Winter returns

Our last post about warm weather in Iceland clearly tempted fate and winter returned with a vengeance last week. Strong, cold northerly winds left us, and the wildlife, rather shocked. We escaped the worst of the snow here in the south of Iceland but in the north part of the country more than half a metre of snow fell and this is likely to have an affect on the breeding success of many birds. Several species have delayed nesting and many seabirds are waiting to return to their cliff ledges. However, one bird that is feeling human, rather than weather, pressure is this oystercatcher nesting just a few metres from a busy car park at a well-known waterfall in south Iceland. We'll let you know if they manage to breed successfully.