Category Archives: Garden

Birds, Garden

Today’s garden birds

In the lack of daylight in the last few weeks photographing birds in the garden has been difficult. Now the days are getting longer and it’s easier to get good photoes.  Today I managed to take two rather nice photoes, if I say so myself, of a Common Crossbill and a Redpoll.

audnutittlingur
Auðnutittlingur – Redpoll – Carduelis flammea

The birdlife in the garden has been very lively today.
This is a list of today’s birds:

  • Merlin (smyrill) 2
  • Sparrowhawk (sparrhaukur) 1
  • Blackbird (svartþröstur) 6
  • Redwing (skógarþröstur) 3
  • Raven (hrafn) 3
  • Starling (stari) 50
  • Robin (glóbrystingur) 1
  • Chaffinch (bókfinka) 5
  • Redpoll (auðnutittlingur) 30
  • Common Crossbill (krossnefur) 3
  • Snow Bunting (snjótittlingur) 50
krossnefur
Krossnefur – Common Crossbill – Loxia curvirostra

For further information on the garden birds:
http://ornosk.com/weekly-bird-report/

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Birds, Garden

The Chaffinches are still here

On New Year’s Eve the fireworks, which have become louder and more powerful, often chase the birds away but today on January 2 there are five Chaffinches here in the garden. One male has joined the group of four that were here before the New Year.  Here in the Selfoss area there have not been as many Chaffinches since 1980.
This picture was taken on New Year’s Day.

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Bókfinka – Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs

We also have  about 100 Redpolls, 100 Snow Buntings, 15 Starlings,  six Blackbirds, four Redwings and two Common Crossbills. – And it continues to snow…

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Garden, Weather

Winter Snow

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You might say that asking for a White Christmas has gone a bit out of hand here in Iceland during the last month. There is such a lot of snow everywhere that when it melts there will be tons of water everywhere. Now they are predicting temperatures above zero, and even above 5° C,  so the roads will probably be more suitable for going skating than driving.  – Drive carefully everyone :*

Continue reading Winter Snow →

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Birds, Garden

Winter birds

In the cold weather there are a lot of Snow Buntings in the lowlands and especially in the towns where they expect to get food.

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Snjótittlingur – Snow Bunting – Plectrophenax nivalis

For us they represent the winter because in the summer their colours are different and you only come across them in the highlands.

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Snjótittlingur – Snow Bunting – Plectrophenax nivalis

Here they are in our garden here in Selfoss.

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Birds, Garden

2 days to Christmas

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Krossnefur – Common Crossbill – Loxia curvirostra

We found this Common Crossbill, or Red Crossbill as they are called in USA,  in the top a Pine tree, silhouetted against a beautifully bright blue sky. There is nothing common about its bright orange colour  but the Crossbill comes in colours ranging from yellow to red.

The Crossbill’s favourite food is seeds from Spruce and Pine cones. In the latter part of the last century Spruce and Pine trees have been planted and are now in full growth in many places throughout the country.

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