© Guðmundur FalkGreater sand plover in Iceland
A greater sand plover was spotted at Hvalsnes on the Reykjanes peninsula this week,
RÚV reports. It is only the second time ever the species has been spotted in Iceland.
The greater sand plover breeds in Turkey and eastward through Central Asia, and is rarely spotted in Europe.The greater sand plover was first recorded in Iceland in Skagafjörður fjord, in the north of the country. Ornithologist Gunnar Þór Hallgrímsson says the species is closely related to the ringed plover, which is relatively common in Iceland. The bird was spotted by Guðmundur Hjörtur Falk Jóhannesson, a bird photographer, who managed to snap some photos of the rare visitor.
Gunnar Þór says greater sand plover numbers are not high and the bird is nowhere near common, making its appearance in Iceland even more remarkable.
Comment: Maybe some change in the planet's environment is interfering with this bird's ability to correctly utilise the Earth's magnetic field to navigate by? See also this:
Animal Magnetism: How the magnetic field influences animal navigationExtract -
Human impacts on the Earth's magnetic field
Humans have an impact on so many aspects of the earth's ecology. While wrangling with the magnetic field might seem like an activity that is out of our reach, human-induced electromagnetic noise could be a concern for migrating animals.
In a 2014 study published in the journal Nature, laboratory studies on robins showed birds that were exposed to background electromagnetic noise had trouble discerning which way was south.
While other studies have not seen the same impact from everyday background noise, it's prudent to be aware that human-induced electromagnetic disturbances could have an impact on some animals' highly-tuned sensory systems.
Then again, perhaps any magnetic changes of a natural kind may also play a role?
Earth's magnetic field is weakening 10 times faster now
Do birds of a common species, have different languages, as we humans do?
We go on holiday.
What's the hell is going on?
Their all talking funny like, and eating strange food ( me 40 odd years ago, first time abroad)
So, your a bird, from a different country, way off course, do they experience the same barriers?
( A light hearted post, not to be taken too seriously by the more anal type here).