Category Archives: Birds

Birds

The same pair year after year

Newly arrived April 28

Every spring we await the arrival of the White Wagtail in the garden. It seems that the same pair comes here year after year. And we celebrate its arrival by putting out wholemeal biscuits which are its favourite.  At least that is what we think. And every year they build their nest in the spruce and perhaps it is the same tree every year. 

Collecting material for the nest May 9.

We love having this pair of  White Wagtails in the garden. These are such lively birds to watch as they trail their long tails in undulating flight around the trees and wag their long tails and dash about in the garden.

The nest ready and the male courts the female.

It is also very interesting to see the male court the female. It points its bill upwards and zigzags about, moving up and down, and spreading its tail.

Both parents busy feeding the nestlings June 6.

Insects are its main feed and they can often be seen catching flies and spiders in flight. Both parents take part in the nesting and in feeding the hatchlings.

Busy time ahead feeding the young ones June 6.

This spring they arrived on April 22. They started making their nest the next day which took about two week. Now the eggs have hatch and the parents diligently feed the young ones. Bringing them insects, flies, larva and spiders. The eggs are usually four to six, can be up to eight, so if all have hatched the parents have their work cut out for them for the next two to three weeks.

The White Wagtail is one of the migratory birds whose arrival is looked forward to in Iceland in spring.

 

Birds

Jack Snipe in Ölfus

Dvergsnípa – Jack Snipe – Lymnocryptes minimus

A Jack Snipe was spotted two weeks ago in a warm brook in Ölfus where they have before been reported several times in winter. It is an annual visitor in Iceland in the winter time, a smaller version of the Common Snipe, and believed to have bred here although breeding has never been confirmed.

Jack Snipes are difficult to spot on the ground because they sit completely still for long periods. They can be found where the ground is unfrozen, in and near warm streams and brooks.

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Birds

Redwings arrriving

Skógarþröstur – Redwing – Turdus iliacus

Twelve Redwings arrived unexpectedly on March 5 and have been in the garden since. We had only seen a single bird here on and off in the last few weeks, so perhaps these are migrators arriving early. Or Redwings moving places within Iceland? The group shows all the signs of birds newly arrived, are constantly on the move, fighting among themselves and singing in the snow. Usually Redwings arrive here in late March or beginning of April, so this is quite early for Redwings if they are migrators.

We have now had news of Redwings in the eastern part of Iceland so most likely these are our spring birds arriving, signalling the coming of spring.

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Birds

Barrow’s Goldeneye on the River by Selfoss

Húsönd – Barrows Goldeneye – Bucephala islandica

Yesterday we saw a few Barrow’s Goldeneyes on the river by Selfoss, four males and two females. They are annuals here on Ölfusá River. One of the males was quite aggressive towards the others and was on constant look out, pruning himself while he was not chasing the other three away. He was obviously set on keeping the two females for himself.

Barrow’s Goldeneye – male

Iceland is the only breeding place of the Barrow’s Goldeneye in Europe and the distribution has been more or less restricted to Northeast Iceland. It stays in Iceland the whole year round. Part of the population goes to the South during the coldest time of the year.

More birds now breed in the South, e.g. in the Southern Highlands, in Lake Þingvallavatn and River Sog. Barrow’s Goldeneye stay in spring water lakes or rivers the whole year round and unlike most non-migrators they do not move to the sea in winter.

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Birds

Green-winged Teal

Rákönd – Green-winged Teal – Anas carolinensis

The Green-winged Teal is a very common duck throughout North America and an annual vagrant in Iceland.  It is a small duck, similar in size to the Teal that is quite common in Iceland.  This one was spotted in Fossvogsdalur in Reykjavík a few days ago together with a group of other ducks and geese.

The Green-winged Teal is usually shy and difficult to photograph. This one, however, was an exception and obviously used to living near people.  In the last few days a few other Green-winged Teals have been reported in Southwest Iceland.

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Birds

Winter birds – Garden birdwatch

Stari – Starling – Sturnus vulgaris

It is still winter and spring far away here in the North. The last few weeks have been difficult for the birds, heavy winds and blizzards day after day and temperatures sometimes well below zero. Feeding the birds has saved lives and the birds come to the feeding trays in the garden in flocks. It is nice to know that more and more people have started feeding the birds and are making it part of their lives.

In the end of January we had the Garden Birdwatch Weekend here in Iceland. People keep count of the birds that visit their garden and the numbers are gathered by Fuglavernd, Birdlife Iceland.

This year we counted birds here in the garden on Sunday, January 30. It was windy and snowing.

This is a list of the birds that visited the garden:
Rock Pigeon (Bjargdúfa) 9
Raven (Hrafn) 2
Starling (Stari) 5
Blackbird (Svartþröstur) 14
Redpoll (Auðnutittlingur) 38
Common Crossbill  (Krossnefur) 5

Photos are from the last few days.

Auðnutittlingur – Redpoll – Carduelis flammea
Krossnefur – Common Crossbill / Red Crossbill – Loxia curvirostra
Bjargdúfa – Rock Pigeon – Columba livia
Svartþröstur – Blackbird – Turdus merula
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Birds

Northern lights and winter solstice

Winter solstice, the shortest day (4 hours, 8 min.) and longest night, are upon us. Last night we enjoyed the full moon along with the Northern lights. Now the sun will start to rise higher in the sky every day, something that most of us look forward to, especially here in the high North.

Northern Lights over our garden

The Sun stays in its place in the cosmos but as the Earth revolves around its orbit and around the Sun, the seasons change. For us here in the Northern hemisphere the days become a tiny bit longer with each day, tomorrow a few seconds longer. 

Winter solstice, or Yule, is the oldest winter celebration in the world. In ancient times when the seasons and weather played an essential role in people’s lives, when we were hunters, there was a lot to celebrate. Making it through the winter was harsh and when the days started to get longer it was time for optimism.

And despite everything we feel optimistic in the Yuletide and hope that in the coming years there will be a little less poverty, less hunger, fever wars, less discrimination, better environmental management – and above all peace on Earth for all men (- all living beings and plants).

 

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Birds

More Redpolls than last winter

Auðnutittlingur – Redpoll – Carduelis flammea

Redpolls are the most common birds in our garden as before. There are about twenty every day and sometimes up to seventy. Since a decline in the population in the winter 2018-19 they have been growing in numbers. They  eat the sunflower seeds from the feeding trays along with thrushes and Common Crossbills but the big old trees probably play a part in the popularity of the garden.

The Redpolls’ main feed during the coldest months is birch seeds and the seeds from spruce cones. As seeds are scarce now here in the south  and the earth covered in snow they come into gardens in search of food.

Redpolls along with Common Crossbills

Luckily more people are putting out feed for the birds nowadays so they have a better chance of surviving the coldest weathers.

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Birds

Colourful Crossbills brighten up the day

Krossnefur – Common Crossbill / Red Crossbill – Loxia curvirostra

In the last two years Common Crossbills have scarcely been seen in gardens in Selfoss. The reason is probably the abundance of seeds in pines and spruce trees. They have therefore enjoyed their stay in Icelandic forests with enough food to sustain them.

This autumn they started turning up here to visit the feeding trays and in the last few days we have had up to 9 Crossbills here enjoying the Sunflower seeds that we put out for the birds.
The Crossbills are colourful and tame and a great addition to the usual guests. They brighten up our days during the darkest period of the year.

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