ICELAND PUFFINS & MORE

Itinerary

June 23
Our tour starts in Reykjavik in the morning, and we'll be flying from the Domestic Airport to the town of Akureyri. We will pick up our Van and make our way to the Langanes Peninsula in the northeast. 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. 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.

June 23-25
In order to accommodate for possible foggy conditions on the northeast coastline we will spend a second night at a guesthouse in the Langanes penisula. This will give us additional photo opportunities with the gannets. We will also explore the rest of the peninsula on the search for other birds.

June 25
We may return to the Gannets in the morning, depending on our success the previous 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.

We may also pass through the Lake Myvatn region. 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. At the end of the day we'll be at a hotel in Dalvik. There is a good bird area right across the street from the hotel.

June 26
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. I have booked a guesthouse for 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.

June 26-June 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.

June 30
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.

July 1
We will take a morning flight from Akureyri to the Domestic Airport in Reykjavik. From there, you can make your way to the international airport in Keflavik for flights departing Iceland.