Iceland

Day 1: The tour begins mid-morning at the Reykjavík-Keflavík airport. If time allows there will be morning birding in the vicinity of Sandgerði, before driving west to Borgarnes, where we should see our first European Golden Plovers and Arctic Terns. The latter may be attracting a Parasitic Jaeger or two, offering unrivalled views as they give chase to the terns, perhaps with the local Common Redshanks or Eurasian Oystercatchers tagging along for good measure! In the late evening we’ll make an attempt to observe displaying Eurasian Woodcocks over a nearby forest. On the way we’ll search for that most impressive of raptors, the White-tailed Eagle. Iceland supports a healthy population of this species and careful scanning of rocky islets should prove successful. Nearby we will scan local mudflats for waders, which will undoubtedly include Dunlin, Common Ringed Plover and Black-tailed Godwit of the islandica race, all in smart breeding plumage. Night in Borgarnes.

Days 2-3: We’ll spend the two days birding around the Snæfellsnes peninsula. On our way towards the peninsula we’ll stop to admire Horned Grebes in their breeding finery as well as roadside Red-throated Loons. This area holds particularly high numbers of loons, and we should see family parties and hear their strange calls. The shallow pools at Rif attract large numbers of gulls, terns and waders and we’ll scan through the flocks of Glaucous and Herring Gulls in the hope of finding a more neatly proportioned Iceland Gull, as well as appreciating the variation in some of the local hybrid gulls. The Arctic Terns here are just a small percentage of the nearby breeding colony where over 5,000 pairs occur. For those that wish they provide an amazing photographic opportunity, and even when seemingly no threat to them, they insist on letting you know who is boss! Red-necked Phalarope are equally accommodating if not more so with many so close, even spinning around at our feet. Careful scanning through the flocks of Dunlin may produce a Red Knot, or maybe an American vagrant, few of which haven’t yet occurred in Iceland.

On the second day here we’ll go on a whale-watching trip out from Snæfellsnes National Park. Time will also be spent checking out small seabird colonies on the western end of the peninsula, as well as scanning through flocks of moulting eiders, which in the past has produced both King Eiders and White-winged Scoter. Nights at Grundarfjörður.

Day 4: If the ferry schedule allows, we’ll depart from Grundarfjörður after breakfast and take the ferry across Breiðafjörður Bay towards Brjánslækur. Halfway across we’ll stop on the small island of Flatey. We’ll need to stay on the island until early evening to catch the next ferry, which will give us plenty of time to enjoy the breeding Atlantic Puffins, Black Guillemots, Red-necked Phalaropes, and Snow Buntings in some beautiful surroundings. If we are really lucky, we may even spot a Red Phalarope. We’ll have lunch on the island and in the evening continue our ferry journey to Brjánslækur. 

Sometimes the ferry schedule does not allow a visit to Flatey. If that’s the case, we’ll instead take the scenic driving route around Breiðafjörður Bay, which offers fantastic views and usually some White-tailed Eagles in their preferred habitat.

Once on the other side of the bay, we‘ll drive along the winding fjords and past the unusual native Icelandic birch scrub on the southern side of the aptly named Westfjords. We should reach our hotel in Patreksfjörður with time for a late-evening visit to the spectacular bird cliffs at Latrabjarg. If timing and weather are on our side, we may see countless thousands of alcids, including puffins at arm’s length. Night in Patreksfjörður.

Day 5: We’ll begin on the highland roads of the Westfjords. At first glance the highlands appear barren and deprived of life but a closer look will reveal impressive patterns of rocks which have been formed by seasonal frost. We hope to come across Purple Sandpiper or Rock Ptarmigans both of which inhabit this alien landscape, although they can be tricky to find. Whooper Swans and Long-tailed Ducks spend their summers on the few lakes that are found here. Flocks of molting Common Eiders will be seen throughout the day as we drive by the seemingly endless coastline. Night near Hvammstangi.

Day 6: We’ll spend most of the morning driving to Húsavík, where we’ll spend the next two nights. Although mainly a travelling day we‘ll look for Iceland Gulls at several locations, as well as Common and Red-throated Loons. The small areas of conifer woodland around here hold breeding Eurasian Wren, Redwing and Common Redpoll, each belonging to their own Icelandic races, with the latter being highly variable. In recent years these areas also support breeding Fieldfare, a recent colonist to the country. One of the real specialities is Pink-footed Geese and we‘ll make a stop to admire these birds close to the road, perhaps with their attendant youngsters. Arctic Foxes are secretive animals, and are particularly wary of people having been heavily persecuted in the country, but we’ll keep our eyes open for any that may have been lured by the presence of the goslings. A secret location has nesting Long-tailed Jaegers and we’ll make a detour to see this rare breeder. We’ll also stop at the magnificent Goðafoss waterfall, and have a scan of the wildfowl close to our hotel. Night near Húsavík.

