and shelter. The photos are from today.

Brambling – Fjallafinka

Today’s Bird List

  • Merlin (smyrill) 1
  • European Robin (glóbrystingur) 1
  • Blackbird (svartþröstur) 16
  • Redwing (skógarþröstur) 3
  • Raven (hrafn) 1
  • Starling (stari) 40
  • Brambling (fjallafinka) 12
  • Redpoll (auðnutittlingur) 80
  • Common Crossbill (krossnefur) 7
  • Snow Bunting (snjótittlingur) 3

Follow our weekly bird count for 2018 on ORNOSK: http://ornosk.com/weekly-bird-report-2018/

Common Crossbill / Red Crossbill  – Krossnefur
The feeding tray

Ölfusá River in winter

Mallards, Goosanders, Wigeons and a Raven

The most voluminous river in Iceland is River Ölfusá. Around this time of year you can expect to see a lot of ducks and  gulls there, some Greylags and Swans  and a Gyrfalcon, a Merlin or even a White-tailed Eagle flying above.

Svartbakur – Great Blackback – Larus marinus

Due to spring water a big part of the river never freezes. When creeks and lakes are frozen over, River Ölfusá is the perfect winter habitat for birds. The river flows just outside our window about 50m away from our house.

Goosander, Iceland Gulls and Common Gulls (gulendur, bjartmáfar og stormmáfar)

In the snow covered landscape

Rjúpa – Ptarmigan – Lagopus mutus

The Ptarmigan blends well into the snow covered landscape in its winter plumage.  Predators such as foxes, falcons and the human can not easily spot it in the winter twilight. This Ptarmigan has survived the hunting season which is limited to a few long weekends in October and November.  Ptarmigan used to be a popular Christmas dinner in Iceland but as the stock has been decreasing in numbers and the hunting season limited, fewer and fewer families chose to eat this beautiful bird. That is something to be thankful for.

Chicks in winter

Krossnefur – Common Crossbill / Red Crossbill – Loxia curvirostra (pair)

There are a lot of Common Crossbills in spruce and pine forests now but these settlers seem to thrive well in Iceland and have become part of the Icelandic fauna.

Young Common Crossbill chick in December

Cones are in abundance and the Crossbills are therefore well fed. They have been breeding since autumn and even now in December we have seen young chicks, although February is the month you would expect them to start breeding.

Common Crossbills and Redpolls on a feeder

Chicks from the autumn are now feeding on their own but we still get them here in the garden where they can indulge themselves on sunflower seeds. The photos are from  last week in Grímsnes, South Iceland.

American White-winged Crossbill – a first for Iceland

Víxlnefur – White-winged Crossbill /Two-barred Crossbill- Loxia leucoptera (Loxia leucoptera leucoptera)

A rare North American vagrant has been the number one diversion for Icelandic birders in the past week. This is the second time that a White-winged Crossbill is spotted here but the first time that a bird of Western Palearctic origin is recorded, the North American subspecies. It was first seen in a small forest clearing called Sólbrekka, near the Blue Lagoon in Reykjanes Peninsula. It is still there and has been since November 8. It is now with a group of Common Crossbills and seems delighted in their company. The females especially seem to have taken a liking to this brightly coloured foreigner.

The American White-winged Crossbill is a breeding bird in the conifer forests of North America and well adapted to severe frosts. However, the White-winged Crossbill that was first spotted here in 2009 in East Iceland was of North Scandinavian/Siberian origin.