Birds
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Thrush Chick That Won’t Leave Eleven-Year-Old’s Side Wakes Him With Song
Eleven-year-old Kári Kamban Sigurbogarson has a pretty unusual pet, having recently adopted an orphaned thrush chick, Vísir reports. The young thrush enjoys going on walks, and wakes Kári by singing at 8:00 every morning. Kári found the bird more than a week…
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Infamous Hunter Accused Of Trespassing
Police in the Westfjords received a tip that one of the most well-known hunters in Iceland had been shooting guillemot on their cliffside nests from a boat much closer than the legal limit of 500 meters. Snorri Rafnsson, the social media influencer…
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Cat Owners Encouraged To Keep Their Cats Indoors During Nesting Season
Now that Iceland is entering late spring, a common conflict known the world over is emerging again: the one between cats and birds. Many birds in Iceland, both migratory and all-year natives alike, use the springtime to build nests and lay eggs.…
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Several Birds Die Due To Oil Pollution
27 bird carcasses, most of them eider, were found on the beach in Reykjanes on Sunday, May 3rd. The staff of the South Iceland Nature agency went to Stafnes yesterday after receiving reports of many bird carcasses washing ashore. Of the 27…
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At The Speed Of Birds: The Eyris And Eyries Of The Westfjords
The car is running on fumes as we emerge from the belly of the mountain, driving north out of a long single-lane tunnel into the Westfjords’ picturesque Súgandafjörður. As the road winds down the west bank, kittiwakes and fulmars glide alongside us.…
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Sketches in the Sand: Rán Flygenring On Birds, Art And Play
Recently, the niche market of Icelandic-bird-guides-in-English gained a new addition in the form of “BIRDS,” a translation of Hjörleifur Hjartarson and Rán Flygenring’s award-winning ornithological guide. The volume is illustrated in Rán’s distinctive drawing style, which provides ample means of identifying the…
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Alarming Amounts Of Plastic Found In Icelandic Birds And Sea Life
The North East Iceland Nature Center (NNA) has released a new report detailing the disturbingly high levels of plastic found in animals around the country. The report, conducted in cooperation with the Icelandic Environment Association, found that about 70% of Northern Fulmars…
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Smuggled Bird Detained At Icelandic Border, Later Deported
A caged bird that someone attempted to bring into Iceland by ferry was detained by customs, and later deported. According to an announcement from the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST), the bird was brought to Iceland in mid-August in a car…
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Icelandic Special Forces Descend Upon Illegal Bird Hunters
A group of middle-aged men who were apparently shooting birds for sport were stopped by the Special Forces last Saturday. Fréttablaðið reports that the shootings, which took place near Hvalfjörður, were first noticed by the wife of Lárus Vilhjálmsson, who happens to…
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Scratching The Twitch: Birdwatching In Iceland
At 8am, two men arrived at my door dressed in utility trousers and plaid shirts. Friends for over seventeen years, Edward and Sigmundur (Simmi) are old hands at birding in Iceland. This was the time for my initiation. Edward gave me a…
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Bird Flu Breakout In Iceland Likely
Preparations against a possible bird flu outbreak have been ramped up, reports RÚV. The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (IFVA) has released a statement warning that a serious outbreak is likely due to an influx of migratory birds streaming into the country with…
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Ornithologist Pleads: Don’t Give Birds Bread
One man is looking out for the human-driven dietary supplements of Iceland’s bird population. As summer is here and people enjoy being able to comfortably enjoy the outdoors, one Reykjavík pasttime this season includes feeding the ducks, geese and swans down at…
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Don’t Ask Nanna: About Puffins
Dear Nanna, Are there eagles in Iceland? What types of birds are common? Birder Dear Birder, I’ve got no fucking clue about eagles. I’ve seen some swans, a few ducks. Probably seagulls though none that really stand out. And puffins of course, though…
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#GVPics Contest: Iceland’s First Days Of Summer
Looking out the window and seeing folks enjoying the sun in April is a rare sight. The sun that is, not the happy folks. It is approximately 11°C outside right now meaning no oversized furry coats anymore, just your most fashionable shades.…
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The Icelandic “Spring” On Instagram: Winner Of This Week’s #GVPics
Spring is upon us, or so we thought. The country’s flowers had just started to bloom when the snow came and covered all of it. Winter’s back, and as beautiful as it may be, we hope it won’t stay for too long.…
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The Best Photos From This Week’s #GVPICS
Each week we pick ten photographs from our #gvpics Instagram competition we find interesting, funny, or beautiful. This week’s entries were amazing and picking only ten pictures was a headache. Remember to tag your picture with #gvpics for a chance of becoming…
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Eight Icelandic Bird Species In Danger – Including The Puffin
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified eight Icelandic bird species as either vulnerable or “near threatened”, including the iconic puffin. RÚV reports three Icelandic bird species – the long-tailed duck, the black-tailed godwit and the Eurasian curlew –…
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Ravens Disembowel Lamb, Farmer Plots Revenge
A conspiracy of ravens killed a little speckled lamb on Tuesday, at the farm Skjaldfönn in the Westfjörds, Ísafjörður newssite BB.is reports. According to farmer Indriði Aðalsteinsson, ravens often hang around the farm in the fall, anticipating the arrival of sheep who have been…
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Disease Likely Explanation For Mysterious Bird Deaths
The sudden and inexplicable deaths of dozens of birds is probably linked to a disease, says an Icelandic ornithologist. “Everything points to a disease or some other contagion at work when many adult birds die within a short period of time,” said…
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Unexplainable Bird Deaths Puzzle Scientists
Dozens of sea birds have been found dead in a region of Snæfellsnes, and the cause eludes the experts. Vísir reports that since last month, over 50 common eiders have been found dead near a nesting area in Fróðárrif, located on the…
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Bird Conservationists: Lock Up Your Cats!
Nature Conservation Society, BirdLife Iceland, is encouraging cat owners to keep their felines locked up during bird nesting season, reports Vísir. “Cats are powerful and efficient predators that destroy bird nests in residential neighbourhoods each year,” said a statement from BirdLife. BirdLife emphasised that keeping…
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Warning Not To Eat Too Many Seabird Eggs
Tests done on the eggs of murres show very high levels of PCBs “and related chemicals”.RÚV reports that there are up to ten times the amount of such chemicals in the eggs of murres (known as the svartfugl in Icelandic) as there are in hen’s…