Birding Iceland

@Biotope_Tormod None in Iceland, weird artifact on photo (in early November). Turns out it was just a Common Eider.

Spectacled Eider in both Netherland and Iceland these days! Wild 🤯 Was always looking for one in Vardø, among the 10-20,000 individual mega flocks of eiders outside of Vardø. Found Pacific Eider twice. No Spectacled though. Keep watching of you visit Varanger! 👉 @Finnmarkbirding if you do...

@aquilabirding This was in early November and more photos have confirmed it is in fact a Common Eider, just a weird artifact on this pic.

In other news... Whooper Swan migration is go go 💫 The first of our GPS tagged birds left Iceland & made a 14 hour sea crossing before arriving into Northern Ireland #Migration

@RareBirdAlertUK A sad move indeed. Before being shot they did contact a GL veterinarian who did not want it to be taken back as it might bring exotic diseases to the country (visir.is source visir.is/g/20242624084d…). Not too much optimism for future vagrant Polar Bears here 😢

Icelandic police kill recently arrived Polar Bear A Polar Bear was spotted in Iceland for the first time since 2016, and was promptly shot dead by police as authorities here say the cost of repatriation to Greenland was too high rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/Ice…

@AlfieBirder Nice one! A long stayer that has been around those farms for 1,5 year.

Hooded Crow Hali Country Hotel, Iceland 31/10/2023 @BirdingIceland #BirdsSeenIn2023 #birdphotography

@gardenbirder1 Great that you relocated it! I probably saw you there today - you (?) pointed it out to me and my friend who was driving, though we couldn’t find it. /Yann

A real Icelandic mega! Surprised to have refound this Tundra Bean goose on a small lake in SW Iceland a couple days ago. Apparently 1st for SW Iceland, not sure on total no. of Icelandic records. Was first found a few weeks ago further SW of site. Thanks for info @BirdingIceland

@tom_wright16 Excellent find and great photos! Could you DM me for details on how to submit the record, or you prefer e-mail?

A few edited photos of the American Herring Gull I found just west of Eyrarbakki in SW Iceland earlier in the week. It really stood out amongst the hundreds of gulls in the feeding frenzy, the uniform brown plumage, all-black tail, and bi-coloured bill the standout features.

@sritchie43 @macstronach They’ve been coming in from Greenland for nearly 2 weeks now so probably a good amount ready to move on to you.

Just 4 months ago, we were watching tired #Whimbrel arrive in #Iceland, at the end of a five-day flight. It was an amazing experience - as you can read here: wadertales.wordpress.com/2022/04/27/whi… Now these same birds are back in West Africa! #waders #sorebirds #ornithology

@AvalonWildlife The Greats within Icelandic waters by any chance? Would be great to get details of any great/sooty you may see on your travels through Icelandic waters!

The view from my cabin window tonight, halfway between Iceland and Greenland. Each one of the black dots on the water is a Great Shearwater. Pilot, Sperm, Fin and Humpback Whales, White-beaked Dolphins seen earlier

@KaneBrides @ScottoftheMarsh Nice! First spotted there (on the smaller pond west side of road across from Vestmannsvatn) on 24 July.

After umpteen visits to Iceland... today I got a new species..... Coot / Bleshæna! Of all species. Thanks to @ScottoftheMarsh @BirdingIceland

@FOGOL @ZEISSBirding This is not supposed to be a relaxing game 😅😇🦆

@ZEISSBirding 8x :-), for me thats a more relaxing image

Do you prefer a binocular with a magnification of 8 or 10, and why? Binoculars with 10 power make the bird appear larger, but it can be more challenging to hold it steady. Those with a magnification of 8 usually have a wider field of view. Which do you prefer and why?

A brilliant find by Jonathan Mercer, 2nd record for Iceland following one at Látrabjarg in June 2021 - also seen by a visiting birder!

Two things barley is good for: - Beer 🍻 - Red knots🐦 Red knots use previous year's barley stubbles in Iceland, while they stop on their way to Greenland and NE Canada. Icelanders also produce very good beer.

@GrahamFAppleton @TomasGretar @JenGill3 Much appreciated, thanks! Only the third bird reported this spring.

@BirdingIceland @TomasGretar suggests that you might like to hear of a male Pochard. Joined the Tufted Ducks on pond at Heytjorn - Lyngholsvegur - off 431 road. 64 06 19.8 21 39 12.4 17th April. 13:00. Not there later in afternoon or since. Seen by @JenGill3 & myself

@AlexPenn_1 @FI_Obs @museumstavanger Very impressive! One visited my garden in Húsavík last weekend but no rings on it.

The details are in for our Norwegian-ringed Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll! Ringed in late September 2021 on the island of Selvær, over 1000km away from us @FI_Obs. What a journey this bird must have been on! Iceland next stop on the way back home?

@PetePotts7 @KaneBrides Very good southerlies this past week! Iceland filled up with its breeding birds, and the occasional rarity. Cheers - Yann

@KaneBrides Ship assisted?!

Coot IXX was today sighted in ICELAND! It's the first @_BTO ringed Coot to have been found in Iceland 🇮🇸. Ringed by @andyrick_birds at Killingworth Lake, North Tyneside in December 2020 & last see there in February 2022. Always amazed at how far these birds can travel! #CootStudy

@Lophophanes @KaneBrides @_BTO @andyrick_birds Not at all. They remain vagrants to Iceland and their arrivals practically always depend on strong winds blowing them off course. Breeding happens on and off but rarely repeatedly. So Collins should not change anything for the time being.

@KaneBrides @_BTO @andyrick_birds First seen on 16 April. Great recovery!

@AlexPenn_1 @Alexander_Lees @FI_Obs Next stop Iceland!

This gorgeous snowball of a Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll is one of two currently @FI_Obs. Amazingly, this one is wearing a Norwegian ring, and after many(!) photos, I eventually got the full sequence this afternoon - we await the details!