Edward
Umimmak
2003 was an excellent birding year in Iceland and today four of us decided to get 2004 off to a good start today and we headed out into the snow and ice (there’s plenty of it around) and headed off out of Reykjavík at first light (not as impressive as it sounds as it gets light at around 11 at the moment!). The first bird on my year list was Snow Bunting, a flock flew over us whilst picking up one of our group whilst still in Reykjavík, and was quickly followed by Raven and Starling. It was a beautiful day today, very cold and still, around –10°C to –12°C but dropping to –16°C on the road east out of the city. Although chilly it was a real winter wonderland, woods and fields choked with snow, waterfalls frozen solid and the mountains a ghostly white but revealing subtle texture and contours in the early morning sun. At our first stop, on some open farmland 60 km east of Reykjavík, one of the group, Yann, asked a great rhetorical question, “who needs Gyr Falcon on their year list?” and nodded at something behind us. There sitting on a 20 metre high pylon right next to us was a magnificent adult Gyr Falcon, and we watched at very close quarters for several minutes before it took flight and headed for the mountains. Walking across the open white expanses we flushed up a Grey Heron and 70+ Teal from a hot stream and saw plenty of Mink tracks in the snow. At another open hot pool we had great views of a Jack Snipe, a rare winter visitor in these parts but the Rough-legged Buzzard which had been in the area a few days previously was nowhere to be seen.
We stopped briefly at a birder’s house in the nearby town of Selfoss and saw Redpolls at feeders down to two metres and a garden heaving with Snow Buntings and a solitary Fieldfare. We then turned north driving alongside the ice-choked river Sogið where Common Goldeneye and Goosander dodged the icebergs in the river! On a small island further upstream sat the king of birds, a White-tailed Eagle, a good bird on any day of the year, never mind January 1. Further upstream we reached a regular Barrow’s Goldeneye haunt and sure enough good numbers of this attractive duck were present. More unexpected was a Coot but the regular Ring-necked Duck(s) eluded us today.
Daylight is limited at this time of year and it was time to head down to the coast, passing a Merlin on the way. In the harbour at Thorlákshöfn “the usual suspects” were present, i.e. Purple Sandpiper, Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Glaucous, Iceland, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, and a Red-throated Diver just outside the harbour made it (just about) worthwhile getting out of the car. Now the light was really fading, the circulation to my feet had virtually packed up and it was time to head back for the city. A pleasant day’s birding and I think the first time I’ve seen all three of Iceland’s raptors on the same day.
E
We stopped briefly at a birder’s house in the nearby town of Selfoss and saw Redpolls at feeders down to two metres and a garden heaving with Snow Buntings and a solitary Fieldfare. We then turned north driving alongside the ice-choked river Sogið where Common Goldeneye and Goosander dodged the icebergs in the river! On a small island further upstream sat the king of birds, a White-tailed Eagle, a good bird on any day of the year, never mind January 1. Further upstream we reached a regular Barrow’s Goldeneye haunt and sure enough good numbers of this attractive duck were present. More unexpected was a Coot but the regular Ring-necked Duck(s) eluded us today.
Daylight is limited at this time of year and it was time to head down to the coast, passing a Merlin on the way. In the harbour at Thorlákshöfn “the usual suspects” were present, i.e. Purple Sandpiper, Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Glaucous, Iceland, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, and a Red-throated Diver just outside the harbour made it (just about) worthwhile getting out of the car. Now the light was really fading, the circulation to my feet had virtually packed up and it was time to head back for the city. A pleasant day’s birding and I think the first time I’ve seen all three of Iceland’s raptors on the same day.
E