Day 7: After breakfast we’ll head to the northern coast. Flocks of Common Eiders, which sometimes hold the occasional King Eider, will be thoroughly scanned while also keeping an eye out for Common Scoter. Seawatching from the cliffs can produce White-beaked Dolphins and Great Skuas. The latter breeds nearby. This is an excellent area for Gyrfalcon and we’ll certainly keep our eyes open for this iconic species. This area also hosts a lot of scarce species with Arctic Loon, Common Crane, Black Tern, Common Wood-Pigeon, and Eurasian Coot being seen during previous tours. If time permits, we will drive towards the Dettifoss waterfall, the most powerful and one of the most impressive in Europe. If the birding has been productive, we’ll save the waterfall for the following morning. Night near Húsavík.

Day 8: Mývatn, or Lake of Midges, is one of Iceland’s great birding spots and we’ll spend all day here. This shallow lake teems with invertebrate life, which in turn attracts thousands of duck. Red-breasted Merganser, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, are all common. Greater Scaup are also common and provide a great opportunity to examine the differences between them and their Tufted cousins while every now and then our attention will be drawn to a beautiful Long-tailed Duck or a flock of Common Scoter, hiding among the hundreds of diving ducks. Careful scanning may produce a semi-resident American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck or a flyby Icelandic race of Merlin. However, the real stars here are the striking Barrow’s Goldeneye and the mythical Gyrfalcon, and time spent watching flocks of the former at one of their only Western Palearctic breeding sites may well lead to an encounter with a Gyr. Few things in birding are as viscerally exciting as seeing one of these powerful falcons instill panic in the myriads of ducks and waders. The river here is another great area for Harlequin Ducks, although many of the males will be on the coasts, we can watch the females negotiating the areas of white water as if it were easy! This region is also surrounded by stunning scenery and the bubbling mud and sulphur pools, lava fields and an explosion crater are all an indication of the island’s volcanic nature. Night near Mývatn.

Day 9: Most of today will be spent on the long drive back to Reykjavík. We’ll take the ring road (Road 1) through the north and west of the country and just before entering Reykjavík we’ll head east and visit Þingvellir National Park if time permits. This is the site of the historical parliament, chosen for its location, acoustics, and topography. It is also one of the best places to witness the cracks and fissures caused by the tectonic plates of America and Europe pulling away from each other. Birds may not be plentiful, although we could bump into Harlequin Ducks chilling at the base of a small waterfall, Red-throated Loons breeding on small islands in the river, or even a Rock Ptarmigan or Merlin, but the scenery is breathtaking. Night in Keflavik.

Day 10: We’ll spend our last morning on the Reykjanes peninsula, searching for any birds that may have eluded us and keeping an eye open for vagrants before we transfer to Reykjavík-Keflavík airport, where the tour concludes.

2024 Narrative

IN BRIEF: Sitting in the cold, gray waters of the North Atlantic, Iceland is a country that has long inspired the imagination of travelers and birders alike. This is the land of ice and fire and of ancient sagas, where the mighty Gyrfalcon drifts over a dramatic volcanic landscape dotted with glaciers, gushing geysers, hot springs, mighty waterfalls, and endless emerald-green vistas. Iceland is almost too beautiful to be believed. 

The birdlife is equally dramatic and varied, with such special species as Barrow’s Goldeneye and Harlequin Duck; the spectacle of thousands of breeding alcids and waterfowl; and lakes inundated with Red-necked Phalaropes. In recent years, the waters of northern Iceland have become famous as a place to see Blue Whales and, while they can never be guaranteed, a boat trip offers arguably the best chance of seeing this legendary mammal anywhere in the world. Orcas also make relatively frequent cameos. 

IN DETAIL: You don’t have to venture far from the airport for birds. Once everyone had arrived from their overnight flights, we were out birding after just a 15-minute drive. The morning was spent focusing on the Reykjanes Peninsula, on which the airport is located. Our first stop was a small set of ponds that gave us our first taste of birding in Iceland. Graylag Geese, Mallards, and Tufted Ducks lounged along the shorelines while large numbers of gulls roosted on the rocky islands. Lesser Black-backed was the dominate species, but we pulled out Black-headed, Herring, and Great Black-backed along with a hybrid Herring x Glaucous. We also had our first shorebirds, with the likes of Eurasian Oystercatcher, Common Redshank, Red-necked Phalarope, and several Common Snipes winnowing above. No matter where you are in Iceland, there are almost always snipe displaying. Turning our attention to the few passerines around, we had Meadow Pipits displaying over the tundra. 

