Day 6, Leaving Raufarhofn and the journey to Blondous
Day 6
Weather was a bit different this morning!! No it was still very dull Overcast and cold but this morning we had wind. Adrian and I left the nest hotel early and headed to the lighthouse area for some more Purple Sandpiper fun. We parked up and got out the car and then quickly got back in the car!! Oh my days the wind which we know was strong was off the scale and it had a bite to it. It was bloody freezing!! We couldn’t even hear each other talking so there was no point trying anything in this. You couldn’t even hold your binoculars up. It Would of been impossible to see or hear anything and it wouldn’t be good for any birds we came across. We went back to Raufarhofn and drove to the lighthouse in town. We had been told the pools around here were good for Red Phalaropes. There was a pair of Long-tailed Ducks on a small pool but not much else apart from good numbers of Red-necked Phalaropes. We parked at the Lighthouse and I got out. Adrian did the right thing and stayed in the warm.
Raufarhorn Lighthouse, Iceland, June 2022
I walked along the cliffs here and saw a family of Ravens and about 20-30 Black Guillemots on the water who were probably breeding in holes in the cliffs. There were plenty of Fulmars gliding along the cliff tops and I tried to photograph them in the hurricane winds. Not easy I had no gloves on either and it wasn’t long before my fingers were to numb to press any buttons on the camera. I gave up and headed back to the car.
Fulmar, Raufarhorn, June 2022
As I traveled back to the hotel I notice the pair of Long-tailed Ducks were still on the small pool. There was also a few pairs of Red-necked Phalaropes. The light was horrendous and although those duck showed really well the photos didn’t do them any justice.
Long-tailed Duck, Raufarhorn, Iceland, June 2022
I headed back to the hotel and took a de tour for the Glaucous Gulls again. Light wasn't much better sadly. Next I picked Adrian and Ricky up and we headed onto our next destination. Raufarhorn had delivered our main target and will live long in the memory. We will be back in the future as we have unfinished business here. Maybe next time we will come back mid June and see what we can find.
Glaucous Gull, Raufarhorn, Iceland, June 2022
We started the journey to Blonduos, this was to be our next stop. It was a 5 hour journey but we planned a few stops en route. We were just on the out skirts of Kopasker when I spotted something a head of us in the road. In Iceland this could only be one thing. I shouted Arctic fox having not seen anything for the last 2 hours I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it. As we pulled up along side it, it was clear to see it was an Arctic Fox. A first for me and something I was keen to photograph. Sadly this one disappeared pretty quickly into the birch but was great to see. It appeared to be carrying some kind of prey but no idea what.
Next stop was the town of Husavik, we stopped for some food and fuel and then stopped again on the south of the town at another Biotape bird hide that over looked a small lake called Kaldbakstjarnir. There were a few bits and pieces on here but no Great Northern Divers, which is what we hoped for. It’s was a nice spot for lunch and we were serenaded by Redwings and Redpolls.
Husavik, Iceland, June 2022
Next stop was a lovely little pull in at a place called Horgarsveit, we stopped here to break up the journey and the trees were alive with Redwings. It was a beautiful place. I am sure there were 100s of nesting Redwings here but we didn’t stop for long. Found 1 nest with pretty big chicks in. Some good numbers of Redpolls as well. Pretty sure I heard a Crossbill but can't be sure.
Reds, Horgarsveit, Iceland, June 2022
Redwing nest, Horgarsveit, Iceland, June 2022
Horgarsveit, Iceland, June 2022
As we came down from the high roads into the valley were we saw the Pink-footed Geese in we thought about stopping but didn’t see anything like the numbers we saw on the way through. We decided not to stop which as we found out from a nesting contact was a big mistake. They found a few nests in this area a few days after we pasted through. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Another stop for another trip. We wanted to spend some time at a favourite spot for me. The small lake near Blondous. Firstly I wanted to prove that the Coot was there. I knew it had been seen by others as during the trip I had been invited to an Icelandic rare bird WhatsApp group and I had seen it pop up a few times on there. I just had to prove it to the doubters I was travelling with. I had been the butt of their jokes for a few days now. We arrived at the lake. No coot but all the other stuff was there. Ricky and my plan was to photograph the Slavonian Grebes we picked different pairs and what about our business. Adrian went towards the river and was on the look out for his bogie bird, Black-tailed Godwit. I spend some good time with a pair of the Grebes and watched one catch a small fish. It was amazing to watch and I managed a little series of photograph’s
Slavonian Grebe, Iceland, June 2022
My main aim was to try and catch them on the closest point were they swam down a small channel. They did it once but the photos from the fishing trip came out better. The light was a bit harsh with the sun being so high in the sky. I am sure a return trip later this evening would be a lot better.
