Icelandic waters are teeming with over 300 species of fish, and many marine mammals, but they have only a handful of terrestrial wild animals including reindeer, mink and arctic fox, and 85 species of birds.
The Northern Fulmar is a pelagic bird, meaning they spend their lives at sea, and are capable of diving several meters in pursuit of prey.
They resemble albatross, and have tubular beaks for processing sea water like other pelagic birds, including albatross and petrels.
Very handsome Tufted Ducks are common breeders all over Iceland. This is a female.
Ocean swimming Greylag Geese breed in Iceland, Finland and Scandinavia, and winter in the British Isles.
The Northern Common Sea Eider is the producer of eider-down which is harvested in Iceland by special eider farmers.
Black Headed Gulls are common in Iceland.
This one is a juvenile.
Adaptable Starlings first settled in Iceland in the 1940’s, and now can be seen nesting in Akureyri and Reykjavik.
Cheers to you from beautiful Iceland and her very hardy birds~
Tag: Black Headed Gull
Tagus Estuary & Fuente de Piedra~
Portugal and Spain have extensive wildlife reserves,
sheltering flamingos, black headed gulls and many other birds!
Tagus Estuary is the largest reserve in Western Europe,
and one of thirty natural protected areas in Portugal.
Fuente de Piedra Natural Reserve in Malaga Spain is known for it’s flamingos.
To mark the last day of our trip, we escaped the bustle of Lisbon,
and spent the day exploring,
enjoying the blooming flowers,
and belly dancing in little town of Alochete Portugal!
We are home at The Holler now, but it is still, cheers to you from Portugal & Spain~