Home»Iceland_2016»Iceland_Birds and animals

When we were in Iceland in late May/early June of 2015, we were seeing shorebirds and wildfowl, etc, in display and courtship mode. Shorebirds (and Brent geese) that breed in Greenland were still in Iceland, in transit. The Arctic Terns were returned but were relatively calm. Male ducks, such as Barrow's Goldeneye and Harlequins, were in evidence on the rivers with the females. Pink-footed geese were closer to the coasts, waiting for the snow to melt in the interior. We searched high and low for Red-throated Loons/Divers but could not find a single one. In July 2016, we were there well after eggs had been laid and had mostly hatched, and it was quite a different scene. Red-throated Loon families were on almost every likely pond and pool we looked at. Arctic Terns were in hyper-aggressive attack mode, guarding their young on every coastal road in Iceland. Shorebird chicks (Redshanks, plovers, Whimbrels, etc.) were in there along with the tern chicks. Red-necked Phalaropes chicks were fledged and in huge creches along the shores. Male Harlequins and Barrow's Goldeneyes were long gone back to the seacoasts, other male ducks were in bachelor flocks, leaving the females to look after the ducklings. Shorebirds that had bred in Greenland were back in Iceland, on their way back south again.