Birds

Red Phalaropes blown off course

Þórshani – Red Phalarope – Phalaropus fulicarius

After some strong Southwest winds in the last few days a selection of vagrants have been spotted in Iceland. One of these is the Red Phalarope which can now be seen in many places in Southwest Iceland.

The Red Phalarope breeds in the North, all around the Arctic circle. A few also breed in Iceland. The groups of Red Phalaropes here now are probably coming from their summer grounds in Greenland. They have been blown off course because of the southwesterly winds. Most of these visitors are probably on their way to winter grounds in the Pacific regions South America.

A group of young Red Phalaropes has been on the shore near Eyrarbakki in the last few days.

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Birds

Green Sandpiper

Trjástelkur – Green Sandpiper – Tringa ochropus and a Black – headed gull

For the tenth time, a Green Sandpiper is recorded for Iceland. This rare vagrant is a breeding bird in Scandinavia and throughout the east of Russia, with winter grounds in southern Europe, Africa and Asia. The Green Sandpiper is a small wader that is usually not seen in groups, it prefers fresh water and is special in that it nests in trees. This bird was spotted in a place we visit very often, Snæfoksstaðir in Grímsnes, South Iceland. Seeing this guy by the river caught us by complete surprise – we just forget that vagrants, of course, can be spotted almost anywhere.

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Landscape, Vegetation

Wild flowers in the Highlands

Blágresi – Geranium sylvaticum – Wood cranesbill

A lot of flowers are in full bloom now in the interior. Vegetation, however, is more often very scarce at this altitude for several reasons. The weather is not favourable, the soil is sandy and is on the move in stormy weather. Therefore the interior is heavily affected by grazing sheep. Letting these domestic animals lose in the interior for the summer has been a custom in Iceland since the Middle Ages.  In the moonlike environment, the black sands made of volcanic minerals and lava, are often dominant and it is no wonder that flowering plants are on the top of the menu for the wandering sheep.

Steindepla – – Veronica fructans- Rock speedwell
Hvítmaðra – Galium normanii – Slender Bedstraw

Coming across fields of wild mountain flowers in the highlands is very often a great surprise and nothing less than heavenly. Hiking this week we were so happy to come across such a delight.

Barnarót-  Coeloglossum viride – Long-bracted green orchid

The mountainside was covered with different kinds of wild flowers in bloom. These include velvet bells, snow gentian, moonwort, rock speedwell and many more.  The blue colours of snow gentians and rock speedwells caught the eye and  a great surprise was to see a field of wood cranesbill and meadow buttercups high up in the mountainside.

Dýragras  – Gentiana nivalis – Snow gentian
Blágresi – Geranium sylvaticum – Wood cranesbill
Brennisóley – Ranunculus acris –  Meadow Buttercup
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Birds

Breeding in Highland Lakes

Himbrimi – Great Norhern Diver / Common Loon – Gavia immer

Once again we are in the Icelandic Highlands and the Great Northern Diver, also known as the Common Loon, has arrived in all its splendour to the breeding grounds. It has come from the sea around Iceland where most of the Icelandic stock spend the winter months.  Most of the highland lakes in Veiðivötn in the South Interior have one breeding pair and the lake is their territory. They make their nests on small islets or grass tufts in the water and the eggs are two.

The Great Northern Diver  is a monogamous bird and the pairs stay together during the breeding time usually for many years in a row. They raise their young ones, one to two chicks, together but do not stay together during the winter. The pair defend their territory which is usually a lake, or a bay in a lake if the lake is big enough. In the event of one of them being chased away by a rival – these are usually younger males or females, the one left establishes a relationship with the new member. Most Great Northern Divers therefore have two or more mates during their lives.

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Birds

Collared Pratincole – Second sighting for Iceland

Þernutríll – Collared Pratincole – Glareola pratincola

A Collared Pratincole was recorded for Iceland for the second time today, Friday, in Garður in Reykjanes Peninsula. This bird is a very rare vagrant that was first seen on a fishing boat southeast of Iceland in June in 1997. So this is actually the first Collared Pratincole seen on land.

The Collared Pratincole is native to the warmer parts of Europe, Southwest Asia and Africa. Its winter grounds are in tropical Africa.

The Collared Pratincole is an agile flyer and its habitat is in open land where it can often be seen floating over dry fields, lush wetlands and muddy coasts. It is often seen near water in the evening where it sweeps back and forth like a big swallow snatching insects although it can also feed on the ground.

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Garden

Bees and butterflies

Red Admiral (aðmírálsfiðrildi)

Today was a beautiful summer day with Bumblebees and Red Admirals in the garden. In recent years studies have reported a decline in insect populations. Entire species have gone extinct but in most cases this decline involves reductions in abundance. Therefore it is a great joy to have such a lot of bumblebees in the garden along with foreign visitors such as the Red Admiral.

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Birds

In its favourite habitat

Heiðlóa – Golden Plover – Pluvialis apricaria

The favourite habitat for the Golden Plover is the low vegetation of the Arctic tundra. With rising temperatures and more vegetation there has been a decrease in breeding birds in lowlands and an increase in the highlands. This applies to the Golden Plover, a symbol for the coming of summer in Iceland and one of our best loved birds.

This Golden Plover is in its favourite habitat in the South Interior. It has chosen a moss covered area as its territory, well camouflaged from predators. The female is probably in the nest and the male keeping watch.

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Birds

Red Admiral Butterflies

Aðmírálsfiðrildi – Red Admiral – Vanessa atalanta

Every year butterflies are blown off course due to warm Southeast winds and end up here in Iceland. In the end of May an unusually large numbers of Red Admirals have been seen in South and Southeast Iceland. Here these big colourful butterflies always attract a lot of attention and several of them have been here in our garden.

The Red admiral is a native to almost all of Europe but the North is not a suitable habitat. Once here they start losing their numbers, some are eaten by birds and the weather is not always suitable, not even in the summer.

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Birds

Spotted Sandpiper

Dílastelkur – Spotted Sandpiper – Actitis macularius

This American vagrant was spotted  in the middle of May in the little town of Stokkseyri, on the south coast of Iceland. The Spotted Sandpiper is a migratory bird that resides in South America during winter and migrates to North America to breed in the spring. This one got blown of course and ended up here in the North Atlantic.

This is the 9th Spotted Sandpiper for Iceland and the first to be seen in 13 years. This Sandpiper is much smaller than the Redshank, similar in size to the Common Ringed Plover. It was the centre of attention for birders for about two days but has not been seen since.

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