Category Archives: Birds

Birds

Common Snipe

The Common Snipe is a migratory bird in Iceland although a few stay behind and endure winter. These birds keep to warm springs and ditches. Early in April the migrators will be arriving in Iceland.

The Common Snipe is known for the special sound it makes on flight with its tail feathers.

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Hrossagaukur – Common Snipe – Galinago gallinago

It lives in marshes, stream banks, bogs, wet meadows, and even the Arctic tundra, preferring lush vegetation for cover. The common snipe’s habitat ranges from North America, South America, Europe, Eurasia, and Africa.

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Birds

The best place on Earth

More snow had fallen when we woke up this morning, as can be seen from these photoes. At 4 we woke up to a thick blizzard, something that belongs to the middle of winter. But here we are and we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

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Örn went out around 8 to clear the snow so as to be able to feed the birds. He offered them some seeds from the palm of his hand but they were probably not cold enough to be tempted.

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It will probably be a terrific day to play outside, make a snowman or snow house, or even go skiing if the wind stays calm. For us it is time to make coffee and admire the view over the snowy river from our kitchen window.  Would be nice to have some birders here to share some birding gossip and a nice cup of coffeee. – Hope you have a terrific day and that you too feel that where you are is also the best place on Earth 🙂

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Birds

Louder and fighting among themselves

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Auðnutittlingur – Redpoll – Carduelis flammea

The Redpolls gather round the feeding tray and we make sure there are enough sunflower seeds for everyone. We haven’t had so many Redpolls in the garden since January. Where did they go? We don’t know but this morning there have been more than one hundred.

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Auðnutittlingur – Redpoll – Carduelis flammea

They woke us early this morning because they are louder and fighting among themselves, a sign that it is almost spring.

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Auðnutittlingur – Redpoll – Carduelis flammea

In the last few days temperatures have been dropping and snowfall on and off everyday.  We are waiting for spring and hoping for a summer this year. Last year summer was a total letdown so we do not know what to expect but we are full of hope. The photoes are taken this morning.

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Birds

The queen of the Atlantic

The Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) is the biggest seabird in Iceland. It breeds in cliff islands not very far from land and is usually not seen inland. The breeding population counts around 31,500 pairs. Half of the population breeds in Eldey, a tiny island, or sea cliff, that can be seen from Reykjanestá in Reykjanes, the southwestern most point of Iceland.

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Súla – Northern Gannet – Morus bassanus

More information on Eldey here

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These photoes are taken in Kolgrafarfjörður in March 2014. The Northern Gannet is on its way to the fjord Kolgrafarfjörður to eat herring.

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Grey-cheeked Thrush spotted four times

A Grey-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus) was spotted in October 2014 in a garden in Hvolsvöllur, South Iceland. This Thrush is a breeding bird in North America and has been seen only four times in Iceland. It is the most infrequent of the American Thrushes (Spotted-Breasted Thrushes) to visit Iceland.

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Hlýraþröstur – Grey-cheeked Thrush – Catharus minimus

The photo was taken in Hvolsvöllur, November 3, 2014.

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Whooper Swan family

This Whooper Swan family, with the grown up birds at the front and the back and the chicks between them, flew over Grímsnes in South Iceland yesterday, probably just newly arrived.

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Álft – Whooper Swan – Cygnus cygnus

Whooper Swans (Cygnus cygnus) are now coming to Iceland in huge flocks from their winter grounds in the British Isles. They spread over the whole country in smaller groups and pairs seek their old breeding places with their chicks from last year. When it comes to the nest making the parents chase the grown up chicks away. Often fights break out because the chicks do not want to go .

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Visitors in the garden – weekly report

This is a list of the birds that have been seen in the garden this past week, March 15 – 22, 2015. Temperatures have been rising this week and it seems that some of the birds have gone to their summer grounds, e.g. the Redpolls mentioned only stayed for two days. 

  • Merlin (smyrill) 2
  • Wren (músarrindill) 1
  • European Robin (glóbrystingur) 1
  • Blackbird (svartþröstur) 4
  • Redwing (skógarþröstur) 5
  • Raven (hrafn) 1
  • Starling (stari) 17
  • Chaffinch (bókfinka) 4
  • Redpoll (auðnutittlingur) 50
  • Common Crossbill (krossnefur) 6

For more information on the visitors in the garden see weekly report: http://ornosk.com/weekly-bird-report/

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Birds

Slavonian Grebe

The Slavonian Grebe is not a common breeding bird in Iceland. You are most likely to see it in Mývatn, in the North, and surrounding areas. There are also a few birds in other areas e.g. in Ástjörn in Hafnarfjörður and Reykhólar in the West. The Slavonian Grebe makes its nest on lakes and ponds. What is special about the nest is that it floats on the water among the reeds, made of moss and straws.

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Flórgoði – Slavonian Grebe – Podiceps auritus

This photo is taken in the West, in Reykhólar in Reykhólasveit, in the beginning of June, 2011.

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Birds

European Shag

Toppskarfur - European Shag - Phalacrocorax aristotelis
Toppskarfur – European Shag – Phalacrocorax aristotelis

The European Shag mostly keeps to the shore and is seldom seen far from land. It breeds and lives in the Northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean. In Iceland it mostly keeps to the West coast, in Faxaflói and Breiðafjörður. Its nest is in sea cliffs, islands and bird colonies and it lays one to six eggs. The European Shag is a good diver and mostly lives on small fish.

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The estimated breeding population in Iceland is 4,900 pairs.

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