{"id":4796,"date":"2016-03-31T19:57:35","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T19:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/?p=4796"},"modified":"2016-03-31T19:57:35","modified_gmt":"2016-03-31T19:57:35","slug":"golden-plovers-seen-in-iceland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/2016\/03\/31\/golden-plovers-seen-in-iceland\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden plovers seen in Iceland!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"9386905584_49faf2ad02_k\"<\/a>

Hei\u00f0l\u00f3a by Brian Gratwicke at Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

If ravens entering towns is a sign that winter is coming, sightings of a golden plover mean summer is on its way. The golden plover is a migratory bird that only spends the warm season in Iceland so it’s gained itself a reputation of a spring bringer, and each year people eagerly wait for its\u00a0first appearance. It even makes the news, like shows\u00a0here<\/a>, meaning that this year the spring is already here and has been since the 26th of March. The news article points out that the bird’s yet to change its feathers to summer look, but also that\u00a0it\u00a0shouldn’t take long now. This year’s first sighting is a bit later than last year’s when the first plover was seen on the 19th.<\/p>\n

The Icelandic name for a golden plover is hei\u00f0l\u00f3a<\/em>, although usually people shorten it to simply l\u00f3a<\/em>. After it arrives it bides its time and gets ready for the mating season by building a nest, lays eggs in May and the chicks hatch in a little less than a month. Once the chicks can fly the\u00a0plovers\u00a0gather up in huge groups and travel south at the end of July to spend the rest of the year on the British Isles, West and South Europe and North Africa.<\/p>\n

L\u00f3a is no doubt one of the most loved birds here on Iceland. Besides its role as spring bringer people also tried to foresee weather chances by them, and naturally they’ve a steady place in poetry and music. There are even spring songs that state the l\u00f3a has arrived, and especially in older times it was not unusual that children would start singing these songs when they spotted\u00a0the first l\u00f3a of the year. Back before the migratory habits of birds became known people believed the birds simply went into hiding, or into winter nests somewhere, because that’s probably exactly what it seemed like: one day after a long winter they’d just appear as if they had popped right out of the ground.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Goldregenpfeifer by Ulrich Latzenhofer at Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

As an interesting detail north Iceland preferred an early arrival for the l\u00f3a whereas south Iceland wished they’d arrive only after the snow had already gone. Their\u00a0song was used to figure out what the spring weather would be like. If the l\u00f3a sang dirrin\u00f0\u00ed<\/em> it meant good, sunny weather, if it only said b\u00ed, b\u00ed, b\u00ed<\/em> there was a chance for rain and wind\u00a0instead. According to J\u00f3n \u00c1rnarson there was also a belief that if the bird sang \u00f3h\u00fa \u00f3h\u00fa<\/em> it was definitely foretelling bad weather. If it would fall entirely quiet it meant a bad storm was on its way. I found a good example of all three sounds here<\/a>: first comes the b\u00ed, b\u00ed, b\u00ed<\/em> -call, then \u00f3h\u00fa \u00f3h\u00fa<\/em> and then dirrin\u00f0\u00ed<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The behaviour of the l\u00f3a was likewise observed as a sign of oncoming weather, as weather in Iceland was always notoriously unpredictable and changed very quickly. If the l\u00f3a gathered up in big groups that was a bad sign, especially if they gathered on a field during the hay gathering season – then they\u00a0had come to warn people that it was high time to get the hay indoors! A flock of l\u00f3a at a riverside was however a good sign, or if they gathered up in the evening. That would mean good weather for a while.<\/p>\n

Here’s a very popular song of the l\u00f3a’s arrival called L\u00f3an er komin<\/em> (= The Plover Has Come). You can listen to it here<\/a>. Another popular one is Hei\u00f0l\u00f3arkv\u00e6\u00f0i (= Golden Plover’s Poem) here<\/a>,\u00a0the lyrics are included in the description.<\/p>\n

L\u00f3an er komin<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

L\u00f3an er komin a\u00f0 kve\u00f0a burt snj\u00f3inn,<\/em>
\n a\u00f0 kve\u00f0a burt lei\u00f0indin, \u00fea\u00f0 getur h\u00fan.<\/em>
\n H\u00fan hefur sagt m\u00e9r, a\u00f0 senn komi sp\u00f3inn,<\/em>
\n s\u00f3lskin \u00ed dali og bl\u00f3mstur \u00ed t\u00fan.<\/em>
\n H\u00fan hefir sagt m\u00e9r til syndanna minna,<\/em>
\n \u00e9g sofi of miki\u00f0 og vinni ekki h\u00f3t.<\/em>
\n H\u00fan hefir sagt m\u00e9r a\u00f0 vakna og vinna<\/em>
\n og vongla\u00f0ur taka n\u00fa sumrinu m\u00f3t.<\/em><\/p>\n

P\u00e1ll \u00d3lafsson<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Plover Has Come<\/strong><\/p>\n

The golden plover has come to sing away the snow,
\nto sing away the misery, that she can do.
\nShe has told me that soon\u00a0comes the whimbrel (another spring bringer bird),
\nsunshine to\u00a0valleys and blossoming\u00a0fields.
\nShe has given me a piece of her mind,
\nThat I sleep too much and don’t work at all.
\nShe has told me to get up and work,
\nand, with hopefulness, welcome summer now.<\/p>\n

\"8350750094_c26cff6918_h\"<\/a>

Hei\u00f0l\u00f3a by \u00f3skar el\u00edas sigur\u00f0sson at Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

Are there any beliefs regarding golden plovers in your home country? Do they tell the weather in any other country, or do they do that only for Iceland?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

If ravens entering towns is a sign that winter is coming, sightings of a golden plover mean summer is on its way. The golden plover is a migratory bird that only spends the warm season in Iceland so it’s gained itself a reputation of a spring bringer, and each year people eagerly wait for its\u00a0first…<\/p>\n

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