A group of Harlequin Ducks are on River Ölfusá. They are common here in April but will leave when it gets warmer and the river becomes muddier because of snow melting in the highlands. Clear spring water rivers are their favourite.
The Harlequin Duck stays in the ocean around Iceland during the winter time but comes inland, on rivers, with the coming of spring.
The Oystercatcher is a common breeding bird in Iceland. Its typical breeding places are near the sea and lakes in lowlands. The nest is usually in gravel or sand, but sometimes by the side of a road.
Part of the Icelandic breeding stock goes to the British Isles for winter and comes back in the middle of March. Now in the beginning of May breeding is already on its way and the first chicks will be arriving in the end of the month.
Ringed Oystercatchers are seen from time to time. These have mostly been ringed in their winter grounds in The British Isles but some in Iceland in recent years.
The first Arctic Terns were seen by Selfoss today. They flew up River Ölfusá against the northern storm in a temperature slightly above zero. They are used to all sorts of weather here in the North but still they arrive every spring year after year all the way from the southernmost part of the Atlantic Ocean.
As early as the end of April they were first spotted by the seaside but now they are on their way inland in search of breeding places. The breeding time is the only time of year that the Arctic Tern searches inland, at other times it is constantly on flight over the open seas.
Redpolls are among the first birds to lay eggs in the spring and now the chicks have already started hatching. On my walk today I came across this nest in a spruce tree. Two chicks were in it but three were already out of it sitting on nearby branches, chirping incessantly for food. The parents must be very busy finding food for all these little mouths.
The first Common Crossbills are now with chicks. They breed very early, sometimes in the middle of winter if there is enough feed. Yesterday I found three week-old chicks on my walk in spruce and pine forests in Grímsnes, South Iceland. In previous years the first chicks have also appeared at this time of year, in the latter part of April.
The photos are of the chick and the parents.
Migrants are now coming to Iceland from Europe in flocks. In the last couple of weeks there has been headwind on the 800 km migration route over the ocean from Scotland and Ireland. Now weather conditions are better and in the last two days many migrants have started their long and difficult flight.
Among these is the Black-Tailed Godwit that overwinters on the west coast of Europe from Holland to Portugal. A group of around 300 birds was by the banks of Hvítá River in Grímsnes yesterday. The birds are obviously dead tired and eagerly searched for food in the in the sand.
Today is the first day of summer in Iceland, – a holiday celebrated every year on the first Thursday after the 18th of April. Iceland is the only country that has a special holiday to celebrate the coming of summer. It is part of an Icelandic folklore. In olden days there were only two seasons, equally long, summer and winter. In this respect the first day of summer was actually new years day.
The folklore says that if there is frost the night before the first of summer the summer will be good. Tonight the temperatures went slightly below zero and there was frost on the ground. The sun rises at 5:30 now and the sun is shining so it seems we will be having a nice warm day. According to the folklore the summer should be a good one.
This morning I saw 37 Harlequin Ducks on Ölfusá River in front of my house. These beautiful ducks are a sign of springtime here in Selfoss.
The Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) is a breeding bird in the southeastern part of Iceland. A big part of the Barnacle Geese that are seen here in spring and autumn however are on their way to and from their breeding grounds in Northeastern Greenland. Their winter grounds are in the British Isles.
The first known breeding of a Barnacle Goose in Iceland was in an island in Breiðafjörður Fjord in 1964 but since 1988 they have breed in islands in Jökulsárlón Lagoon and in other places in the Southeast. The Icelandic stock now counts several hundred pairs.
In springtime the Barnacle Goose along with other geese can be seen in meadows in the lowlands, especially in the North. This spring big groups of them have been seen in meadows in the South which is unusual. Possibly some rough northernly winds blew them off course. The photos are taken near Selfoss, South Iceland last week.
