The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) has now left the mountain lakes in the Icelandic interior. On August 7 they were flying above the lakes in flocks, catching sticklebacks to feed to their young ones. Three days later they had disappeared with their chicks that were by then ready for flight. In all probability they are now in the sea around the country and will soon take flight in a southward direction. After about two months flight they will reach the sea around the South Pole (Antartica) where they will stay until spring arrives again.
Veiðivötn, Fishing Lakes in translation, is a cluster of lakes in the southern interior. In total there are 50 lakes and ponds in the area.
Veiðivötn, the cabin area
Three species of fish are found in the area: trout (Salmo trutta), char (Salvelinus alpinus) and stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).
Great catch, mother and daughter
From ancient times trout could be found in the lakes and today it is still in most of them. This trout is unique. Trout of this size and this fat can only be found in a few places today.
Char
According to genetic research the trout in Veiðivötn lived in isolation after the end of the Ice Age. It is rare to find Ice Age trout as little evolved at this one. The trout in Þingvallavatn Lake is of the same species. This trout is very fast-growing and puberty starts later than in trout species that live in lakes in lowlands and in seagoing trout.
Char was first noticed in Snjóölduvatn Lake in 1972 and today char can be found in 11 lakes in the area. Sticklebacks can probably be found in all the lakes in the area.
Trout fishing
Trout fishing has most likely been practiced from the beginning of settlement in Iceland. In 1965 fishing permits were first sold in the lakes, for two months every summer, from the end of June to the latter part of August. Today fishing permits are sold for the period of June 18 to August 19. In 1965-1980 the number was limited to 20 rods but today the number has been limited to 80 rods. In the last 10 years 20 – 35 thousand fish have been caught every summer.
The Red-necked Phalarope is one of the latest migratory birds to arrive in Iceland, in the middle of May. They also leave early. They merely come here to mate and only stay long enough for their young ones to grow old enough to travel.
Óðinshani – Red-Necked Phalarope – Phalaropus lobatus, in June
Now they are getting into their winter plumage that is much lighter than the summer plumage. Most of them have already left lakes and ponds for the sea. There they put on some weight for their long journey to the Pacific coast of Peru where they stay on the open sea while winter rages in the northern hemisphere.
A Hooded Merganser had been seen on Skógtjörn in Álftanes (suburb of Reykjavik). It took a while to spot it among the other birds but I managed to catch a photo of it in the distance. There it was with other birds such as Greylags, Eiders and Mergansers. The Hooded Merganser is moulting and will probably stick around for a while. This bird is probably the one that has been seen in lakes around Reykjavík the last two winters.
A White-rumped Sandpiper was in Bakkatjörn Pond in Seltjarnarnes (suburd of Reykjavik), but I did not find it. The White-rumped Sandpiper is an annual guest in Iceland.
Himbrimi – Great Northern Diver – Gavia immer on Lake Litlisjór / Veiðivötn
One of the most prominent birds on lakes in the interior is the Great Northern Diver. It is most spectacular with its checked black and white pattern. Usually there is one pair on each lake. This summer was however not a successful breeding season so many of them have already started grouping before they leave for the sea around Iceland.
The five Divers, that seemed to get on very well together, were photographed on Lake Litlisjór (Littlesea) in Veiðivötn (Fishing Lakes) in the Icelandic Southern Interior. This is a big lake around 9,2 square km, a fishing lake full of trout, up to 12 pounds or more.
The Golden Plover can be found all over Iceland, both in lowlands and highlands. They often choose their breeding place in areas that match their own colours, like the moss in the pictures here.
This pair was busy trying to divert our attention from its chicks which were running around on their long legs. This was in the Southern Interior, more precisely in Veiðivötn, Fishing Lakes.
The Icelandic weather is very changeable, to say the least. In one day we got a selection of different weather in the southern interior, Veiðivötn, Fishing Lakes. There was sunshine, rain, hail and snow. The weather was still and sunny in the morning.
At midday clouds rolled up with hail, snow and rain.
And in the afternoon the sky was adorned with a beautiful rainbow. The Icelandic weather is seldom boring.
The Blackbird pair in the garden usually breeds four times every summer. The first breeding is in April and the last one in August. This summer the couple has bred three times. Raising the chicks is a difficult job, the cats in the neighbourhood stalk them and most of them are eaten. One chick from the June breeding (photo) is alive and two small chicks from the July breeding. We hope they will survive.
On our birding trips we often meet like-minded people. Last year we met a group of Belgian students on a birding trip in Iceland. This was in February and the weather was quite cold. The group were searching for a Hooded Merganser on Elliðavatn, a lake just outside Reykjavik.
The Belgian students in February 2014
When we found out that they were sleeping in tents we invited them to come and stay inside the next night. No Icelanders would ever think of camping in February. The group took our offer and we cooked them some traditional Icelandic lamb soup.
Denise, Joachim and Kristin
One of these young birding friends was back in Iceland again last week. Joachim Bertrands from Belgium and his mother, Denise, had a week here to look at birds, whales and glaciers. The bird reserve in Flói was visited on their last day and then they came for a visit. Meeting birders from other countries is always interesting.
Common Crossbills (also called Red Crossbills) are new breeding birds in Iceland. New spruce and pine forests are growing fast in many places and are now big enough to be a habitat for some new settlers like the Crossbills. The Crossbills have various colours.
