ICELAND PUFFINS & MORE

Itinerary

Day 1: June 26
Our tour starts in Reykjavik in the morning, and we'll be driving north to the town of Dalvik. We'll make regular stops along the way where we may have our first encounter with some of Iceland's common moorland birds, such as Whimbrel, Golden Plover, Redshank and Snipe. Once in Dalvik we'll visit a nearby bird reserve, which is a good location for breeding Black-tailed Godwits. We'll overnight in Dalvik.

Day 2: June 27
We'll board the ferry to Grimsey Island in the morning and do the three-hour crossing. This is a good opportunity to be on watch for whales and seabirds and we'll have sightings of Fulmars, Black-legged Kittiwakes and Arctic Terns from the ferry, just to name a few. When we arrive to the island we'll settle into our accommodation. We have booked a guesthouse for the sole use of our group. The guesthouse is ideally located outside the main village and there are Puffins nesting not far from the house. There are indeed Puffins nesting all around the small island and it is by far the best place in Iceland for Puffin photography. Although the island is small it is too large to walk from one end to another with camera gear so we'll have a vehicle with us so that we can freely move around and choose shooting locations according to the light and weather conditions.

Days 3 to 5: June 28–30
Three full days of bird photography on Grimsey will give us repeated opportunities for capturing Puffins in flight and hanging around the colonies. At this time of year, they will be starting to feed their chicks (pufflings) and nesting birds can be seen with beaks full of catch. Apart from the Puffins this is a prime location for Razorbills, another very handsome representative of the Auk family. And while the cliffs are packed with seabirds there are also several other Arctic birds breeding on the island. Arctic Terns nest just outside the guesthouse and so do a few pairs of Ringed Plover and Golden Plover. Red-necked Phalaropes can be seen on a nearby pond where in recent years Red Phalaropes have also been spotted. Snow Buntings are common breeders on the island and Purple Sandpipers can also be photographed along the shoreline. At this time of year, the sun does not set but it does skip along the horizon providing many hours of golden light when the conditions are right. This unique island provides some of the finest bird photography opportunities in Iceland.

Day 6: July 1
The ferry does not leave Grimsey until the afternoon, so we'll have a morning photography session before getting ready to leave. This is a day of travel and we'll be in the town of Akureyri in the evening, the largest settlement outside the greater Reykjavik area. We'll overnight in a hotel in Akureyri.

Day 7: July 2
We'll depart Akureyri after breakfast and journey east along the north coast. The aim is to arrive at Langanes Peninsula in the late afternoon and venture out to a Northern Gannet colony in the evening. The Gannets are breeding on a rock stack slightly offshore, but they soar by the cliffs where we can safely photograph them. We will then spend the night at a nearby guesthouse.

Day 8: July 3
We may return to the Gannets in the morning, depending on our success the following evening. Then we'll eventually start traveling back west, going through an area with a few pairs of Red-throated Loons breeding on small ponds. The vast open tundra of Melrakkasletta also holds an impressive number of birds, with big numbers of Eider Ducks present. This area is very remote and has a High-Arctic feeling to it. At the end of the day we'll be at Hotel Raudaskrida, an ideally located base for further bird explorations.

Day 9: July 4
Lake Myvatn will be our main location today. It is a heaven for breeding waterfowl and although this is not the prime time for ducks, as they have started molting, there are a number of other species present at Myvatn and its outflowing Laxa River. Some of the ducks might have ducklings and although Horned Grebes have lost their tuft feathers, they should have chicks. Lake Myvatn and its surroundings do never disappoint bird photographers at any time of the year. We'll return to Hotel Raudaskrida in the evening.

Day 10: July 5
This will be a day of travel back to Reykjavik with regular stops along the way, depending on what we find and where. We'll be in the city at the end of the day and will continue to the town of Keflavik, near the airport, where we'll spend our last night.

Day 11: July 6
After a late checkout, taxis can take you to the airport for afternoon flights departing Iceland.