The Redwing is very busy these days. Finding food for its young ones is hard work and takes up a lot of time. Worms and larva are on the menu every day.
This little chick had found a nice spot on our garden table yesterday morning. Two pairs of Redwings have made nests in our garden this spring so several chicks have been hopping around here lately.
At this time of year everything is teeming with life and a visit to Lake Mývatn is more than worth its while for the bird watcher. Lots of ducks can be seen there and the Common Scoter is one of them. It is a breeding bird in Northeast Iceland. It breeds by lakes and ponds that are eutrophic.
This pair was on Lake Mývatn along with a lot others. The male is black and the female brownish.
The breeding population is around 400 to 500 pairs. Its winter grounds are in the Atlantic ocean in West Europe.
The Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) is a non-migrating bird in Iceland. It breeds in Northwest Iceland but roams around the country in the winter time. It is believed that Glaucous Gulls from Greenland and Spitsbergen over winter here.
The Glaucous gull breeds in mountains and sea cliffs and gets its food in the sea, mostly small fish. The breeding population in Iceland is estimated around 10,000-15,000 pairs.
The Common Gull (Larus canus) is a new breeding bird in Iceland, or so they say, although the first known breeding was in 1936. That was in Eyjafjörður, North Iceland. The Common Gull started breeding in other parts of the country much later.
Now there is a breeding area near Selfoss but it is only around 20 years since these birds were first spotted in this area in the summer time. Today the Common Gull is quite common all year round in this area. The breeding population in Iceland is estimated around 700 pairs.
The Gadwall (Anas strepera) is a dabbling duck like the Mallard. It is uncommon in Iceland except around Mývatn in the North. In the winter time and also in the migration time in spring this beautiful duck can sometimes be seen in the South.
The breeding population is estimated around 500 pairs.
This Gadwall was on the Pond in Reykjavík.
Now in the beginning June the Slovonian Grebe shows off its beauty to attract the female. The Grebes are preparing for breeding but have not started the nest making yet.
The photos are taken by Vífilsstaðavatn, Garðabær, near Reykjavík.
Today a male Crossbill appeared in the garden with as much as five chicks. The chicks let the father feed them sunflower seeds which they seemed to like a lot. The chicks are probably approximately a month old and possibly about 1 -2 weeks since they left they nest. Crossbills have not been seen here in the garden since the first week of April.
At the same time last year a female Crossbill appeared here with two chicks.
Yesterday we saw several Crossbills with six chicks in Grímsnes, South Iceland.
We saw the first Redpoll chicks in the garden yesterday. Two chicks were looking for food in the feed leftovers from this winter. We usually see the first chicks at the same time every year.
Redpolls breed more than once every summer and the eggs are most often 4 -6 in each breeding although more than four chicks are very seldom seen.
Despite the cold weather and late spring plants are in bloom. The Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) is a plant you can not but notice with its beautiful bright yellow flowers. Its habitat is mostly in marshlands, on banks of ditches and cold springs.