More birds from Iceland

Twelve more species below!

76. Icelandic chicken

Special breed of free range chicken that lay colorful eggs all year long in Reykjavik, and feed humans. They were brought to Iceland by the Vikings in the 9th century and they are rare outside of the country.

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75. Tufted duck

Very similar to the Lesser Scaup, seen before in Ohio. It also has small differences from the Greater Scaup and Ring-necked duck. The black and white ones are the males while the females are dark brown with pale feathers. Seen in Ellidavatn and Tjorn lake, first days of June.

 male and female

74. Redwing

A thrush, which -to me- is almost identical to the American Robin, except for its markings on the chest! Seen all around Reykjavik, first days of June.

carrying a meal

73. Whooped swan

Seen in lake Tjorn, June 2nd-6th.

Below you can see a -not very clear- photo of a Whimbrel (no 72). Seen near lake Ellidavatn, June 3rd.

71. Eurasian Wigeon

Only a male, seen near lake Ellidavatn, June 3rd.

70. Eurasian Oystercatcher

It can open oysters with its beak, though oysters are not a big part of its diet. Seen in BSI central station, Reykjavik, June 1st.

69. White wagtail

This small bird seen in Iceland migrates to Africa in winter. Seen in Tjorn lake and other places in the town of Reykjavik, first days of June.

68. Black-tailed Godwit

Wiki says that during breeding this bird's beak is yellow-orange on the base and dark on the tip. See pictures below. Seen near lake Ellidavatn, June 3rd.

 Redwing at the back left for size comparison

67. Eurasian Golden Plover (or European Golden Plover)

Seen near lake Ellidavatn, June 3rd.

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66. Graylag goose

The ancestor of domesticated geese in Europe and North America. Seen all around Reykjavik, June 1st-7th.

65. Common Eider

One of the largest and most beautiful ducks in the northern hemisphere. Its feathers were used a lot for filling pillows in the past. Seen in almost every lake in Reykjavik, in Vik village, and in the harbour of Reykjavik, first days of June.

male in Tjorn lake

 male Eider and Lesser Black-backed gull in Tjorn

 weird neck

male and female fighting the waves

 females bathing

Last but not least... I have one and only one picture of only the head of a Northern gannet (no 64 )! I hope it counts! From far away I thought it was some guillemot. Seen from a boat an hour away from the harbour of Reykjavik, June 7th.

Can you see it?

Penguin-like birds

All birds below are auks.

63. Common Guillemot (or Common murre)

Very common black and white birds, found in rocky cliffs in Iceland. Some individuals have a white ring around their eyes and a white line extending backwards from the eye (see photos below). 

Check out the puffin on the right!

Their eggs have various colors and markings that make parents recognize their own after traveling for finding food at sea. They are, unfortunately, stolen and eaten by humans.

62. Black Guillemot (or Black murre)

Looks a lot like Common Guillemot but is all-black and has what seems to me like a half-moon marking on the wing.

61. Atlantic Puffin

One of the three puffin species. It is seen mostly in Iceland. There are 10 millions puffins in Iceland and they are one of the main attractions of the island and theme to many souvenirs.Unfortunately they have trouble breeding the last 5 years due to the climate change and to puffin hunt.

All seen socializing in cliffs near Vik village in South Iceland (3-6 June 2015).

Gulls of the Land of Ice and Fire

And other gull-like creatures.

These photos are from a stopover trip to Iceland, the land of ice and fire! 

In the first pictures you can see Black-headed Gulls (number 60 on our list). They are sea gulls, very similar to Franklin's Gulls and Laughing Gulls. Seen all around the area of the old harbour of Reykjavik, catching fish and eating garbage.

Black-headed Gull in Tjorn lake, Reykjavik.

Below you can see more gulls from the harbour of Reykjavik.

59. Black-legged Kittiwake. Its field marks are the unmarked yellow beak and the unspotted black (as if they were sinked in ink) wingtips.

58. Iceland Gull. A pale almost white sea gull. Adults have yellow bills with a red spot. Photos below show a juvenile whose bill is all-black.

baby Iceland Gull (first summer)

57. Lesser Black-backed Gull. One of the most common gulls in Iceland. The pictures below are from Tjorn lake in the center of Reykjavik.

56. Arctic tern (not a gull), an -also- very common sea bird in Iceland (and theme of many Icelandic postcards). It was detected in downtown Reykjavik, the old harbour, lake Tjorn, lake Ellidavatn, almost everywhere I 've been to in Iceland.

Wiki fun fact Recent studies have shown average annual roundtrip lengths of about 70,900km (44,100mi) for Arctic terns nesting in Iceland and Greenland. These are by far the longest migrations known in the animal kingdom.

Mermaid statue in Tjorn lake

55. Northern Fulmar A bird that is gull-like and very often mistaken for a gull, although it is not. It is a relative of the albatross. It is gull-shaped and gull-sized and it is pale, usually in varying shades of grey. It seemed to me that its upper parts where blue-gray. Its beak is also pale.

Northern Fulmar in the old harbour

Nesting in a cliff in South Iceland (near Vik village)

(All seen 1-6th of June 2015)

I think I have some more gulls from Iceland that I will identify in the next days.

In the identification of all these gulls, Steve Hampton, helped me out. He is the creator of this site: http://www.tertial.us/gulls/gulls.htm .