This morning a Goldfinch turned up in the garden. This is a new species in the garden, number 50 and a new bird on our Icelandic bird list. The Goldfinch is common in Europe but seldom ventures more northerly than the southern regions of Scandinavia.
Goldfinches were first seen in Iceland in 2005 and fifteen birds have been spotted since then. Most of these birds have been seen in Hornafjörður in Southeast Iceland. This is the first time the Goldfinch has been seen so westerly.
It is always exciting to see a Gyrfalcon, the biggest falcon in the world. Its main food source in Iceland is the Ptarmigan but it also hunts other birds such as ducks, geese and gulls. Last weekend we saw a Gyrfalcon eating a duck far out on the ice on Ellidavatn Lake, just outside Reykjavik. The Gyrfalcon was shy and not prepared to let a photographer get anywhere near.
By cropping the photo identification was possible and this time the Gyrfalcon had managed to catch a male Red-breasted Merganser.
I found some Common Crossbills on my walk in Grímsnes, South Iceland, last week. One male was already singing. In the last few years the Common Crossbills have started breeding in spruce and pine forests in February although it is still winter.
It will be interesting to see if this will also be the case this winter. We will be keeping an eye on them.
The Ivory Gull is a breeding bird by the shores of the Arctic Sea. It has a near-circumpolar distribution in Arctic seas, breeding from north Canada, Greenland, Svalbard and islands off northern Russia.
Young Ivory Gulls are white with specs of grey and black in the wings and tail. When adult they become all white. Young birds are seen by Icelandic shores every year but grown-ups are rarely seen.
Today and yesterday a young Ivory Gull was seen in Þorlákshöfn, in South Iceland. The photos are taken today.
The American Coot is a very rare visitor in Iceland but one is now staying in the Reykjavík area. This is the sixth bird seen in Iceland so far. In North America the Coot is a common bird in freshwater wetlands. The American Coot is not a duck. It is a relation of the European Coot and is in lineage with cranes and rails.
The Coot is in the company of a group of Mallards that mostly stay on a pond where the birds are fed.
Birch seeds are the main food for Redpolls in the winter months. Last summer a lot of birch seeds matured in the natural Icelandic forests so there is still enough food for them. Redpolls have not been seen in any numbers in gardens and there has been some concern that their numbers are decreasing.
Last winter was harsh and natural feed scarce. The numbers of Redpolls decreased considerably but the drop was far from drastic. In the last few weeks Redpolls have come in the garden in search of food on our feeding trays. The most we have seen recently is 18 birds together.
The birds do not go without at Christmas. Delicious red apples are on the menu on a cold and windy Christmas day, with temperatures around – 9° C.
Jól is the Icelandic term for Christmas. The word stems from the Nordic word Yule which refers to the old solstice celebrations when the Vikings celebrated longer days and coming of the new year. Season’s Greetings to all of you. “Peace on earth and goodwill to all men”
Today is St. Thorlakur’s Day. Thorlakur was an Icelandic bishop in Skalholt and died on December 23, 1193. This is the day for last minute gift shopping, decorating the Christmas tree and many eat the traditional fish Skate, which smells horrible.
Three days to Christmas. It snowed today and the forecast predicts temperatures below zero. In the North it will be the coldest, with temperatures down below minus 20°C. In the South it will be warmer with temperatures down to around minus 10-12° C.