Náttúrufræðingurinn - 1968, Page 70

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NÁT T 0 RU F RÆ ÐINGURINN
Tliorarinsson saw one of the adult hirds, again accompanied by one young,
on 18 August.
During December 1962 and January 1963 a massive invasion of lapwings
occurred in Iceland, reaching a peak around 20 January. The Museum of
Natural History in Reykjavik received reports of lapwings from the whole of
Iceland; at some places flocks of up to forty birds had been seen. The Museum
also received a number of emaciated or dead birds, including one which
carried a British Museum ring 2063105. This bird had been ringed as a young
at Sandsting on Shetland 25 June 1961. It is thought that this great invasion
of lapwings was the result of the birds leaving Britain in great numbers because
of the extremely cold weather there at tliat time. The recovery of the bird ringed
in Shetland seems to bear this out. A similar massive invasion is described in
detail by Gudmundsson (1942, 1944). Apart from these large-scale invasions,
the lapwing is a fairly frequent but irregular winter visitor to Iceland. It is
seen mostly from September to May, but there are few records from the summer
months.
The lapwing’s nest referred to above is the lirst one to be found in
Iceland and as such the first definitive breeding record of lapwings in the
country. Timmermann (1949, p. 422) mentions a breeding record in Iceland
in 1922, but the information his report was based on is now known to have
been erroneous. (Gudmundsson, pers. connn.) In 1959, however, a pair almost
certainly bred in Hornafjördur, S. E. Iceland. Mr. Jon Arason, farmer at
Nypugardar, first noticed a pair of lapwings at liis farm in April, which is
not unusual. In late May lie noticed that they were defending a piece of bog
near the farm. Arason searched for the nest, but without success. The lapwings
stayed in the bog for two nronths, and were seen at different places in the
vicinity after that. In August Arason saw íive birds in a field of kale, which
he thought to be the lapwings with three young. Tlie five lapwings stayed
around the farm until November. Arason’s accurate description of the adult
and young lapwings and their behaviour leaves very little doubt that this
was an authentic case of successful breeding in spite of the fact that no nest
was found.
In 1964 lapwings probably bred at Sydri-Bakki in Eyjafjördur, N. Iceland,
but information about this case is scanty. A pair of lapwings was seen in early
spring. The birds stayed in a bog, were quite vociferous and behaved much
like breeding birds. In the middle of summer five birds were seen. They
disappeared after the middle of August.