Moving on, we turned our focus to a small gravel road, which passed through natural habitat and farmland. Shorebirds were well represented and this landscape provided our first European Golden-Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Ringed Plover, and Whimbrel. A distant pond added Whooping Swans, while a Northern Wheatear put on a good show closer to the road. Near the end of the road we drove through a large Arctic Tern colony, which is always an impressive sight. There, the occasional Parasitic Jaeger could be seen flying be in the distance. 

We arrived at Garður, the point of the peninsula, and the Garðskagi lighthouse. The shoreline here hosts large numbers of Common Eiders, mainly females and young individuals. We also picked out Ruddy Turnstone, Dunlin, and Sanderling working the shoreline. Out on the rocky point were several Great Cormorants and a European Shags along with nearly a hundred Black-legged Kittiwakes. Focusing our attention further out into the sea, there were constant streams of alcids flying by, mainly Common Murres and Razorbills, and a few Atlantic Puffins. Careful scanning yielded a few Max Shearwaters among the more common Northern Fulmars. 

We made one more brief stop before lunch at another small pond where we found a rare-to-Iceland Ring-necked Duck along with our first Red-necked Phalaropes and a White Wagtail. After a delicious lunch at a local bakery, we traveled north towards Borgarnes. Along the way we birded the coastal area around the capital of Reykjavik adding Eurasian Wigeon, Long-tailed Duck, and Red-throated Loon. A visit to a birdfeeder added Redwing, Eurasian Blackbird, Common Redpoll and very brief views of Red Crossbill. 

After dinner, we were out again to target the Eurasian Woodcock. Despite being light out for 24 hours, they still are most active at ‘dusk’. Along the way we stopped and scoped a White-tailed Eagle nest where one adult was sitting on the nest. During our wait for the woodcock, we heard the begging of a Long-eared Owl fledgling! These were discovered a few years ago on this WINGS tour and have been reliable ever since. Sadly, the weather wasn’t on our side and a woodcock did not make an appearance. 

After a long, busy, but successful day, we slept in a little the next morning before having breakfast and continuing our journey north. Iceland has a road that circles the entire island, which is aptly named the Ring Road, and is driven by most tourists. With that in mind, we took any opportunity to get off of it to travel quieter backroads. We did a detour this morning, which allowed us to bird at a slower pace and make more frequent stops. A series of small lakes hosted many breeding pairs of Red-throated Loons, which we were able to watch display and call all the while in full breeding plumage. Other highlights included Rock Ptarmigans, Common Shelduck, large numbers of Dunlin on the mudflats, and our first (Eurasian) Green-winged Teal. 

After a nice sit-down lunch, we arrived on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula and completed a full loop of the peninsula before checking in to our hotel. We scanned a series of large ponds adding Horned Grebe adorned in their stunning breeding plumage and Greater Scaup. With the incredible Snæfellsjökull Volcano in view, we made a stop at a large cliff face which towers over the coastline. Here, we enjoyed views of a couple of thousand Common Murres with a few Thick-billed Murres mixed in, offering us a great opportunity to compare these similar species. We also saw hundreds of Razorbills, a few Atlantic Puffins, kittiwakes and fulmars at close-range. Before reaching our accommodation for the night, we found seven Purple Sandpipers at a beach where they are quite reliable. There we also saw four seemingly out of place Canada Geese, and reveled in over forty gorgeous Harlequin Ducks!  

The next morning we headed towards Olafsvik for our whale-watching trip, picking up two Iceland Gulls along the way. Out in the bay, we tallied seven White-beaked Dolphins and had a very brief view of a Sperm Whale. Lunch at a small local restaurant didn’t disappoint. This restaurant has the most delicious seafood soup you can imagine, and it was welcomed after a boat trip. Afterwards we birded around the peninsula a little more, adding a Merlin along with continuous views of other resident species. 

Opting for a ferry on our journey north, we schedule our crossing to include a multi-hour stop on Flaty Island to see what we could find. This picturesque island has a very small town and everything is within walking distance. Snow Buntings were plentiful with many fledglings around while Red-necked Phalaropes and Common Redshanks were omnipresent. A group of nine of Brants was a nice addition to our trip list while an additional Purple Sandpier was added to our growing count of this often uncommon shorebird. 

