So...on Sunday 06/03 we caught an early morning flight from Luton - Keflavik, arriving late morning. On arrival, the weather was stunning, with clear skies and sunshine and to be honest it felt warmer than home! We were due to stay in Reykjavik for the next couple of nights and so after picking up the hire car, we headed there. A cheeky little diversion however was in order, to try & see the American White Winged Scoter that had been wintering off Keflavik seafront for the winter.
A walk along the front here was very enjoyable, however despite a thorough search, I failed to find the scoter. A nice selection of birds here though with several Glaucous & Iceland Gulls, Black Guillemot, lots of displaying Eiders, Shags, Red Breasted Mergansers & a handful of migrant Wigeon.
On then to Reykjavik. Having settled into our hotel, we had a good wander around the city. I managed to see some nice birds pretty quickly with point blank views of Whooper Swans and several Red Breasted Mergansers at Reykjavikurtjorn, a half frozen lake in the heart of the city.
The seafront by the impressive Harpa building was a good place to see birds at pretty close quarters. Plenty of Eider on show here, together with plenty of Iceland & Glaucous Gulls.
The next day ( Monday 07/03) was rather more gloomy. Anyhow, we drove about an hour & a half east to enjoy Geysir & the breathtaking Gullfoss waterfall. On the way, I had good info for a wintering site for Barrow's Goldeneye. After a tricky drive through a fairly steady snow shower or two, I was super pleased to eventually locate a sizable flock of Barrow's Goldeneye on Lake Ulfljotsvatn, possibly numbering as many as 40 birds. They were pretty distant but I was able to gain some really nice scope views.
We had a great time at both Geysir & Gullfoss, despite the biting cold. I didn't really see many more birds other than the odd Raven & a few flyover Redpolls.
The journey back was rather eventful, getting stuck a couple of times in the middle of an insane blizzard. We somehow got through, thank God and we arrived back at the hotel early evening in need of a stiff drink!
Day 3, Tuesday 08/03, we drove two & a half hours north, along the west coast to the Snaefellsnesvegur National Park & to Grundarfjodur, where we would stay the night. The drive up, of course, produced some spectacular scenery and was a really enjoyable drive. The roads too were snow free, some relief after the previous day!
There were very few birds en route other than regular Ravens, a few groups of Whooper Swans and plenty of Fulmars hanging around any cliffs or mountain sides, cruising over the car bonnet on a couple of occasions! A couple of stops in the Snaefellsjokull National Park, close to Grundarfjordur produced a few flyover Snow Buntings, Glaucous Gulls, Eiders, Oystercatchers & Red Breasted Mergansers among other things.
Grundarfjordur is a nice little fishing port on the edge of a 'small' fjord on the northern edge of the Snaefellsnes peninsula. The scenery was incredible, with snow covered peaks all around, with the impressive Kirkjufell in particular, towering over the fjord.
After leaving the bags at the hotel we went for a half hour wander round the town & harbour. The birdlife here was fabulous, most nice and close too. The shoreline right next to the hotel held quite a few Purple Sandpiper, 100's of Fulmar foraging on scraps from the fishing boats, lots of Eider & Glaucous & Iceland Gulls of varying ages.
More of a wander to the edge of town revealed a few Snow Buntings, Several Raven, a Fieldfare, a couple of very vocal Long Tailed Duck and best of all, at least 10 displaying Harlequins, pretty much my no.1 target for the trip...get iiiin!
Back at the harbour I found a wacky & rather striking drake King Eider X Eider amongst the many local Eiders, plus more nice views of the squabbling Fulmars and gulls.
After a while we took a short drive out of town to the base of Kirkjufell where I may have popped the question to Em surrounded by the gorgeous Snaefellsnes scenery ;) The rest of the day was unsurprisingly spent celebrating, followed by another exciting experience in the shape of a decent showing of the northern lights in the early hours of the morning!!
