The Purple Sandpiper is a breeding bird in the Icelandic highlands but during the winter time it resides along the coast.
In the beginning of August I came across this Purple Sandpiper with its two chicks in Veiðivötn (Fishing Lakes) in the southern interior. They move down to the sea once frost and snow make it impossible for them to get to their feed.
The Great Northern Diver raises its chicks on trout fry and therefore resides on lakes that offer such food. This Diver has one chick which is most common although the eggs are two. The parents can seldom find enough food for two chicks to survive, thus only one lives to become an adult. This bird with its chick was in Veiðivötn Lakes in the southern highlands.
I photographed this Barrow’s Goldeneye with 7 recently hatched ducklings at Veiðivötn /Hraunvötn, southern highlands in the week – a very late date for such young birds. In Iceland Barrow’s Goldeneye is more or less restricted to the north-east although some pairs do breed in the southern highlands.
The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) has now left the mountain lakes in the Icelandic interior. On August 7 they were flying above the lakes in flocks, catching sticklebacks to feed to their young ones. Three days later they had disappeared with their chicks that were by then ready for flight. In all probability they are now in the sea around the country and will soon take flight in a southward direction. After about two months flight they will reach the sea around the South Pole (Antartica) where they will stay until spring arrives again.
The photoes are taken in Veiðivötn, Fishing Lakes, in the Icelandic Southern Interior.
The Red-necked Phalarope is one of the latest migratory birds to arrive in Iceland, in the middle of May. They also leave early. They merely come here to mate and only stay long enough for their young ones to grow old enough to travel.
Now they are getting into their winter plumage that is much lighter than the summer plumage. Most of them have already left lakes and ponds for the sea. There they put on some weight for their long journey to the Pacific coast of Peru where they stay on the open sea while winter rages in the northern hemisphere.
A Hooded Merganser had been seen on Skógtjörn in Álftanes (suburb of Reykjavik). It took a while to spot it among the other birds but I managed to catch a photo of it in the distance. There it was with other birds such as Greylags, Eiders and Mergansers. The Hooded Merganser is moulting and will probably stick around for a while. This bird is probably the one that has been seen in lakes around Reykjavík the last two winters.
A White-rumped Sandpiper was in Bakkatjörn Pond in Seltjarnarnes (suburd of Reykjavik), but I did not find it. The White-rumped Sandpiper is an annual guest in Iceland.
One of the most prominent birds on lakes in the interior is the Great Northern Diver. It is most spectacular with its checked black and white pattern. Usually there is one pair on each lake. This summer was however not a successful breeding season so many of them have already started grouping before they leave for the sea around Iceland.
The five Divers, that seemed to get on very well together, were photographed on Lake Litlisjór (Littlesea) in Veiðivötn (Fishing Lakes) in the Icelandic Southern Interior. This is a big lake around 9,2 square km, a fishing lake full of trout, up to 12 pounds or more.
The Golden Plover can be found all over Iceland, both in lowlands and highlands. They often choose their breeding place in areas that match their own colours, like the moss in the pictures here.
This pair was busy trying to divert our attention from its chicks which were running around on their long legs. This was in the Southern Interior, more precisely in Veiðivötn, Fishing Lakes.
The Blackbird pair in the garden usually breeds four times every summer. The first breeding is in April and the last one in August. This summer the couple has bred three times. Raising the chicks is a difficult job, the cats in the neighbourhood stalk them and most of them are eaten. One chick from the June breeding (photo) is alive and two small chicks from the July breeding. We hope they will survive.
Common Crossbills (also called Red Crossbills) are new breeding birds in Iceland. New spruce and pine forests are growing fast in many places and are now big enough to be a habitat for some new settlers like the Crossbills. The Crossbills have various colours.