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Welcome to the website of the Icelandic Club 200
A
bit of history...
In the late 1980's, Icelandic birders argued about the possibility of seeing 200 species in Iceland. Shortly after, the late Hálfdán Björnsson managed to reach the 200 level. Since then a total of at least 36 birders have managed to join the Club 200 and discussions of the establishment of Club 300 have risen. The Icelandic Club 200 follows taxonomy of the IOC World Bird List. Icelandic "blockers" The
Icelandic list includes several species that very few birders
have seen in Iceland and which only one member of the Club 200
has managed to see.
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Björn G. Arnarson - 337 species
Latest additions: Eurasian Dotterel, Cape May Warbler, American Redstart |
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Gunnar Þór Hallgrímsson - 330 species
I was born in Reykjavík 1979 and started regular birding with a support and encouragement from my father (club 200 member Hallgrimur Gunnarsson) when I was nine. My first rarity was Barn Swallow in 1988 and the thrill and enjoyment of seeing rarities has remained ever since. I'm a member of the Icelandic Rarities Committee and my favourite rarities are small passerines – especially genera Acrocephalus, Iduna and Hippolais. I work with birds on a daily basis at University of Iceland where I hold position of Associate Professor in Zoology. My job has brought me into various exciting fields of ornithology. Species number 200 on my Icelandic list was Pomarine Skua. This milestone in my life happened when a flock of 5-600 birds were seen on 5th May 1999 – 10 days before my 20th birthday. Website: …in progress
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Brynjúlfur Brynjólfsson - 329
species Website: Félag fuglaáhugamanna Hornafirði |
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Yann Kolbeinsson - 327 species
I was born in 1979, in Southern France. Since then I have lived in Iceland although I return to the Mediterranean area nearly annually for a short break. Started birding around the age of twelve with my first rarity being a Bohemian Waxwing in 1991. Outside Iceland and France, I've visited some of the best birding areas in North America and trips in the Western Palearctic include Spain, Turkey, Georgia, Po Delta in Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the UK. Elsewhere I've also been to Ecuador, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Cape Verde and Thailand. In the past I have worked on the habitat selection and ecology of phalaropes nesting in Iceland but currently I am working at the Northeast Iceland Nature Research Centre in Húsavík where the focus is on monitoring bird populations in northeast Iceland as well as studying the non-breeding movements of multiple species; Horned Grebe, Northern Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, Red-necked Phalarope, Black-legged Kittiwake, Common & Brünnich's Guillemots and Razorbills. Websites: Birding Iceland (and on facebook), My images World list (IOC): 2907 species (last addition: White-cheeked Pintail) |
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Sigmundur Ásgeirsson - 323 species World list: 1936 species (last addition: Least Bittern) |
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Hallgrímur
V. Gunnarsson - 312 species |
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Gunnlaugur Pétursson - 309 species
Latest additions: Red-flanked Bluetail, Eurasian Dotterel, Cape May Warbler |
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Gunnlaugur Þráinsson
- 298 species
Latest additions: Red-flanked Bluetail, Cape May Warbler, American Redstart World list: 1291 species (last addition: Florida Scrub-Jay) |
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Hálfdán Björnsson - 294 species 14 March 1927 – 10 February 2017 Hálfdán Björnsson of Kvísker in south-east Iceland passed away a month shy of his 90th birthday. Hálfdán was a self-taught naturalist and was held in the highest regard by ornithologists and birdwatchers in Iceland. During his time Hálfdán found no fewer than 50 new species or subspecies for Iceland, all but 12 of them on his farm Kvísker! In the early days Kvísker was like an oasis, being the only vegetated area in a heavily glaciated part of south-east Iceland and the farm was a magnet for vagrant birds. The first species he added to the Icelandic list was Song Thrush some time between 1934 and 1938, when he was around 10 years old, and the final new addition to the list was American Cliff Swallow in 1992. Nine of the species Hálfdán found have yet to be recorded again in Iceland. It was amazing to see the joie de vivre and energy radiated by Hálfdán every time you visited his farm. He raced up the slopes like a mountain goat and it was sometimes difficult to keep pace even when he was in his 80s. It was an honour and privilege to have known this great scholar and naturalist who at the age of 88, in 2015, still got to add to his Icelandic life list the three species listed below. |
