Half a day's birding in Iceland (1 Viewer)

OK I didn't go out today but if this forum allows a little leeway then I'll tell you about last Saturday's half day and give a picture of winter birding in Iceland.

Drove with a friend 50 mins east of Reykjavik to the River Sog which is a very reliable place to see Barrow's Goldeneye in winter in our area. There was plenty of snow around (which has all since melted), sunny and rather picturesque. Our main target was a drake Ring-necked Duck which is regular here and had been reported the previous week.

Barrow's Goldeneye was found very easily, a good number of drakes and ducks on the river. Goosanders were also much in evidence. A great bird which I think is the duck I know least in Iceland after Common Scoter. Alongside the Barrow's Goldeneye we found 16 Common Goldeneye, a winter visitor to Iceland. It's good to compare the two species, especially the females. We then ran into some Swedish birders who were thrilled at getting such good views of Barrow's Goldenye. They thought it was hilarious that we were more excited by the Common Goldeneye whilst they were drooling over the Barrow's. Scanning a group of Tufties produced a couple of Scaup, plenty of Red-breasted Merganser and a single male Pochard, a decent bird in Iceland and only the second reported this winter. The Swede that first spotted it had our hearts racing because whilst looking for the English name he said "It's a Canvasback... no, no I mean the European one, what's it called in English?" A Canvasback would really have been something.

Large groups of Snow Buntings accompanied us most of the day but there was no sign of the non-adult White-tailed Eagle which often hunts in this area in winter.

So not many species but inland birding in Iceland in winter doesn't offer the variety of the coasts. And no Ring-necked Duck but a good day nonetheless.

Edward

Isn't Sog a great name for a river!!!!????

Right, I'll carry on and read the rest now!

Great report... many more to come I hope.

Thanks Edward!

Hi Edward,
Barrow's Goldeneye would really be something else down here:a first Irish record,in fact!;-)
Goldeneye is quite common in winter,as are Pochard.
Ring-necked Ducks are rare but regular in small numbers:have seen at least 6-7 by now,mostly males.
Have you seen any American passerines in Iceland?
Harry

Thanks for sharing that with us Edward. Some great ducks there! Did you start birdwatching when you moved to Iceland or were you allready a birder? Sounds like a great day out, the only one on the list I've seen is Pochard. I've looked the others up in my guide and they're gorgeous!!

Thanks for the replies. As for seeing American passerines, Harry, I've seen Yellow-rumped Warbler and Rose-breasted Grosbeak here. The Grosbeak was the first for Iceland and we watched it in bushes at a distance of 3-4 metres. Check out this photo taken by my friend Daniel
http://www.hi.is/~yannk/myndir/rarity/db_tigultati.jpg
I've also seen White-crowned Sparrow but we strongly suspect it was ship assisted. I was also here in Iceland when they found Europe's first Palm Warbler and Cerulean Warbler but I didn't know any other birders then so I never found out! Grrrr! Iceland's probably the best place in Europe after Britain and Ireland to see American passerines and some of the guys I bird with have seen many more species than I have over the years. I've seen drake Ring-necks a few times here but I'd love to see a female now.
And to answer Paul, I really only started birding properly in Iceland although I was interested as a kid growing up in Manchester. Whenever I go back there I try to make up for lost time!!

Very descriptive, Edward. Thanks. I had to look up most of your finds and did find a few. Guess my book just caters to the North American versions. I must go and get a book that covers birds from other parts of the world. I did get a Yellow rumped warbler in my garden this morning. She likes the wax myrtle bushes. I have some feeders in the wax myrtles and she was chasing away the Tufted Titmouse that comes in for the peanuts. Seemed to be quite an aggressive little bird. Liked your picture too. Thanks.

It's nice to hear about birds in North Carolina, NC Lady. it would be great to have birds like that in my garden. The very few American warblers we get here in the autumn are unfortunately not visiting feeders in gardens but are disoriented birds on windswept rocky coasts who think they're heading to the Caribbean but have headed the wrong way! Great name Tufted Titmouse! Wish I could see one. If you want to get a bird book covering birds in Europe then I strongly recommend "Birds of Europe" by Lars Svensson et al.