Best Nest on Top of Flagpole

A couple of redwings (Turdus iliacus) in North Iceland may have found the safest nesting place there ever was. They have built a nest on top of a flagpole in a backyard on Aðalgata road in Hauganes, north of Akureyri, North Iceland. The reason the nest can balance is that the knob of the flagpole broke off in bad weather over the winter, creating a perfect bowl at the top, ideal for a nest.

Anna Lilja Stefánsdóttir, owner of the house by which the flagpole stands, tells Morgunblaðið the redwings have been flying to and from the nest lately, undoubtedly feeding their young. Like everyone else, she is unable to see what’s inside the nest.

There are many cats in Hauganes, making the flagpole a much safer option for nesting than the three large aspens in the backyard.

“I was unable to hoist the flag on Fishermen’s Day [- the first Sunday in June]. That’s a first since we got the flag pole. My husband used to be a fisherman, and of course, we’d always hoist a flag on Fishermen’s Day. Except for now, that is,” she states and laughs. “We had to leave the bird in peace.”