Edward
Umimmak
Greetings birdmen and birdwomen
The title of the thread refers to the fact that now, late Feb, it's finally light enough to go birding after work (c. 6 p.m.). This is a big difference from the four hours of daylight in December!
To celebrate the end of a wonderfully mild sunny day in south-west Iceland I did a lightning quick tour of my patch, a sea bay extending into suburban Reykjavik.
Eider - everywhere as usual
Long-tailed Duck - in large numbers
Gadwall - a scarce breeder in Iceland and the first I've seen this winter (they're not incoming migrants though).
Mallard - obviously
Wigeon - fewer than usual
Red-breasted Merganser - one or two
Iceland Gull - a couple of dozen of all ages
Glaucous Gull - ditto
Razorbill - a single bird loosely associating with Eider
Raven - everywhere, THE most conspicuous bird of a Reykjavik winter
To round it off we had one of the best displays of the Northern Lights a.k.a Aurora Borelais last night. Great swathes and tendrils of green phosphorescence sweeping across the sky. Wow!
The title of the thread refers to the fact that now, late Feb, it's finally light enough to go birding after work (c. 6 p.m.). This is a big difference from the four hours of daylight in December!
To celebrate the end of a wonderfully mild sunny day in south-west Iceland I did a lightning quick tour of my patch, a sea bay extending into suburban Reykjavik.
Eider - everywhere as usual
Long-tailed Duck - in large numbers
Gadwall - a scarce breeder in Iceland and the first I've seen this winter (they're not incoming migrants though).
Mallard - obviously
Wigeon - fewer than usual
Red-breasted Merganser - one or two
Iceland Gull - a couple of dozen of all ages
Glaucous Gull - ditto
Razorbill - a single bird loosely associating with Eider
Raven - everywhere, THE most conspicuous bird of a Reykjavik winter
To round it off we had one of the best displays of the Northern Lights a.k.a Aurora Borelais last night. Great swathes and tendrils of green phosphorescence sweeping across the sky. Wow!