In Iceland it happened to me to run into  the Harlequin Duck a few times. Always in the mainstream of quite swift rivers. Sometimes I could see them basking on coastal rocks. It is a colorful duck reaching to 800 grams of weight and up to 70 cm of wingspan. The best photos were taken during the shooting red-throated loon, where harlequin ducks flowed a little further. Fortunately I managed to spot  it, as my eyes was fixed on loons so much that common eiders sitting nearby I noticed only when leaving the bank of the river. Unfortunately the ducks were quite skittish and did not allow me to reduce quite a long distance between us. They were always watching attentively and receding slowly. Harlequin ducks in Europe are found only in Iceland. There the population is estimated at 14 thousand individuals in winter (2014).
Last minute news -06/2018 Iceland
We have seen harlequin ducks in Iceland many times. But to take more interesting shots more time is needed. First of all we have to find out where the birds usually occur, preferably it should be a bushy place where there is no steep bank and there is a flat space. Then, we would have to devote many hours to hide and wait for them to come back to the place. It was difficult to take good pictures when moving, most often I photographed from the high banks of rushing rivers, which were steep and a few meters high and thus not interesting view in terms of taking photos. The scared birds flew out of the range of the lens.

Islandia - wykaz j.angielski

Iceland  introduction - Great northern loon
1. Great northern loon. 2. Red Crossbill. 3.Common redshank. 4. Harlequin duck. 5. Whimbrel. 6. Great skua. 7. Black-legged kittiwake. 8. Northern fulmar. 9. Northern gannet. 10. Black guillemot. 11. Red-necked phalarope. 12. Horned grebe. 13. Glaucous gull. 14. European golden plover. 15. Northern shoveler. 16. Redwing. 17. Razorbill. 18. Barrow's goldeneye. 19. Parasitic jaeger.  20.Thick-billed murre. 21. Rock ptarmigan. 22. Great black-backed gull. 23. Short-eared Owl. 24. Whales. 25. Manx shearwater. 26. Gadwall. 27.Harbor Seal. 28. Pink-footed goose. 29. Iceland gull.
And changes in the galleries:
1. Red-throated Loon. 2. Puffin. 3. Redwing. 4. Eurasian oystercatcher . 5. Common snipe. 6. Arctic tern. 7. Reindeer. 8. Black-tailed godwit. 9. Common ringed plover. 10. Guillemot 11. Purple sandpiper. 12. Whooper swan.  13. Common eider. 14. Eurasian wigeon.  15. Red-breasted merganser. 16. Greater Scaup. 17. Brant goose.18. Red knot . 19. Dunlin.  20. Tufted duck. 21.Greylag Goose.
Go to the gallery: Iceland - F A U N A      Icelannd - SLIDE SHOW

ISLANDIA-06/2018 ANGIELSKI

Iceland 06/2018 –  the introductory text –  Gyrfalcon
1. Gyrfalcon (T,V). 2. Short-eared Owl (T) . 3. Great northern loon (T). 4. Merlin (T). 5. Glaucous gull (T,V). 6. Pink-footed goose (T). 7. Rock ptarmigan (T,V). 8. Harlequin duck (T). 9. Thick-billed Murre (T). 10. Iceland gull (T). 11. Black-tailed Godwit (T). 12. Whimbrel (T). 13. Redwing (T,V). 14. Razorbill (T). 15. Guillemot. 16. Eurasian Wigeon (T). 17. Northern Pintail (T). 18. Red-throated Loon. 19. Black-legged kittiwake. 20. Dunlin. 21. Meadow Pipit. 22. Parasitic jaeger. 23. European golden plover. 24. Common redshank. 25. Horned grebe. 26. Barrow's goldeneye (T). 27. King eider (T). 28. Lesser black-backed gull. 29. Northern Wheatear. 30.Long-tailed jaeger. 31. Arctic Tern. 32.Black-headed Gul.
Go to the gallery : Iceland - F A U N A       Icelannd - SLIDE SHOW