Wednesday (09/03) was all about our Laki tours whale watching trip out of Grundarfjordur...could we see orcas??? Some were seen the previous afternoon, however the area is enormous, so we weren't getting ahead of ourselves & there was every chance we wouldn't see one.
The day itself was an absolute stunner, clear, blue skies and the sea like a millpond...how lucky were we?! The early morning light looked fantastic and made for some nice reflections in the water.
Birds out in the larger fjord included a few Black Guillemots, Great Northern Diver, Kittiwakes, a Gannet, hundreds of Fulmars & Eiders. On return, we relaxed for a short while having another short wander around the Harbour producing more Purple Sands than before & a Viking Gull. After that, we jumped in the car & drove back to Reykjavik.
The next day, Thursday 10/03 was a seriously wet day! The morning in particular, was horrible! All the same, we made the most of it and had a really fun time! We spent the day in the SW corner of the country, starting off at Keflavik seafront for me to try again for the Scoter. Conditions were exceptionally difficult, however just when I was thinking of giving up, the American White-Winged Scoter thankfully swam into view, together with a handful of Eiders. Phewww! I enjoyed it for a short while, however I was getting soaked so soon retired back to the car. But what a beast of a bird!
We were due at the Blue Lagoon during the afternoon, but first, we grabbed some lunch from the nearby fishing port of Grindavik, a 20 minute drive away. A bit of a look around the harbour here in ever so slightly improved conditions, produced loads of white-winged gulls, Great Northern Diver, yet more Eiders and after a bit of search, the long-staying 'queen' King Eider. She was sat out on a rock preening close to the road, allowing some really nice views.
We had a bit of a walk along some coastline just east of the town and I managed some distant views of a handful of Harlequins & a Long Tailed Duck among other typical coastal species.
We had a brilliant time at the Blue Lagoon, with the added bonus of a Snow Bunting by the car park.
A quick peak again at Grindavik harbour was enjoyable with tonnes of white-wingers (including an adult Kumlien's) in some rare, early evening sunshine.
Friday 11/03 was largely spent wandering around Reykjavik with Em, however during the morning, I did pop a short distance along the road to see both the long-staying American Coot & drake Hooded Merganser. The Coot failed to materialise, however despite a brief, rather crazy snow storm, the Hooded Merganser showed pretty well together with a few Red Breasted Mergansers, Goosanders & Whooper Swans on Lake Helluvatn, on the outskirts of Reykjavik.
Walking around Reykjavik, you're never too far from some nice birds. The Whoopers in particular are always very obliging on Reykjavikurtjorn and always worth a small diversion.
During the late afternoon we had a good yomp around the old harbour area which was pretty cool, stopping for a bit of coffee & cake in a random little yocal fisherman's caff! No drastically new birds seen, but still more nice views of a pair of Long Tailed Duck, a couple of Black Guillemot in near summer plumage and a hybrid adult gull, probably a Herring X Iceland.
Saturday 12/03 was sadly our final full day in Iceland and was spent again wandering Reykjavik, doing a few museums etc. There really is so much to see & do! The weather was pretty horrible to be honest, with 50+ mph winds and frequent rain & snow showers. However, late in the afternoon there was a decent period of sunshine, so I left Em at our apartment and headed straight to the waterfront close to the Harpa building, an area that always seemed to be full of birds.
The best thing here was a nice adult Kumlien's Gull loafing with a large number of Iceland Gulls. Lovely views, in great light of all the usual stuff here with plenty of Eiders, Fulmars, white-wingers etc. A nice proper look before we headed home.
I had one last look for the White Winged Scoter on Sunday (13/03) morning, on the way to the airport. In more heavy rain & gale force winds, a brief look failed to find him however amongst a good number of Iceland Gulls was an interesting looking gull which I've just tentatively put down as a Kumlien's, but looking at it...dunno, bit of Thayer's about it with the dark eye, heavy neck streaking? Who knows, but comments welcome!
Well, what an incredible place Iceland is! I'd certainly recommend it to anyone. Lots to see & do, great food, great people, amazing scenery & some exciting wildlife to boot!
