Today is December 7 and we count 17 days to Christmas. Beautiful Christmas snow makes everything especially festive but the weather forecast predicts violent storms or hurricane force winds for all areas of Iceland this evening and night. More snow or rain could also follow. Hopefully everyone will get through this without problems.
The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration monitors driving conditions all over Iceland. In the winter time their web is our number ONE. There you can see maps of roads with info on the temperature, driving conditions and how many have been going that way in the last 10 minutes. There are also webcams on many of the most travelled roads. Special warnings are issued when very bad weather is on its way.
Their website is www.road.is
From their site:
The best way to get information about road conditions and the weather on the road system is to call 1777 (if problems use +354 522 1100, +354 522 1100). Open 8-16 in summer and 6:30-22 in winter. An English answering machine with similar road information is in phone number 1778.
After yesterday’s snowstorm three Fieldfares turned up in the garden. They were obviously hungry and tired and enjoyed frozen apples on feeding trays and branches. They are annual visitors in Iceland and visit our garden from autumn to spring. Then they leave for their breeding grounds in Scandinavia.
Today is December 1 and the weather has been most winter-like. In the morning there was a winter storm and people were advised to stay at home if possible. As the day progressed more and more snow piled up and people have had a difficult time getting home.
Now is not the time to think about tomorrow. Let’s just enjoy the snow and watch how beautiful everything is, or go outside an make a snowman.
I caught sight of this Gyrfalcon over the river yesterday. It is a young bird, probably a male. It is always exciting to see a Gyrfalcon and I was ready with my lens when it passed by at great speed. It was pursuing a Mallard on Ölfusá River, South Iceland. The chase was without the desired result.
Photo taken on Nikon D90, Nikkor 200-500mm, f 5.6, 500mm, 1/1250, ISO 800.
In the last few years more and more Greylags choose to overwinter in Iceland instead of going to the British Isles. They are now unusually many on Ölfusá River near Selfoss. The group counts more than 500 birds. It is winter weather now with snow and frost and soon the river will freeze over. Whether the group decides to stay or leave remains to be seen. Will they decide to stay and struggle through the winter or flee to warmer places?
Blackbirds are becoming the most common garden birds in the winter time at least in some areas. In the garden we now have 12 Blackbirds all in search of food. Some are becoming quite tame and are not disturbed by my camera when I take photos of them.
Skaftafell in Öræfi, Southeast Iceland, is part of Vatnajökull National Park. The scenery around Skaftafell is spectacular with jagged mountain tops and Iceland’s highest mountain, Hvannadalshnjúkur.
Volcanic eruptions in Öræfajökull have formed the landscape as well as the glacial rivers, Skeiðará, Morsá und Skaftafellsá, which contribute to the huge sands, Skeiðarársandur, that cover an area of around 1000 km2.
Þjórsárdalur is a wide valley located inland in Árnes county, South Iceland. Several rivers flow through the valley, forming waterfalls as they plung off the edge of the plateau.
Hjálp, or Hjálparfoss is one of the waterfalls in the valley, situated north of the volcano Hekla. It is a two-stepped waterfall, near where the rivers Fossá and Thjórsá join together. Beautiful basalt formations surround the waterfall. It is easy to reach from the main road and footpaths lead down to the riverfront.
