Goldcrest sighted again in Ísafjörður

A Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) sighting in Ísafjörður (near Jónsgarður) has once again been reported to Náttúrustofa Vestfjarða, September 20. A previous sighting from the same individual was on March 22 of the same year. This tiny passerine is not common in the Westfjords and is found in small numbers around the rest of the country since a breeding population had settled in Iceland in the 1990’s. Goldcrests prefer coniferous and mixed forests but can also be found in gardens and parks with large trees. They feed mainly on insects on tree foliage and branches. During winter, goldcrests eat seeds and insects from the ground.

Both reported sightings were the result of a window collision. The bird flew away after a brief recovery period. There are measures which can be taken to reduce bird-window collisions, which are often deadly even if the bird seems to have recovered initially. We encourage people to read these articles by Fuglavernd, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology or National Audubon Society for ideas about how to make their windows more visible to reduce collision risk to our feathered neighbors, as well as actions to take if encountered with a collided bird.

We thank Annska for once again sharing the sighting with us. Náttúrustofa encourages reporting sightings of Goldcrests in order to help monitor their distribution and abundance in Iceland.