We had spring for a few days and then it is snow and frost again. The migratory birds that have arrived try to find shelter and survive storms and blizzards like this Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) that was looking for food under the snow on a meadow outside Selfoss yesterday. The weather forecast predicts that spring will give Iceland another try next week. We wait patiently.
Five Brent Geese (Branta bernicla) were today at the coast near Eyrarbakki, South Iceland. They are on their way from Ireland to Canada.
Brent Geese have a stopover in Iceland in spring and autumn on their way to and from their breeding places in Canada to their winter stations in Ireland. They stopover here for about 4 – 6 weeks on all their trips and now the first are here, a stopover on the way to Canada.
A group of around fifty Golden Plovers (Pluvialis apricaria) were in a meadow by Selfoss today. These are the first Golden Plovers here in the South but the first birds this spring were spotted in the East on March 18.
More on the Golden Plover in an earlier post.
The first Eiders (Somateria mollissima) this spring were seen on Ölfusá River by Selfoss on April 4. The Eider usually keeps to the sea and breeds in dense colonies not far from the shore. It breeds by Öflusá River all the way up to Sog River which is the furthest from the sea that it breeds (20 km). The Eider is the most common duck in Iceland, the breeding population counting around 300,000 pairs. The male is black and white and the female is brown.
The Black-headed Gull is mostly a migratory bird in Iceland but some prefer to stay in the ocean around the country in winter time. It was first seen by the seaside some weeks ago but yesterday big flocks of them were seen in the south and south east part of the country. Yesterday we saw the first individuals flying up the river Ölfusá by Selfoss.
It is estimated that there are around 25 – 30,000 breeding pairs in Iceland. The Black-headed Gull started breeding here around 1930.
The Short-eared Owl that was here yesterday came and went several times during the day. It was obviously feeling quite at home and trying out different locations in the garden.
Someone said that the birds seemed to know that they would have their picture taken if they visited our garden. This Owl at least seemed quite keen on being photographed. Alas, it is probably not on-line to see how great it looks.
On my trip on Monday I stopped at Skógafoss. This waterfall is one of the most frequented tourist attractions in the south of Iceland.
A Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) surprised us with a visit this morning. We noticed it sitting relaxed on the ground for quite a while. The smaller birds were hopping around it giving it no notice and the Owl made no attempt to attack any of them.
A Short-eared Owl has been seen flying in Selfoss in the past few weeks and we saw it here in the garden one night around the middle of March. The photo was taken an hour ago in the garden when the Owl had flown and come back again.
I had the day off from work and decided to make use of the beautiful weather. The clear blue skies and snow covered ground gave an excellent opportunity to have an outing after the dark and cold winter.
Here are a few photoes from yesterday taken in the South, in Dyrhólaey. You can see the Atlantic Ocean and Dyrhólaey, which is almost an island, jutting out to the sea. Now there is a road so you can drive there even when the tide is in. The view from this cliff island is magnificent and to the east you can see all the way to Reynisfjara and Reynisdrangar, out in the sea.
The coastline seen from Dyrahólaey to the west.
The waves reach the coast, view to Dyrahólaey.
Yesterday we came across this European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) when we visited the family summerhouse. The snow was probably 30 cm deep and we just made it there. The Robin was not shy to come close to get to the feed. It was probably in dire need of food. Getting a good picture was not easy because of its rapid movements.
It seems that more Robins have been here this winter than in recent years. They are vagrants and probably annual visitors.
