Náttúrufræðingurinn - 1976, Page 106

then on it has gradually increased in
numbers, and by now il nests in various
parts of the area. In Oraefi Oystercatch-
ers are strictly migratory. Tlie iirst arrival
date is Marcli 20 but most arrive about
mid-ApriI.
Redshanks liave long been known
as comrnon spring migrants but were not
observed in the breeding season until
1943. Nesting was first established in 1957
when a nest was found at Hof. Since then
Redsltanks have increased and extended
their range; they now mainly nest in the
lowland zone between Svínafell and
Hnappavellir.
As a breeding bird the Purple
Sandpiper is practically confined to
gravelly flats with scanty vegetation on
the Breidamerkursandur, between Fjallsá
and Kvlá, where 3—ö pairs nest annually;
one pair also nests annually close to
Oldulón at Hnappavellir. Purple Sand-
pipers are very rarely seen in winter.
The Grey Phalarope has only
been found nesting on the Breidamerkur-
sandur in the vicinity of Kvísker and on
the east side of Fjallsá. The number of
breeding pairs is not known accurately,
but at Kvísker 7 adult birds (3 cf cf and
4 ? 9) were seen in July 1970. Grey
Phalaropes nest here on sandy soil cover-
ed by nioss and low-growing sedges. A
nest with 4 fresh eggs was found on Jidy
9, 1967 and 2 newly hatclied broods were
found on July 26 and 27, 1966.
Black-tailed Godwits are occa-
sionally seen on spring ntigration, mainly
during the last third of April, but they
have also been seen on May 3 (a llock of
50—70 birds) and on May 20 (2 individu-
als). One stayed for a few days on the
hayfield at Fagurhólsmýri in late Febru-
ary 1964.
'Fhe Turnstone, tlie Knot and the
Sanderling occur annually on pass-
age. Turnstones pass through in
spring from April 20 to mid-May but
usually do not stop for any length of
time. In late August and in early Sept-
ember on their return journey they may
stop longer, but then they are much less
numerous. They are rarely seen in winter.
Knots occur on spring migration dur-
ing the first lialf of May but like Turn-
stones tliey seldom make a lialt. After
August 20 they reappear and ntay then
stop for a few days, especially at Oldu-
lón. Tlie Sanderling is much less
common on passage than the olher two
species. Sanderlings migrate through from
end May to early June, much later than
the other two species. On autumn migra-
tion they have been seen from August 18
to November 4.
The Great Skua and the Arctic
Skua are botli common breeding birds.
The Great Skua is particularly abund-
ant and is probably the most conspicuous
bird of the area. The vast fluvio-glacial
plains, Skeidarársandur and Breidamerk-
ursandur, which border the inhabited
part of thc Öraefi civil parisli (Hofs-
hreppur) to the east and west, are the
main strongholds of this species in the
Nortli Atlantic. The number of breeding
pairs is estimated at 1500 on Breida-
merkursandur (on both sides of Jökulsá)
and 3000 on Skeidarársandur. Within our
study area (lrom Jökulsá to Skeidará) the
Great Skua breeds abundantly on the
sandy and gravelly flats from Jökulsá to
Hnappavellir. Between Hnappavellir and
Fagurhólsmýri there is a gap in its distri-
bution but from Fagurhólsmýri to Svína-
fell it nests within a lairly broad zone
between tlie beach and the present liigh-
way, i.e. where there is at least some
vegetation. Furthermore 5—10 pairs nest
on the headland Ingólfshöfdi, and on the
extensive wet flats north and west of Ing-
ólfshöfdi a few pairs nest on Flymus-
mounds where sometimes the distance be-
tween nests amounts to only a few metres.
The peak laying season is the last third
of May. Occasionally eggs may be found
as early as May 10, and the first egg date
recorded is May 1. The Great Skua is
usually not seen inshore at the Breida-
merkursandur írom November to Janu-
ary. However, a few were seen at tlie end
of December 1972 and one in January
sometime about 1940. In mid-February
they may start to appear again but most-
ly not before the first half of March. In