Category Archives: Birds

Birds, Garden

4 days to Christmas

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Fjallafinka – Brambling – Fringilla montifringilla

Only 4 days to Christmas and December greats us with lots of snow and short days that only last about 4 hours from sunrise to sunset. Today we bring you this Brambling  that was with us in October’s snowy weather. The Brambling is a vagrant in Iceland and as such always a treat.

It has been a difficult December and different from what we are used to, blizzards day after day and closed roads. Hopefully we will get nicer weather during the holidays so family and friends will be able to visit their loved ones.

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Birds

5 days to Christmas

This Chaffinch has been with us since October and seems to be quite up to the Icelandic climate.

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Bókfinka – Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs

At last we have a beautiful day with bright skies and no blizzards in this part of the country. Tomorrow it will not be so bright. There is a lot of snow everywhere so it’s not easy for the birds to find food but a lot of people set out food for them. This Chaffinch in our garden has her bill full of sunflower seeds. Picture taken today  🙂

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Birds

The Long-Tailed Duck is a threatened species

The Long-Tailed Duck is a noticable duck because of its beautiful colours and long tail. Global warming is probably a threat to its existence.  It is on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with the status vulnerable. In the wintertime it stays in the ocean around Iceland but in the summer it is a breeding bird in the interior where the climate  is colder, more arctic.

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Hávella – Long-Tailed Duck – Clangula hyemalis

This picture is taken in Veiðivötn, Fishing Lakes, in the interior of Iceland. The male bird is at the front, the female behind.

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Birds

Gets its name from stealing food

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The Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) – dark morph

The Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) gets its name from stealing food from other birds. Doesn’t sound nice, does it? It is a seabird and also goes by the name of Arctic Skua. We think that is a better name.

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The Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) – light morph

The Arctic Skua is a migratory bird in Iceland and arrives  here in early May. It can be found throughout the country. It makes its nest in sandy soil even in the interior although it is a seabird that stays mostly near the sea .

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Birds

9 days to Christmas

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Auðnutittlingur – Redpoll – Carduelis flammea

It’s 9 days to Christmas and we bring you this snowy Redpoll. It’s not only cold for humans, it’s cold for everyone, including birds.  It’s been exceptionally cold for this time of year and blizzards day after day, something that one is not used to until January. – But it looks a lot like Christmas 🙂

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Birds

The roles of the sexes is reversed

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Red-Necked Phalarope – Phalaropus lobatus

The Red-Necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) is a wader and can often be seen on ponds, lakes and streams. With the Red-Necked Phalarope the roles of the sexes is reversed. After the female has laid the eggs she goes her way leaving the male with the responsibility of the nest and the upbringing of the chicks. They are migratory birds and leave for the winter. Some probably go all the way to the Pacific, West of Peru.

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