As in Poland, everyone is waiting for storks that herald spring, in Iceland the role of a harbinger of spring is the golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria), Heiðlóa in Icelandic, popularly known as lóa – and this name is also known to most of the Polish-speaking inhabitants of the country.
The famous song tells about the fact that the arriving plover chases out the snow, and with it winter sorrows, weariness and boredom:
Lóan er chimney að kveða burt snjóinn,
að kveða burt leiðindin, það getur hún.
When is the arrival of the seedling expected? It usually arrives in Iceland in March. According to the website Vísindavefurinn, scientists from the University of Iceland have conducted several years of research on this topic.
Biologist Yann Kolbeinsson has compiled a variety of bird-related information into a database, including the dates of the first migratory birds’ arrival in Iceland. His research shows that the first reports of a seedling appearance in Iceland between 1998 and 2005 were as follows:
- March 26, 1998
- March 29, 1999
- March 24, 2000
- March 31, 2001
- March 24, 2002
- March 24, 2003
- March 24, 2004
- March 20, 2005
The “average” of these dates is March 25, but the most recurring date is March 24. Based on these data, it can be predicted that the first seedlings can be observed in the period of March 20–31 of each year.
It is also worth noting that most of the seedlings that spend the summer in Iceland arrive between April 1 and 20 each year.
How will it be this year? Are you already looking for seedlings with impatience? Or maybe someone has already seen these first messengers of the Icelandic spring?
Innri Jolanta
Source: Yle