[Maine-birds] Brünnich's murre photos from Iceland

Hi,

Spent a marvelous two weeks in Iceland in late May and early June.  The birds I most wanted a photo of was the Brünnich's murre (thick-billed to the young crowd.)  I was lucky enough to meet an ornithologist who pointed me in the right direction and you can see photos of this species on a lava cliff here:

http://bbartrug.zenfolio.com/p534029824. 

Other photos include kittiwake, Eurasian oystercatcher, whimbrel, glaucous gull, fulmar, and glimpses of the Iceland countryside. 

Ornithologically, Iceland is Arctic and European.  At lattitude 66 degrees north one can't expect a huge bird list, but it's great to see breeding-plumage horned grebe, dunlin, red-necked phalarope, black-tailed godwit, red knot, European golden plover, red-throated loon.  Snipe were booming everywhere and whimbrel were quite common, singing shorebird trills from fence posts.  I did manage to bump into a white-tailed eagle as well, and even though I've seen them in India I screeched to a halt to get out of our car to get a better look.  I wasn't the only car that stopped!  Passerines were rather thin on the ground, except for white wagtails and wheatears, but copses of trees usually held redwing (a Eurasian thrush, not an Icterid), redpoll (chattering like so many goldfinches), and the occasional European blackbird (also a thrush, not an Icterid.)

If anyone is headed to Iceland, I can give you the name of an ornithologist that is a great guide.

Enjoy the photos if you take the time to look, and sorry this isn't about Maine.  Sort of :).

BAB

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Bruce Bartrug
Nobleboro, Maine, USA
bbartrug@gmail.com
www.brucebartrug.com

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.  - Albert Einstein

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