The Mallard is the biggest of the dabbling ducks and widely distributed across both hemispheres. It is the most common and widely spread duck in Iceland. It breeds in a wide range of habitats and lays 8 to 13 eggs. This summer breeding has been very successful on River Ölfusá where this duck was with her 9 chicks.
Most Mallards overwinter in Iceland, staying by the seaside or in the sea around the islands. Some probably go to the British Isles for winter.
Night shining clouds or noctilucent clouds are not so common. In Iceland they can only seen around midnight in the end of July and the earlier part of August. These are very thin blue white clouds that reach up to 80 km height, whereas usual clouds only reach up to around 10 km. This natural phenomena was first described in 1885, then only in connection with major volcanic activity. For further information see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctilucent_cloud
Today these clouds have become more common and are not only seen in connection with volcanic eruption. It is believed that pollution is the cause, i.d. the breakdown of methane gas in the mesosphere. The reason we see these clouds light up are the ice crystal that are generated when methane gas disintegrates.
Last night at 1 o’clock, when these photoes were taken, night shining clouds could be seen from Selfoss, lighting up the northern sky. – If we have clear skies tonight, you might be lucky enough to see these beautiful clouds in the northern sky.
A Wood Sandpiper has been in Garður, Reykjanes Peninsula, since the end of July. It is a common breeding bird in the subarctic wetlands of Europe and Asia and will probably become native to Iceland in the coming years. Instances of breeding are known and most of the birds have been spotted by Lake Mývatn.
The Wood Sandpiper is a common bird in freshwater wetlands. It migrates south to Africa, Southern Asia, mostly India, and Australia.
This Wood Sandpiper was in the company of a Red Shank and a Dunlin, all of them in search of food in a shallow pond. We saw it catch some sticklebacks which is probably its favourite food.
This summer a Wood Pigeon has been the most prominent bird in our garden. It has taken a liking to our garden, or more precisely the sunflower seeds. Usually there is just one but every once in a while two of them show up. They feel at home and come to the window sills to remind us to keep filling the feeding trays.
Wood Pigeons are vagrants in Iceland but with increased cereal cultivation, Iceland will become more viable for them. They are beautiful birds and a nice addition to our usual guests but in many countries they are considered agricultural pests.
The Ringed Plover is a small shorebirds, delicate and beautifully proportioned. In Iceland they breed all over the country, from the coast and lowlands, up to the highlands. Its favourite habitat are open sandy areas where there is little vegetation and it lays its eggs in sand or gravel.
The Ringed Plovers are migratory birds that fly south to South West Europe in the autumn and arrive back in Iceland in April. It is estimated that the breeding population counts around 50,000 pairs.
The Great Blackbacks are the biggest of the seagulls. They are seldom grouped with the beautiful birds of this planet, however, up close they are not so bad, are they? Beautifully coloured beak, the breast and underpart the whitest of white and the black back must count for something.
The Great Black-backed Gulls mostly eat small fish but many dislike them because they are scavengers and opportunist that eat almost everything they can get and they are notorious for stealing eggs and chicks from nests. In Iceland there are even stories of Great Blackbacks killing lambs.
The Great Black-backed Gulls’ habitat is spreading southwards from the North Atlantic, from Iceland and as far south as France, and from the Atlantic coast of Canada as far south as North Carolina, USA.
The Ptarmigan is in its summer plumage and blends well in with nature in its favourite habitat. This female was busy feeding but plants are its main food source. A few years ago there was concern that their numbers were dropping but now they are on the rise again.
Ptarmigans can now be seen with chicks, often 10 – 12 of them but the eggs can be from 3 up to 13. They breed in the Arctic and are common all over Iceland although the northeast moors are the most densely populated.
Hengifoss is situated in Fljótsdalur near Hallormsstaðaskógur. It is 128 metre high, making it the third highest waterfall in Iceland. The waterfall is in a beautiful canyon, where you can see different bedrocks and old coastal rocks.
There is another waterfall in the canyon, not less spectacular, known as Litlanesfoss. It is surrounded by columnar igneous rock .
The hike up river is well worth the time and takes about one hour.
The Great Northern Diver is the king of Icelandic mountain lakes and Veiðivötn in the South Highlands is a perfect place for breeding. The big clear mountain lakes of Veiðivötn provide all it needs. Trout is the Great Northern Diver’s favourite food and the lakes are full of fish.
There is just one pair on each lake and the lake is their territory – no visitors allowed in breeding time. They make their nests on islands or islets, often in moss or grass, and the eggs are two.
Iceland is the only breeding place of the Great Northern Diver in Europe. In winter they stay on the sea mostly around Iceland and they lose their distinctive black and white pattern and become grey.
The Red Admiral is not a native of Iceland but every once in a while they come here with the Southeast wind. They are common over most of Europe and North America. They migrate from South Europe to Central and Northern Europe but Iceland is probably too far north to be their number one choice here in the North Atlantic.
We first spotted this Red Admiral here on May 5 and to this day, June 23, it is still here. We of course do not know if it is always the same one, but we like to think so.