Baldur Bjarnason

Fowl photos!

– Baldur Bjarnason

April and May have seen more life in the local bird population.

Redwing making some noise.

A redwing, which is a kind of thrush I think, perched on a branch and singing loudly

If my research is correct, then this is probably what we call “sílamáfur” in Icelandic or “lesser black-backed gull”. (“Lesser”? How rude.) They like insects, which is probably what this one was out looking for this far inland near Hveragerði.

A gull is watching the photographer, And the same gull on a rock, wings spread The same gull but flying over a grassy landscape A gull flying against a blue sky

Oystercatchers! Who, ironically, generally don’t catch oysters. Called “tjaldur” in Icelandic.

A pair of oystercatchers marching through the gravel and sands next to the Varmá river

So, one of my nearby neighbours has hens and ducks. This is not the neighbour who has the tractor parked in their driveway. Nor is it the neighbour down the road who grows strawberries in a commercial greenhouse. Nor is it the neighbour who grows flowers in their commercial greenhouse. The cat shelter is in the other direction. And we’re both next to the geothermal park. I can sometimes hear them through the open window while I’m working.

A bunch of ducks marching past what looks like an old, rusted oven The same ducks marching past a pair of fence posts. This duck returned to check on things

This hen.

A white hen poses on a patio next to the legs of a worn table. This hen has spotted something in the gravel.