Lögberg-Heimskringla - 07.04.1995, Blaðsíða 6

Lögberg-Heimskringla - 07.04.1995, Blaðsíða 6
6 • Lögberg;|Heimskringla • Föstudagur 7. apríl 1995 by Gunnur Isfeld Swimming hildren’s Corner “Krakkar, eigum viö ekki að fara í sund-höllina í dag?” spuröi pabbi. “Jú, gerum þaö,” sagöi Erna. "Viö skulum hjálpa mömmu meö upp-þvottinn og fara, svo.” “Það er rétt Erna mín, þannig skulum viö hafa þaö," sagöi pabbi. “En eitt verðið þiö að muna.” “Hvaö er þaö?” spuröi Erna. “Aö þiö megiö ekki fara út í djúpu laugina. Þangaö megið þiö ekki fara, fyrr en þiö kunnið aö synda." „Viö lofum því,“ sagöi Árni. “Kids, shouldn’t we go to the swim-castle (swimming-pool) today?” asked dad. "Yes, let us do that,” said Erna. "Let us help mother wash the dishes and then go." “That is right Erna dear, that is how we shall do it,” said dad. “But one thing you must remember." “What is that?” asked Erna. "That you must not go out into the deep pool. There you must not go, until you know how to swim.” “We promise that,” said Arni. Can you match these words? See how manyyou can put together ofthese lcelandic and English words: KRAKKAR' HJALPA UPP-PVOTTUR RETT MUNA MEGA DJUP LAUG KUNNA LOFA 10. DEEP KNOW PROMISE BE ALLOWED HELP KIDS RIGHT DISHWASHING REMEMBER POOL £ + ‘01 ‘Z + '6 ‘01 + '8 “I + ' L ‘f+’9 ‘-6 + e ‘L + 'f ‘'8 + £ ‘£+‘2 ‘-9 + I ISHHMSNV lceland study shows southbound express for swans Those interested in nature and science have long been fasci- nated by migrating birds. It is difficult to believe that small birds like finches fly from Iceland to the Sahara desert in winter, and the arctic tem makes it all the way to the Antartic. How do the birds fare? What deter- mines the date of departure? How do they navigate? How high and fast do they fly and how many stay together. Last summer two swans from Skaga- fjörður were fitted with electronic equip- ment which made it possible for scientists to observe their migration. A computer in Toulouse, France, picked up signals from the birds via satelite. Scientists were in contact with the Toulouse computer dur- ing the migration. This was a joint project conducted by Icelandic and English sci- entists, led by professor Pennyquick at the Animal Science Department of the University of Bristol, England. It is known that Icelandic swans win- ter in the British Isles and Ireland. However the study revealed some curious behaviour by the birds. The swan is Iceland’s laigest bird with a wing span of 2,2-2,4 meters, comparable to that of the eagle, but the eagle is a shorter and lighter bird. The swan popu- lation in Iceland is not laige, only 19,000 birds in the fall. The majority of those birds winter at the aforementioned loca- tions, but several hundred birds endure “Þorri” with the human population, stay- ing mainly in south and south-west Iceland. About 100-200 birds stay at Mývatn. Ólafur Einarsson, a bird special- ist, said there was much excitement when news broke about the two swans touch- ing down at their winter habitation at Donations to Lögberg-Heimskringla Inc. rMr. Gerald G. Arason, International Falls, MN, USA....$10.00 Thor Sigurdson, Winnipeg...........$15.00 Nanna Olafson, Wynyard, SK........$20.00 J.S. &Johanna M. Skaptason, Leawood, KS, USA.................$60.00 Gloria & Thomas Meadows, Wpg......$10.10 /n memory of Dr. Björn Jónsson from Margaret & Bjorn Thorbjarnarson, Cape Canaveral, Florida..............$200.00 /n memory of Leífí Thordarson from Icelandic National League, Gimli Chapter, Gimli, MB......................... $25.00 /n memory of jonina R. Oddleifson from Adelaide Thoroski, Winnipeg......