Still in Iceland

[fivemack]

The harbour is full of these eider-ducks


The lake in the city centre was yesterday full of these elegantly raffish waterfowl

and I'd like to know what they are; they were gone today.

We got up at 1pm, met up with James's friends Brendan and Lauren, and breakfasted on lobster soup and minke-whale kebab in the self-proclaimed Best Lobster Soup Shop In The World, before wandering around the town some more




The sun set elegantly over the sea, we headed to a supermarket and got the makings of cup-cakes, and plan for an evening involving mostly baking.

Comments

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

It's a Slavonian grebe.

I knew it was a grebe of some sort when I saw your photo. It says here that it's Iceland's only grebe. How many grebes does Iceland need?

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Diving duck of some kind, but to my eye in looks like a Red-breasted Merganser (http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i1300id.html). The all-black head, and only a ring of white, plus that crest, doesn't match the images of Slavonian grebes I'm seeing.

[janetmk.livejournal.com]

That ID matches whats in my bird books. Birds of the North. They are probably en route to their winter quarters (which include north Africa).

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

I was very pleased by the eider ducks and associated ducklings in Northern Irelands, much to CVolin's amusement - but I'd never seen them outside of a zoo or bird reservation before!

Have a lovely time, amd dead jealous

raffish waterfowl

[angeyja.livejournal.com]

Have you asked anyone local since you saw them?

[ianmcdonald.livejournal.com]

looks like a merganser to me, or maybe a (don't laugh) goosander.