Winter Solstice
The only Jackdaw in Iceland
The Jackdaw in our garden is the only one in Iceland. At least the only recorded one this year. They used to be common vagrants but not many have been spotted in recent years. This Jackdaw was first spotted in Selfoss near the end of October and it has been in our garden for three weeks.
At first the Jackdaw was very shy and difficult to photograph but as the weeks pass it is getting to know us and becoming more at home. It eats all the feed we put out, apples, bread and seeds. It also uses its beak to search for food from under leaves and snow, so it should not have problems surviving here.
The Jackdaw is the smallest of the crow family and the one residing in our garden is of the Southwestern Europe subspecies. Like all crows, they are inquisitive and intelligent. The Jackdaw is related to the Raven and the Starling.
Groups of Fieldfares
In the last few weeks up to four Fieldfares have been visiting the garden. They come for the berries on the Vosges whitebeam, which is a relative of the Rowan or Sorbus family. The Fieldfare is not put off by the boisterous Starlings that have occupied the garden and claimed as their own.
It seems that more Fieldfares are around this autumn than in the last few years and groups have been seen all over the country. Last winter, however, we only once saw a Fieldfare here in the garden.
Fieldfares are annual guests in Iceland and almost every winter groups come from Scandinavia and overwinter here. They are known to have bred in North Iceland.
Bohemian Waxwing
There is a Bohemian Waxwing in our garden! We have not had one since 2013 and we are happy. These magnificent birds do not go unnoticed as they are so different from all Icelandic birds. Bohemian Waxwings are vagrants in Iceland that probably come from Northern Eurasia.
Bohemian Waxwings breed in the northern forests of Eurasia and North America. They live on fruits and berries in the winter but insects in the summer. When food is scarce they take to travelling, often in groups. Sometimes groups from Eurasia visit Western Europe in search of food.
In the last two weeks it seems that groups have come to Iceland, mostly in the North. This is the only Bohemian Waxwing having been reported here in South Iceland this autumn.
The male’s black cap
These last few weeks at least three Blackcaps have been in the garden. Around this time of year these annual guests appear and we blog about them. They now come for the apples we put out but also some small berries from the shrubs which there are not a lot of, after the cold and wet summer here in South Iceland.
As is often the case, the name of the species comes from the colour of the male’s black cap but the females have a brown cap.
In a few instances Blackcaps have managed to survive the winter here in the garden but they are usually too cold and wet for them. There is a lot of competition here for the feed we put out as Blackbirds, Redwings and Starlings often have the upper hand and chase the smaller ones away.
North American vagrant visitor
One of the foreign guests this autumn is the North American Hermit Thrush, that is now being spotted here for the13th time. It is the most common vagrant in Iceland of the Catharus Thrushes.
The Hermit Thrush was spotted in Hallskot, in the Nature Reserve Flói. It is not easy to spot it as it prefers to hide in the thickest trees and shrubs, and under them. The Hermit Thrush is very common in North America and a has big distribution range.
A Blackpool Warbler was also spotted in Hallskot in the end of September. So Hallskot is certainly an interesting birding spot.
This autumn two other North American Catharus Thrushes have been seen in Iceland, two Swainson’s Thrushes in Hornafjörður, Southeast Iceland, and a Gray-cheeked Thrush in Ölfus, Southwest Iceland.
Seeds from the Alder
Although the Redpolls frequent our feeding trays, they are also diligent in nibbling on seeds from the Sitka Alder and Green Alder. Redpolls eat Birch seeds and all kinds of flower seeds, and insects in the summer time. However, after a cold and wet summer the availability of Birch seeds is scarce.
Recently flocks of Redpolls have been seen feeding on seeds in Alder trees in the South of Iceland.
Staying for the winter?
Bramblings are annual guests in our garden. In the end of April there were three here but last winter we had up to 15 birds here. Now we have a Brambling again, one which has probably been in Iceland for the summer. The question now is whether this Brambling is staying or migrating South in autumn, as is their custom in their usual habitat.
Bramblings are vagrants in Iceland. They breed in Northern Europe, although not in Iceland, and are supposed to fly South for winter. A few instances of breeding have been recorded here. Here is a blog from April this year.
Blackpoll Warbler
This is the fifteenth time that a Blackpoll Warbler is spotted in Iceland a week ago in Hallskot in Floi, South Iceland. Birders had been on the lookout for vagrants after heavy southwest storms, expecting some windswept little creatures from America to end up here in the North Atlantic. Two other American vagrants have been spotted, the Red-eyed Vireo and Swainson’s Thrush.
The Blackpoll Warbler is a breeding bird in the spruce forests of North America and goes all the way to the northernmost regions of the taiga. It is a migrator with winter grounds in South America.
Although the Blackpoll Warbler is rare in Iceland it is the most common warbler to be seen here.
Chicks in autumn
Although it is the end of September with temperatures under zero and winter ahead of us, the Common Crossbill is with chicks. Yesterday there were ten Crossbills in our feeders. Here a mother is feeding a chick which is probably not older than a couple of weeks. In this way the Common Crossbills are different from other Icelandic birds which only breed in spring and summer. The Common Crossbills seem to breed all year round, depending only on the availability of food.