$40.00 Caerlaverock at Solway Fjord close to the Scotland-England border — about nine hours after takeoff from the coast of Iceland. Ólafur said that they had chosen family birds with known winter habitation at the Wildfould and Westlands Trust Sanctuaiy, so that the electronic equipment could be reclaimed. “There were many questions which we wanted answered. Such as alti- tude of flight, route, rests, speed, etc. The only confirmed incidence of a high altitude flight was on December 9, 1967 when Icelandic pilots spotted swans by radar on the way from Iceland to Scotland where they were flying at an unbelievable altitude of 8,200 m. (over 25,000 feet). We received many answers. The project is not finished however. The equipment will be fitted on other birds and they will be traced back to Iceland this spring. Those are birds which we know nothing about,” said Ólafur. “The two swans, code named CDD and JSC, flew to Scotland at only 30 to 50 meters altitude which is far from 8,200 m. That was a bit of a disappointment, as they hoped to hit upon a high altitude flight. Swans are not considered to have the ener- gy to fly at that altitude. It would be inter- esting to find out what flight conditions are necessary for the high altitude flight. The birds attained 130 km. hr. speed part of the way. It only took them nine hours to cross the ocean and touch down on Scottish soil,” said Ólafur. “It was interesting to note the behaviour of the birds before taking off. CDD nested at Glaumbæjar Island and the eggs were destroyed in floods. JSC nested at Garðsvatn and brought up five young ones with his mate. The birds approached the flight differently.” “The JSC couple lived at the nesting area until fall. On October 16, they flew south along Skagafjörður, crossing Spreng- isandur and stayed ovemight at Langisjór. Next day they flew to Skaftá and stayed there overnight. From October 19 the birds stayed in fields at Landbrot. On October 26, at 5 a.m., they began the strenuous flight across the ocean and rested on the sea just south of the Isle of Skye in the Sound of Sleet. They touched down in Scotland about nine hours from takeoff. “CDD did this a bit differently, he lived with his mate at the nesting area in Skagaíjörður until October 26. At 6 a.m. the birds took off across the highland; they did not rest, but flew directly out to sea and reached Meðallands Bay at 1 p.m. About 6 p.m. they were located 50 nautical miles west of Suðureyjar. There they rested and spent the night on the ocean. The next morning they took off again and completed the flight at Caerlaverock, at the WWT Sanctuaiy at Solway Fjord.” “The birds took off on the same day even though located in different parts of the country. Why? “The weather — they wait for north winds and high pressure conditions. Last October had low pres- sure conditions throughout, or unfav- ourable winds. But on October 26, the weather cleared and the wind changed. This is a signal for birds to take off. Tim- ing is interesting too. They seem to choose daylight. They take off early and spend the night resting on the ocean.” “The next day, for example, a group of swans took off near Vík in Mýrdalur. It was late in the day and the group returned. The weather was changing. They had lost the bus and had to wait for the next one. Takeoff depends on weath- er and there can be a long wait for the right conditions. The example from 1967 was in December. Those were most likely swans from the south-east corner of Iceland. They are known for delaying the trip until they are in dire straits and their water freezing.” See page 7 for more photos ofthese swarts with an Icelandic translation! — G/

x

Lögberg-Heimskringla

Beinir tenglar

Ef þú vilt tengja á þennan titil, vinsamlegast notaðu þessa tengla:

Tengja á þennan titil: Lögberg-Heimskringla
https://timarit.is/publication/160

Tengja á þetta tölublað:

Tengja á þessa síðu:

Tengja á þessa grein:

Vinsamlegast ekki tengja beint á myndir eða PDF skjöl á Tímarit.is þar sem slíkar slóðir geta breyst án fyrirvara. Notið slóðirnar hér fyrir ofan til að tengja á vefinn.