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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Birds

The Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit

Jaðrakan – Black-tailed Godwit – Limosa limosa

Migrants have been coming to Iceland in flocks. One of these is the Black-Tailed Godwit with its beautiful colours and shrill song. It overwinters on the west coast of Europe from Holland to the shores of Portugal. The special Icelandic subspecies mostly breeds in Iceland but also in the Faroe Islands, Shetlands and Lofoten. This subspecies is more colourful, has shorter legs and a shorter bill. The Black-Tailed Godwit breeds in lowlands all over Iceland and the population, which is estimated around 100 000, has gradually been growing while other subspecies have been decreasing slightly in recent years.

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Birds, Garden, Weather

Harsh welcome for our summer birds

Skógarþröstur – Redwing – Turdus iliacus

Redwings have a special place in the hearts of Icelanders. They  signal the usually long awaited coming of spring. Huge flocks of them arrived here April 5 and 6 from their winter grounds in Britain and Western Europe. They were, however, not welcomed with spring weather, but with a full-blown blizzard, one of the worst this winter.

Outside our window on April 5

The weather was as bad as it can get, with snow blowing into huge banks, the shivering birds covered in snow and the house trembling from the storm. It is likely that some if them have not survived this harsh welcome.

This sunny morning, in the snow and frost, there are around 30 singing Redwings in the garden, quarrelling over the feed trays – the garden resounding with their song.

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Birds, Garden

Male Brambling

Fjallafinka – Brambling – Fringilla montifringilla

A lone Brambling has been here in the garden all winter long. This male comes here daily and visits the feeding trays. He is very shy and not eager to be photographed. The males are different from the females, see: https://ornosk.com/2014/10/18/a-visitor-in-the-garden/

When this male Brambling turned up in the autumn he seemed familiar with surroundings so this could be the one that was spotted singing in and around Selfoss last summer.

Bramblings are annual guests in Iceland. They come from Scandinavia but do not breed here regularly. Despite a difficult winter, with lots of snow and countless blizzards, this hardy bird has survived.

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