Iceland Day 7-8
Day 7 Eyrarbakki and Floi
We stopped off at an area that looked pretty good as we had seen a few birds flying about. We parked the car up and Adrian went one way and I went the other. It wasnt long before I was being mobbed by Black-headed Gulls and Arctic Terns. I retreated to a safe distance and waited for everything to settle back down. I watched several birds return to the tops of small mounds as seen in picture below.
Black-headed Gull nest site, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
I approached the area again and on top of pretty much all the mounds were Black-headed Gull nests another first for me. A few had Arctic Terns on and one even had an Eider Duck sat on. This was a little nest hot bed probably an area no bigger than 2 football pitches and it held 5 black-headed Gull nests, 2 Arctic Terns and an Eider Duck.
Black-headed Gull nest site, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Black-headed Gull nest site, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Black-headed Gull nest site, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Black-headed Gull nest site, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Black-headed Gull nest site, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Black-headed Gull nest site, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Black-headed Gull nest site, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Black-headed Gull nest site, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Eider Duck, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Eider Duck, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Eider Duck, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Eider Duck, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Also in the area was an Oystercatcher that after watching back I couldn't find and it took the expert eye of Adrian to find it. At one point I was pretty much stood on top of it and still couldn't see it. Impressive camouflage which is needed with so many Skuas about. It also is a good reminder to watch where you are walking at all times. Whilst looking for the Oystercatcher first time round I had flushed out a Meadow Pipit. A nest we had already seen on this trip but all found by Adrian so I was happy to find my first. It was well hidden in a grassy tussock so not very good pictures as I didn't want to disturb the nest site.
Meadow Pipit, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Meadow Pipit, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Oystercatcher, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
Oystercatcher, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
On the way back we noticed a Dunlin acting very strange and was flying around us before disappearing. We watched it do this a few times and guessed it must have a nest nearby. We sat up out of view and watched it back. This is where Adrian's years of experience come in. Where it lands doesn't always mean this is the nest site. It didn't take long though to find a set of 4 beautiful eggs. Our 1st Dunlin of the trip.
Dunlin, Eyrarbakki, Iceland, June 2019
After Tea we headed off to Floi bird reserve the aim was to find and photograph some Red-throated Divers. Floi is a large bird and nature reserve located near Arborg. It includes a stretch of the east shore of the Olfusa River. The reserve measures roughly 1–1.5 km (0.62–0.93 mi) wide by 4.5 km (2.8 mi) long, with an area of about 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi). It is all low-lying wetland, on average only 2 m (6.6 ft) above sea level, and is subject to seawater flooding at the spring tide. There are vistas of the surrounding mountains. There is a bird hide that overlooks the area and this had a couple a pairs of starlings nesting in the roof. We spilt up again and Adrian headed in land to see what he could find. My aim was to find a couple of Red-throats and settle down and photography them with the sun slowly set. I found a pair on a fairly small pool. The plan was to try and get close to the water edges I took my time and kept low and got into position without disturbing the bird. The only downside was this was a very wet area and although i was in full waterproofs it didn't stop the water seeping in. I had managed to get right to the waters edge and I laid here for as long as I could. l was soaked to the skin but it was worth it. When I eventually got up to leave my clothes felt like lead weights as the water had poured where I had my arms in the water and drenched me from head to toe. It also smelt pretty bad. Cold, Wet, Stinking like a bog but extremely happy.
Red-throated Divers, Floi Bird Reserve, June 2019
Floi Bird Reserve, Iceland June 2019
Not only were the pools around Floi full of Red-throated Divers some also contained other Birdlife. On the path in I had a pair of Dunlin wizzing around me they must have had a nest nearby. In the same area a pair of Arctic Terns mobbed me and on must of the pools were Red-necked Phalaropes. There were also a few pairs of Whooper Swan's. This pair of Whooper Swans had 3 chicks safely tucked in between them. As with some the Red-throated Divers you can see some Iron staining around the heads of these birds. This is picked up from feeding in the iron rich area.
Whooper Swans - Floi Bird Reserve
Whooper Swans - Floi Bird Reserve
Whooper Swans - Floi Bird Reserve
Whooper Swans - Floi Bird Reserve
I managed to keep low as not to spook the birds and get close to the water edge. Again the area was very wet and boggy but worth getting a soaking for. I love nothing better to get down to the waters edge and try and keep out of sight as much as possible and just wait for those right moments. I had done a bit of research of this area and studied lots of pictures before I left and I was getting the Images I had hoped for. I was now in my element. I had imagined myself in the grass, laid down on the waters edge getting soaked to the skin and capturing Floi amazing wildlife and here I was living the dream. Whilst waiting in the grass I caught sight of our first Short-eared Owl of the trip it. It didn't offer much in the way of photography but was great to see flying all over the reserve hunting for a evening meal. After filling a few memory cards and with the light fading we headed back to the car. It was problem gone midnight by the time I got into bed but I could still hear a Redwing singing away in the hotel Garden. This place is truly amazing.
