Little auks stranded and in trouble
Little auk in Sæheimar museum and bird rescue centre in the Westman islands. Photograph/Margrét Lilja
Lately, the Icelandic Institute of Natural History has received reports of little auks (dovekies) in trouble.
These are birds that were driven onto land by storms and stranded there, but little auks are unable to take off from land.
The agency’s website says that if the birds are not visible hurt, people are advised to take them down to the ocean and release them there.
The Little auk is a high northern species and was a rare breeding bird in northern Iceland until the turn of the last century. Little auks are the smallest species of auk seabirds, reaching a maximum length of 7.8 inches (20 cm) and weight of 0.7 ounces (20 g). Little auks are skilled divers and feed on a variety of fish and crustaceans in the cold waters
No breeding has been observed since then, but little auks are common visitors to the seas around Iceland during winter.