We eventually hopped back on the ferry and arrived at Breidavik for a wonderful dinner. The nearby Látrabjarg cliffs, one of the largest seabird breeding colonies in all of Europe, is best visited late in the evening when most of the puffins have returned from their daytime fishing efforts. We enjoyed a number of Atlantic Puffins just feet away, offering phenomenal photographic opportunities. Common and Thick-billed Murres, Razorbills, Northern Fulmars, and Black-legged Kittiwakes were also well represented with over 6,000 individuals combined, and we were only seeing a very small fraction of the true length of the cliffs. A bonus Arctic Fox was well appreciated! 

The following day was mostly a travel day as we left the magnificent Westfjords and worked our way east across northern Iceland. The scenery was ever-changing, which made for a very enjoyable drive. Along the way, we added a drake King Eider, a White-tailed Eagle flying by at eye level, and a gorgeous duo of Long-tailed Ducks. Before reaching our stopover accommodation, we visited a local wool factory, which offered some local shopping of homemade goods made from Icelandic wool. 

The next morning we set off, continuing our journey east with many planned stops along the way. The Héraðsvötn river valley, one of the largest in Iceland, is fed by the Hofsjökull glacier. This valley hosts a large population of breeding Pink-footed Geese. This species has rapidly increased in numbers and can now be found at lower elevations when it was previously only found at higher glacial fields. After our successful wild goose chase, which involved many ducklings and bonus Common Gulls, we continued towards the quaint town of Akureyri. There, we visited a large forest on the edge of town where we enjoyed watching a family group of Fieldfare, a recent colonist to Iceland only known to occur in this forest, along with Goldcrest and a heard-only Eurasian Wren. 

After a tasty lunch in Akureyri, we continued east towards Husavik where our last stop was just a mile from our accommodation where a river plays host to no fewer than 120 Barrow’s Goldeneyes. We sat on the bridge over the river and reveled in these lovely ducks. Also present were our first Gadwall. After dinner in town, we headed to a lupine blanketed hillside where we had several Short-eared Owls hunting over the scenic landscape.  

After breakfast we headed to Lake Vestmannsvatn, where a lone Arctic Loon has been returning for a number of years now. A very rare bird for Iceland, this individual returns to the same lake every summer where it remains alone. We quickly found it and had great scope views. 

North of town we positioned ourselves at a vantage point where Great Skuas often come in very close as they work up and down the shoreline. We ended up having three individuals flying by offering excellent views! We tallied of 30 species from our vantage point including a dozen Common Scoters flying west. Before lunch we found the locally rare Black Tern, which has been returning for a few years now, and stumbled upon a vagrant Common Pochard. 

Gyrfalcons have become very difficult to see in Iceland in recent years. So, in order to increase our chances of seeing this impressive falcon, we ventured to one of my hotspots for this iconic species near Lake Myvatn. We hadn’t planned on being in this area until the following afternoon, but pinning down a Gyrfalcon was important. We arrived to the large cliff face and were immediately greeted to a Gyrfalcon sitting under one of the ledges. A big sigh of relief by all! While at Myvatn, we checked out a few more species of ducks, namely Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, and a vagrant Lesser Scaup. 

The next morning we visited the magnificent Dettifoss, the second most powerful waterfall in Europe, before continuing to Lake Myvatn via some geothermal bubbling pools of mud and steaming fumaroles. Lake Myvatn, which translates to ‘lake of midges’,  is a volcanic lake and hosts thousands of waterfowl. We completed a full loop around the lake stopping at a number of vantage points where we tallied a dozen species of waterfowl. Of course we had our obligatory ice cream stop using milk from a local dairy farm. We eventually arrived at our very comfortable accommodation for the night after a very rainy and windy afternoon. 

On our final day, we made another visit at the Gyrfalcon spot to see if we could get better views. After a bit of scanning, we spotted it circling the rockface several times before disappearing behind the mountain. Despite the distance, it was a thrill to watch this stately falcon circling around the rockface. 

We began our journey back towards the capitol, with a stop at Þingvellir. This site doubles as the site of the oldest parliament in Europe and also where the evidence of the two tectonic plates can be observed. Harlequin Ducks are regular here and were all lounging around the base of a small waterfall. We ended the tour the following morning right where we began on the Reykjanes Peninsula, reveling at all of the breeding shorebirds, mixed gull flocks, and singing Meadow Pipits. 

                                                                                                                                                                                -          Ethan Kistler

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