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Ingvar Atli Sigurðsson - 293 species
Latest additions: European Stonechat, Eurasian Dotterel, Northern Harrier |
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Jóhann Óli Hilmarsson - 291 species In recent years, a lot of my birding has taken place in foreign countries, and I have been travelling to many corners of the earth. I have been working on conservation for years and I was a chairman of BirdLife Iceland (Fuglavernd), which is the Icelandic member of BirdLife International, for 20 years. My bird photos have been published in magazines, books, papers, exhibitions and websites all over the world. My main work is the bestselling Icelandic Bird Guide (see https://www.forlagid.is/vara/icelandic-bird-guide/) Websites: www.johannoli.com and https://fuglavefur.is/ World list: 1634 species (last addition: Eurasian Dotterel) |
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Edward Barry Rickson - 287 species Website: Icelandic
Birding Diary |
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Alex Máni Guðríðarson - 282 species
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Stefán Áki Ragnarsson -
277 species |
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Daníel Bergmann - 276 species |
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Gaukur Hjartarson - 273 species World list (Clements): 1406 species (last addition: Lanceolated Warbler) |
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Guðmundur Hjörtur Falk - 273 species I was born in Ísafjörður in NW Iceland on 18 September 1965 and moved to Keflavík when I was just six months old and grew up there. Travelling has been big part of my life from the beginning and nature has been important to me since I was a small boy. My favorite birding spot was my playground when I was around 10 years old, and all the shorelines around my hometown were also big part of my childhood and shaped my lifelong interest in nature. I walked all the moorland areas to see which birds nested there and to look at the eggs, as I was captivated by the pattern and color of the eggs of all the different species. The first vagrant I took a photo of was Bonaparte’s Gull in July 2014 and since then I have mostly concentrated on bird photography although I have been a birder all my life. Latest additions: Blue-winged Teal, Northern Harrier, Killdeer |
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Eyjólfur Vilbergsson - 263 species Latest additions: Red-flanked Bluetail, Eurasian Dotterel, Northern Harrier |
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Erling Ólafsson - 262 species Website: Flickr page Latest additions: Red-flanked Bluetail, Northern Harrier, Laughing Gull |
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Ómar Runólfsson - 260 species
Latest additions: Red-flanked Bluetail, Northern Harrier, American Redstart |
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Sigurjón Einarsson - 260 species I was born in Reykjavík the summer of 1969. I spent every summer on a farm so nature is a big part of my life. I work for The Soil Conservation Service of Iceland and travel a lot around Iceland which is great for a birder. I started photographing birds in 2008 and soon after that I became interested in searching for vagrants. Latest additions: European Stonechat, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Harrier |
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Sveinn Jónsson - 249 species I was born in Reykjavík in 1967 and have been interested in birds and conservation ever since I was a child. The first bird I can remember was when I was 7 years old and I saw a Bohemian Waxwing in my neighbourhood and I had to find out myself what it was by using a bird book from the school library. After that there was no turning back and I started to watch birds. I soon learnt the names of all Icelandic birds and of the vagrants I saw in Reykjavík, mostly Fieldfares, Bohemian Waxwings, Blackbirds, Blackcaps and Rooks which used to show up regularly in winter wherever food was put out. The interest was always there and when I was a teenager I went on trips with Árni Waag and joined the Icelandic Society for the Protection of Birds as it was known then. My best childhood friend Sindri Skúlason and his father Skúli Gunnarsson encouraged this interest. As soon as digital photography arrived on the scene, my interest in birds and everything connected to it just exploded and fortunately there's no end in sight. Birding and photography are a fantastic mix and there are so many exciting aspects to it. Website: Flickr page Latest additions: Red-flanked Bluetail, Eurasian Dotterel, Cape May Warbler |
