Golden plovers nest on Surtsey

Our brief news item in March concerning golden plovers returning to Iceland didn’t foresee an important new record of their Icelandic distribution...

Golden plovers have bred on Surtsey for the first time reports the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. A recent expedition to the new volcanic island (Surtsey formed in an undersea volcanic eruption in 1963) discovered the plover’s nest. There are now 15 species of birds recorded breeding there.

Good news for plovers and it really is very interesting to see the continuing pattern of natural settlement occurring on the island.