We got a double header for you fine folks today, really back at it and firing on all cylinders. Today's birds have a theme, and you're only likely to detect it if you're a real bird sicko. See if you can figure it out, but if you want spoilers, you can scroll right to the end to the 'lessons learned' section.
Eurasian Oystercatcher aka. European Oystercatcher aka. Common Pied Oystercatcher aka. Sea Pie (historic) (Icelandic -Tjaldur)
Þingvellir National Park, Þingvellir, Iceland
Member of the Oystercatcher Family
★National Bird of the Faroe Islands★
§A Parcel of Oystercatchers§
~True Bird Fact~ This bird's joining the good-parents-club, and not just because she's pictured above with baby. In fact, Oystercatchers are lifetime monogamous and they're a long-lived bird, so that can mean a 40 year commitment. Both male and female birds contribute to the defense of the nest. They take a two pronged approach of attacking flying predators by air, and distracting or leading away ground predators. This can look like trying to lure the attacker away by taking short flights, making loud calls, or even pretending to be injured.
Eurasian Whimbrel aka. White Rumped Whimbrel (historic) (Icelandic - Spói)
Þingvellir National Park, Þingvellir, Iceland
Member of the Sandpiper Family
§A Curfew of Whimbrels§
~True Bird Fact~ In an exciting and unexpected twist (for me), the Whimbrel seems to be a pretty important bird in Iceland. This is a migratory bird, which spends it's summers in Iceland (and winters in West Africa). As such, it's heavily associated with Spring and the arrival of warmer weather, which, as you might imagine, is a pretty big deal for Icelanders. They go so far as to call his cry the sound of the summer, and even have a name for it, Vell. There's a whole system around this call that icelanders use (used?) to predict the weather, so it's considered something of a 'fortune teller bird' there. There's also a charming saying that I'm going to attempt to work into my own life, "The whimbrel sings porridge" ("Spóinn syngur graut"), which means 'warm weather is coming'. Wish me luck in that endeavor.
So what is it that we were supposed to learn today? Well, aside from a surprising amount about Whimbrels, the lesson here is 'always take a picture of a boring looking bird you've seen a million times when you're in a new place'. I had 100% assumed that these were my traditional American Black Oystercatcher and Hudsonian Whimbrel (a bird I've certainly seen and photographed, but surprisingly never blogged). But I took a picture anyway, because 'what if?', and I was right! The Whimbrel I didn't even really bother to get a 'good' picture of. So anyway, the moral here is 'it counts anyway' even if you've seen a nearly identical bird before. Pump up those life lists people.
And for edification purposes, the difference between the Back Oystercatcher and the Eurasian is.. (waiting for you to check the other blog and report back)
The eye color! Incredible stuff.
As for the whimbrel? All in the rump, specifically, whether it's white or brown. Ok, so maybe they weren't that identical after all, but they were to my tired eyes.