Day 8
Took a drive to Floi first thing to have a look round and then planned on driving around the area seeing what nests and photo opportunities came our way. I wanted to add more birds to my birds on a post series. As we drove into Floi a snipe showed nicely on a post a little distant but always nice to see. Another bird on a post. This has to one of my highlights of the trip is everywhere you go you hear Snipe drumming. What with Redwings calling everywhere it was a great sound track and something I look forward to hearing again soon.
Snipe - Floi Bird Reserve, Iceland, June 2019
Another one of Icelands great sites is the Icelandic Ponies that are all over the Island they must be real hard bastards to be out in all weathers. They seem to be the most numerous farm animal across the Island I guess used mainly for Pony trekking. No time on this trip for any of that. I couldn't come all this way and not get a few pics of these beautiful animals
Icelandic Ponies, Floi Bird Reserve, Iceland June 2019
We spent most of the morning driving the gravel tracks around the area and were kind of focusing on the Black-tailed Godwits. These had evaded both of us. I still needed a decent picture and Adrian was desperate to find a nest. We followed up a few good leads in areas where we had seen birds but to no luck. One bird did perch up on the road but was always a little distant.
Black-tailed Godwit, Iceland, June 2019
Later the day we traveled to Pingvellir National Park. We headed first to Pingvallavatn Lake which is Iceland largest natural lake. Perfect for Great northern Divers who prefer large waterbodies. First stop and It didn't take long before we found a pair nesting on a small Island about 20 meters from the shore. We had a good walk around the lake side and had good views of a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers that were swimming close to the rocky shoreline. A Greylag Goose was also feeding in the area.
We moved on next to the River Sog which flows out of Pingvallavatn and has been said to be a site for Barrows Goldeneye and Harlequin Ducks. We Parked up Irafoss Hydroelectric Power Station and had a look round there were a few Golden Plovers on the lawns but not much else. We crossed over the bridge and to our surprise we could see a Great-Northern Diver fishing on the River between the two dams. We thought we could see a bird on the far bank so walked along to get back a better look further down stream. It wasn't a bird on the far bank but whilst walking down our bank I caught site of a Great Northern Diver on our side of the river. I ducked down out of site hoping the bird hadn't seen me and that I wouldn't disturb it. The only reason this bird would be a sat on the bank at this time of year was that it was probably sat on eggs. I waited for Adrian to catch me up before crawling trough the long grass to get a closer look. This was my first interaction with the infamous Icelandic Black Flies. They were everywhere and you couldn't help but swallow a mouthful every time you breathed. It was worth it for the views we had of this majestic bird. I fired off a few shots and we were about to retreat when they bird made a very strange noise. I have never heard a bird call like it before but was clearly a warning to its partner further up stream that we were here. The bird didn't budge and sat tight we will never know if it was sat on anything.
eggs but its reaction probably suggested it was. We quickly exited the area as not to disturb the bird anymore. Later in the trip I found out more about it call. We were in the Airport and hitting the Duty free when Adrian spotted a Gin with a Great Northern Diver on the front of the Bottle. It was called Himbrimi Gin. The name "Himbrimi" means “heaven howler” and is the Icelandic name for the Great Northern Diver. We both went home with a bottle each. I can confirm it taste pretty good but I haven't tried it yet how it suggests on the bottle and that is Himbrimi Gin is to be enjoyed straight from the bottle while fly-fishing in a flowing river. Maybe next year.
Great Northern Diver, Iceland June 2019
We finished up the day with a final trip to Floi. Plenty more of the Red-throated Divers and Whooper Swans. The noise of the Divers at Floi was awesome a Chorus of divers on different lakes communicating with one another.
Red-throated Divers, Floi Bird Reserve, June 2019
The Below pair had a couple of chicks which was amazing to see, these being the future of Floi. I didn't stay too long with this pair as didn't want to risk disturbing them. You can again see the Iron staining on the white feathers. The other pair in this selection of pictures were getting quite feisty after the male returned empty handed from a fishing trip on the neighbouring river. Was amazing to watch.
Red-throated Divers, Floi Bird Reserve, Iceland June 2019
Day 10
Our final day saw an early start again and we headed to the Coast near Eyrarbakki again. We parked the car up and I went for a walk along the beach I had seen a pale phase Arctic Skua which did a bunk before I could get a decent shot. There was also a pretty decent sized flock of Eider duck sat on the Black Sand and a few Sanderling I guess these were still on their way north to breed.
Eyrarbakki Coast, Iceland, June 2019
Whilst I had been off along the beach Adrian had been watching a Red-necked Phalarope close to the car and had succeeded in finding another nest with 4 eggs. This was pretty close to the car so we decided to set my GoPro near to the nest to see if we could film the male returning to the nest. I did my best to disguise the camera and retreated to the car wasn't long before the male returned. Through the marvels of modern technology we could watch this live in the car through my phone. Was awesome to watch.
Red-necked Phalarope Eggs, Iceland, June 2019
Red-necked Phalarope, Iceland June 2019
On the way back to our last nights stay in Reykjavik we stopped at an abandoned thermal spa. Guess we may as well do some tourist stuff whilst here. Was a bit stinky but good to see science in action.
This brought the end of an amazing adventure. Amazing company, Amazing birds, and what a place Iceland is. I am sure we have another adventure together somewhere soon.