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Örn Óskarsson - 248 species
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Sölvi Rúnar Vignisson - 245 species I was born in the most beautiful part of the country, Akureyri in 1989. I have always had an interest in birds but I did not start birding until my first year in my masters 2013. I do study waders and littoral habitat along with seabirds and am currently working for the Suðurnes Science and Learning Center. My favorite species is without a doubt the Arctic Skua, my favorite birding moment was my 100th species, European Storm Petrel that I managed to get in a puffin net in Skrúður. I've just started going abroad on bird watching trips where the Western Cape is my most memorable trip! Latest additions: Northern Harrier, Cape May Warbler, Semipalmated Plover |
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Hlynur Óskarsson - 245 species I first remember gaining interests in birds while spending summers on a farm in Western Iceland. I often walked around the farmstead with my father and he would point out the various species in the vicinity. This interest was later further sparked by my biology teacher, Árni Waag; a keen bird watcher and a lover of nature in general. Bird watching has ever since been an interest of mine, and in my adulthood I have had the privilege of being able to travel widely abroad and in these travels I have taken every opportunity to watch birds and their fascinating habits. Latest additions: Red-flanked Bluetail, Cape May Warbler, Semipalmated Plover World list (IOC): 2089 species (last addition: Kea) |
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Sindri Skúlason - 238 species My father Skúli Gunnarsson introduced me to bird watching when I was just a kid and that was the greatest gift I have ever received. By doing so he opened up a whole new world full of wonder and amazement that fascinated me right from the start. Later on he got me started in bird photography as well and it didn’t take long to realize that I was hooked. What started out as a hobby soon turned into a passion and these days I try to spend as much time as I can out in the wild photographing birds. It’s always exciting to see a new species and I must admit that I seem to be willing to drive longer distances each year for the chance of seeing a new vagrant. Not helping this trend are two good friends and fellow birders Sveinn Jónsson and Sigurjón Einarsson who are always ready to jump in a car and drive whatever distance necessary to see new species (well almost). Latest additions: Red-flanked Bluetail, Cape May Warbler, American Redstart |
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Kjartan G. Magnússon - 228 species World list: 1118 species (last addition: Black-throated Thrush) |
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Einar Ólafur Þorleifsson
- 226 species
Latest additions: Glossy Ibis, Common Kingfisher, Two-barred Crossbill |
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Már Höskuldsson - 226 species
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Ólafur Einarsson - 224
species
Latest additions: American Yellow Warbler, Glossy Ibis, Cackling Goose |
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Bjarni Sæmundsson - 224 species Latest additions: Northern Harrier, Cape May Warbler, Semipalmated Plover |
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Sigurður Ægisson - 221 species I'm an ethnozoologist and a theologian born in Siglufjörður, northern Iceland, on 21 September 1958 and living there now. I moved from there in 1974, when I went to school in Akureyri and later Reykjavík, but returned in 2001.
Latest additions: Laughing Gull, Eurasian Dotterel, American Redstart |
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Erpur Snær Hansen - 219 species
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Kristinn Haukur Skarphéðinsson - 210 species
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Mikael Sigurðsson - 210 species
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Þorfinnur Sigurgeirsson - 206 species I was born in Keflavík on April 6th, 1963. I’ve been involved with image making ever since I can remember. I was constantly drawing and coloring pictures as a child. Later, I started painting and taking photographs. I graduated as a graphic designer in 1987 and then moved to Montreal in Canada where I studied Fine Arts at Concordia University (1987–90). Over the years, I’ve taken many thousands of all kinds of photographs, made endless drawings and paintings, and held exhibitions in both Iceland and Canada.
Latest additions: Jack Snipe, Blue-winged Teal, Water Rail |
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Aðalsteinn Örn Snæþórsson - 204 species
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