Yann Kolbeinsson on his mid-summer Iceland tour
Our 8th modern-day tour here was by far the wettest and grayest we’ve experienced but despite the fact that we saw rain in all imaginable ways, we somehow managed to get bits of dry weather every time we really needed it.
The “bird of the trip” award went to the massive Gyrfalcon which this year gave good views on several occasions,
A magnificent Gyrfalcon
and a very tame pair of Barrow’s Goldeneyes by the river Laxá proved popular and the pair made it into 2nd place!
Barrow's Goldeneye
And it wasn't just birds made it into the top 5 list for this tour; the Látrabjarg cliff (Europe’s westernmost point, excluding the Acores), with its thousands upon thousands of seabirds and the smell and sounds that comes with it, made it onto the list this time and no wonder, as the weather was on our side during that particularly calm and mild evening we spent on the cliff’s edge.
The Látrabjarg Cliffs
We managed to find a pod of Orcas at the Snæfellsnes peninsula, and the usual seals were seen including a Common that entertained us in a glacial river, with Great Skuas watching us from above, while we were waiting for our bus to get towed out of sand... Our stop-over on Flatey island was memorable and not only because the weather once again was decent to us. As usual the Red (Grey) Phalarope was the highlight and they did put on a show for us. While searching for them, other birds such as the Black Guillemots, Atlantic Puffins, Snow Buntings and Red-necked Phalaropes kept us entertained. Picking out the most memorable bits of a tour like this is always tricky. The abundance of spectacular birds never ceases to impress visitors, with Black-tailed Godwits, Whimbrels, Common Redshanks and Arctic Terns being omnipresent, and Red-necked Phalaropes daily sights as they spin around on the water.
Black-tailed Godwit
It can also be hard to get used to seeing Arctic Skuas flying across the roads and heathlands instead of a more familiar sight of seeing them distantly during seawatching in more southern latitudes.
Geology and landscapes also played an important role on this journey, although due to the rainy weather we did have limited views of the mountains of northern Iceland. We saw waterfalls in all sizes and shapes, including the very popular Goðafoss and Dettifoss of the north-east,
The great Goðafoss waterfall>
and slphur pools, geysers and geological formations made by the mid-Atlantic rift (including Þingvellir National Park where the Nearctic and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart).
The Strokkur geyser
Last but not least, the group was, simply put, fantastic and that, combined with the ever-changing landscape, varied food and of course, lots of birds made this trip unforgettable.