Slavonian Grebe, Iceland, June
After an hour or so we met back up together. Adrian hadn’t had much luck but was watching a pair of Red-necked Phalarope on another small pool. Another one flew in that looked different not only in colour but also in stature. It had the look of a Wilson’s Phalarope. I have only seen a winter plumage one a few years ago so opened up my bird guides app and went in for a closer look. It looked pretty good and we all were willing it to be, but sadly it turned out to be a Red-necked Phalarope. We found a few plants around the edge of the lake and what looked like an Orchid spike. Iceland has 5 Orchid species I think but we would be too early to see them flowering.
Unknown Orchid, Iceland, June 2022
Common Butterwort, Iceland, June 2022
Horsetail, Iceland, June 2022
We headed to our digs which was in Blonduos. Blonduos is a small town at the mouth of the River Blanda. We stayed at the Kiljan Guesthouse which was very pleasant. Clean, tidy, comfortable and did good food.
Kiljan Guesthouse, Blonduos, June 2022
After dropping our stuff off we walked along the river and checked out the bird hide. We saw some good stuff. A Glaucous Gull, Red-throated Diver, Harlequin Duck and plenty of the common stuff. We carried on further up and there were huge numbers of Greylag Geese with goslings. Some had neck rings on with looked a bit strange. We headed back for tea at our digs which was nice and enjoyed a pint of Gull.
Kiljan Guesthouse tea, Blonduos, June 2022
After tea we checked out a few farm tracks for birds on posts. We had some good views of Common Snipe and Common Redshank. I never get bored of togging these. The Snipe just sat the quietly whilst the Redshank who are probably defending chicks are very vocal.
Common Snipe, Blonduos, Iceland, June 2022
Common Redshank, Blonduos, Iceland, June 2022
Ricky headed off to bed and Adrian and I headed to our favourite little lake. The weather was great and I hoped for some good light as the sun set. As we approached the lake the infamous Coot was back on the lake and this time Adrian saw it. I wasn’t imagining it lol. I wasn’t going to waste any time togging a Coot. One of the nesting Red-throats was on the water and showing pretty well so I took up position and waited for it to drift into the clear water. It wasn’t playing ball and I didn’t have a lot of time to wait. The Slavonian Grebes were the target here as I had a date with the Red-throats later in the week in the south of Iceland.
Red-throated Diver, Iceland, June 2022
I moved off and worked my way along the bank. There were 2 floating Slavonian Grebe nests on the lake both were empty but the birds were sitting on them so clearly going to be laying up soon. I didn’t want to disturb them so I cautiously approached the nest that looked to have had the best photo opportunities. I slowly worked my way along the bank crawling on my hands and knees. The birds weren’t bothered by me and I managed to get pretty close.
It was pretty cool to be within a few meters of a pair of these magnificent birds. Something you wouldn’t be able to do back in the UK at this time of year due to their rarity. At times I was to close to focus on the birds but now I was in a good position I darent move. This was another of my highlights and I was very happy with the results. I hadn’t done very well with these Grebes before.
Slavonian Grebe, Iceland, June 2022
My plan on this trip was to do a lot more video and I took a tripod with me to enable me to do this. I did a few videos but always seemed to forgot to take my tripod out with me. Below are some dodgy handheld videos. Work needed on these lol.
Slavonian Grebe, Iceland, June 2022
As the sun set it cast a lovely orange glow across the lake. Sadly it disappeared behind the neighbouring mountains to quickly. What an evening it wasn't quite over as Adrian on his travels had come across another Snipe nest on the roadside.
Snipe nest, Iceland, June 2022
En route back to Blonduos we took the farm tracks to see if there were any waders on posts again. We had lost the light to the mountains at the lake but close to the coast we still had a bit of day light left. We found Snipe, Redshank and a new bird on a post a Redwing.
Redwing, Blondous, Iceland, June 2022
Snipe, Blondous, Iceland, June 2022
We finally headed back to the digs and off to bed it was fast approaching midnight as the sunset across the Iceland sea. Another awesome day with some decent weather at last.
