Iceland turned out to be an amazing and eye-opening place to visit and one I will visit again in the future. It will be a place I will recommend to people but with a big warning sign that it is not cheap. I found the whole trip a surprise and a pleasant one. I hired a car and for the first time ever I used a Sat-Nav. They dont always work very well do they? However, it did save me time on some occasions. Car hire, flight tickets and hotels came somewhat close to £1000 and I was still in England! Food was expensive. I did not want to eat pizza and other junk food whilst there but I did not want to spend too much. Some days I had a cheap basic pizza, others a nice meal. A couple of days I lived off a loaf of bread. If i go again I would take food with me. Birds were everywhere. It was quite exciting seeing so many waders especially Redshank, Whimbrel, Golden Plover and Snipe. At one point I was mobbed by Redshank, Golden Plover, Whimbrel and Black-tailed Godwit. They made a nice tune as they alarm called at the same time. Twice I got the car stuck. Once it nearly slid down the slope on the road into a field. Thankfully Danish holidaymakers pushed my car back onto the road.
This is was what I did throughout the 7 days:-
Wednsday 4th july Land at Keflavik, drive to Garður for seabirds Grundarfjörður for the night.
Thursday 5th july Snæfellsnes peninsula Grundarfjörður for the night
fRiday 6th july A.m. Boat trip from Stykkishólmur for White-tailed Eagle P.m. drive to Husavik with a stop at Blonduos and Hrutey Island night between Arukuyeri and Husavik
Saturday 7th july am whalewatching from Husavik and then drove to Tjornes to look for Ptarmigan Stop at Godafoss waterfall Then Vaglaskogur forest Night in Akuyeri Sunday 8th july
Then Myvatn walk in some birch forest on east side, up to the crater, the back crags and the hot bubbling ground region. I also visited the nature reserve on the west side of Myvatn Night in Akuyeri Monday 9th july
Drive to Reyekjavik
Thingvellir NP Night Reykjavik
Tueday 10 the july
Sight see in Reykjavik
Wednesday 11th july flight home
Here is a list of birds I saw and where. Birds in Bold are firsts. Birds in italics are those that I have seen one or two times before.
Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus seen in small numbers throughout all areas visited
Greylag Goose Anser anser - seen in small numbers throughout all areas visited, some with recently hatched young
Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope - seen in small in the North and around Myvatn
Gadwall Anas strepera - on Myvtan
Eurasian Teal Anas crecca - seen in small in the North and around Myvatn
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos - seen in good numbers throughout all areas visited, some with recently hatched ducklings and many males in eclipse plumage
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula - seen in good numbers throughout all areas visited, some with recently hatched ducklings
Greater Scaup Aythya marila - seen in good numbers throughout all areas visited, some with recently hatched ducklings
Common Eider Somateria mollissima - seen in good numbers throughout all areas visited, some with recently hatched ducklings and many males in eclipse plumage
Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus first seen flying over a lake near Storu Jatnir between Akuyeri and Husavik, then on river Laxa,
Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis seen more in the North, around Akuyeri, Hunafloi and Myvatn. One drake seen and that on the Akuyeri fjord.
Common Scoter Melanitta nigra - seen in most areas in small numbers
Barrow's Goldeneye Bucephala islandica - Akuyeri to Myvtan
Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator - seen in most areas in small numbers
Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus muta - one seen with at least one chick in Vaglaskógur Forest
Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata - seen in most areas
Great Northern Diver Gavia immer - seen in most areas
Slavonian Grebe Podiceps auritus - Hunafloi Bay area to Myvatn
Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis - seen everywhere in the coastal regions
Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus - seen from Gardour
Northern Gannet Morus bassanus - seen on boat trip from Stykkisholmur
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo - seen on first day in southern regions
European Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis - seen around most coastal areas
I scanned the fields between Husavik and Tjornes for Ptarmigan but no luck. I turned back after looking carefully. I had given upon Ptarmigan and any scanning would have been half-hearted on the way back. I realised that something was on the rocks, a bird. I was not the only one hunting for Ptarmigan. I stopped the car and just above the road side on some rocks sat a Gyrfalcon, a bird I never expected to see so quickly. It gave good views before flying off. The Ptarmigan did eventually make an expeience but in a forest!
White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla - 2 seen from Stykkishomur boat trip on Friday. However, later on the day a pair were soaring somewhere between Stykkishomur and Hunafloi area
Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus - one seen on Saturday sat on roadside rocks between Husavik and Tjornes, other seen Sunday as hike down from Hverfjall
Merlin Falco columbarius - oen seen between Akuyeri and Myvatn, other seen hunting a Redshank between Akuyeri and Reykjavik
Eurasian Oystercatcher - everywhere!
Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula - seen around Snaefellness and northern Iceland coastl regions
Eurasian Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria - everywhere
Dunlin Calidris alpina - seen from Hunafloi bay area and eastwards
Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago - everywhere chipping and drumming.a fantastic site, dead chick in Vaglaskógur forest.
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus - everywhere
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata Rare/Accidental - southern coastal area
Common Redshank Tringa totanus - everywhere displaying and alarming, some with small young and some nearly full grown
Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus - everywhere but most common around Myvatn
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres - coastal areas
Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus - Snaefellness most commonly, also Northern and southern coast areas, only 1 around Myvatn
Great Skua Stercorarius skua - seen from Gardour
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus common everywhere
Common Gull Larus canus - Snaefell but more commonly in northern coastal areas
White Wagtail Motacilla alba - abundantly everywhere
Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes - around Myvtan
Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe - common some with ready to fledge young
Redwing Turdus iliacus - common in all regions
Common Raven Corvus corax - seen on everyday in small numbers 4 around Blonduos, also a pair with 2 young in Ryekjavik near the big church, one with a roadkill which looked similar to a rat, one on ground being mobbed by Oystercatchers
Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris - the south and all regions not too far from the coast
Common Redpoll Carduelis flammea - On Hrutey Island near Blonduous, also whereever else trees present
Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis - seen around all areas I visited but not too common. Some juveniles came very close to my car.
I went on two boat trips one from Stykkisholmur and the other from Husavik. On the first one we saw the islands, sea birds and a pair of sea eagles. On the latter we saw 6 Whales o which 4 were Humpbacks and 2 were Minke. Orcas and some whales were seen at various points off the Snaefells. 2 King Eiders were seen at Arnstrapi by other British birders.
-- Edited by sarfraz on Wednesday 12th of September 2012 10:42:36 AM
