These are
Red-necked Phalaropes,
tiny Chaffinch sized ducks, as seen on the islet of Æðey
The small island of Æðey (the English word is Eider, as in Eider Duck) lies in Ísafjörður (the Fjord of Ice) in the far north west of Iceland. Æðey is delightful not just because the fjord, in which it sits, is full of the haunting calls of Eiders, but also because the whole of the island forms
an Eider farm.
The family of farmers who live there make a living, at the
edge of the world,
because of the down which the Eider plucks from her breast to line her nest. So appreciative are the birds of the protection the farmer offers them that they nest in their hundreds on this small space, and the weight of eider they 'donate' keeps their unique community going. The protective environment ensures that other species also make this their home.
The Red-necked Phalarope is appealing, not only for its diminutive size, but also because it is one of the few species of bird where the male does all the brooding and
upbringing of the chicks.
After laying their eggs the females decamp together, socialise, and migrate, never seeing their young
An Eider Duck's nest with the down removed by the farmer - payment for the protection she enjoys
Possibly when you first glanced at this picture you did not see the female Eider sitting on her nest, the way the birds blend into apparently different coloured surroundings is almost magical
Black Guillemots socialise very like a watery equivalent of house sparrows - arguing and chattering - and are here seen in animated interaction on one of the island's pools
Several scores of
Black Guillemots
on a pool with the centre of the island as backdrop
The island of Æðey seen from a boat in the fjord
More than a 100 Black-Guillemots on this pool
More Black-Guillemots by the jetty on Æðey...
...beyond which are the mountains of the main shore
One ridiculous and
irresistible Puffin.
Puffin parents also never see their young, hatching in dark burrows the young are left by the adults when they are believed to be able to fend for themselves, and must make their own way out and into the world
More Puffins, with their reflections
More Black-Guillemots, red gapes on display...
...chatter and quarrelling together...
...thier open mouths making them unmistakable
One delightful, untypical, Black-Guillemot - mouth closed
As with most sociable species...
...disagreements are common
Æðey's tractor
A relatively sheltered stretch of fresh water
Looking from Æðey across the millpond surface of Ísafjörður to the mountains of the mainland. Further out mist covers the water, nearby Puffins and Gillemots dot its calm surface
The next page
has more about Ísafjörður a north pointing (and the most northerly) fjord of the Westfjords, where the hills rise to around 3,000 feet (900 metres), with pictures of the fishing boats, as well as the local landscape.
The last page had images of Ba Bể Lake and its visitors
To a bird reserve in southern Scotland
To Nolsoy island in the Faroes
