Day 7 Snaefellsber, Borganes
We had our first proper breakfast of the trip in Blonduos. A mid trip treat wasn’t to bad but like much of Europe you can’t get a decent sausage or some lovely smoked bacon.
Brekkie at the Guesthouse Kiljan - Blondus
We left the digs at around 8am. The plan was to travel around the Snaefellsnes peninsula hopefully getting as far as Olafsvik. Adrian and I had great success in this area in 2019 so really wanted to try our luck again and also to show Ricky what this beautiful part of Iceland had to offer. We had a few sites to visit but our first stop was on the edge of Blonduos. I had noticed a small patch of Icelandic Poppies growing on the edge of someone’s garden and as these are a rare and protected plant I wanted to try and photograph them. I suspect that these may have been planted but none the less they were stunning plants. I didn’t spend to much time here as I would hoping to find some genuine wild ones on our route today. Icelandic poppies come in 3 colours all of which were on show here.
Icelandic Poppies, Iceland, June 2022
We had a few hours of driving to do before our first stop which was a large lake just off the main road. 3 years ago we had an amazing experience with a pair of Great-northern Divers that had choose to breed on the edge of the lake. There was a small lake nearby the had a pair of Red-throats on and a pair of Whooper Swans has nested on the other side of the road. This year there were no Divers but the Whooper Swans had nested in the same location. I spent a little time here photographing the fauna and the surrdoing landscape.
The motor with a stunning backdrop
Next stop was the ancient fishing village of Hellnar. We had a great encounter here 3 years ago with a pair of Arctic Skuas. We hoped that they may be site faithfully but didn’t hold out much hope. We had lunch at the foot of Bardarlaug which is an volcanic crater pool. We overlook an area of rough ground which is were the Skuas had breed. I was just tucking into my usually Roast and beef and onion Sandwich (bloody lovely grub) when Adrian called it. The Skuas appeared to be nesting in the same location as 3 years ago. We finished our grub and headed down.
Nice place for lunch
We reached the area were we suspected they were nesting in and the pair flew off and disappeared. This was unusual as if your anywhere near a Skua’s nest you are likely to get mobbed. The pair here last time mobbed us continually. We weren’t sure if there was anything here but Adrian walked into the area he had marked up from a distance and sure enough our first Arctic Skuas nest of the trip. Almost in the same location.
Arctic Skua nest, Hellnar, Iceland, June 2022
We marked the nest up on What3words and moved out. The family was back on the nest before we had even got back to the road. We walked up the side Bardarlaug and checked out the crater again. It’s a beautiful spot. There was a couple of Gulls and Whimbrel in the area but not much else. Again I took some time to try and identify a few of the flowers in the area. There was a single Arctic Poppy on the roadside but was almost impossible to photograph in the strong wind. Shame as it was the only one we saw on the trip.
Next stop was another site we had Arctic Skua’s on 3 years ago. It was in between Hellissandur and Rif. Astonishing it was in the edge of an Arctic Tern colony. Sure enough it was there again. Right on the edge of the tern colony. We walked out to it and this time we got attacked. The incubating bird was trying to distract us by pretending to be injured similar to what the waders do.
Arctic Skua, Rif, Iceland, June 2022
A C1 this time and after a few pictures we moved out. The incubating bird was back in within seconds of leaving so I sat up nearby and photographed them at the nest.
Arctic Skua nest, Rif, Iceland, June 2022
Arctic Skua, Rif, Iceland, June 2022
Whilst doing this the none incubating bird came and sat next to me I was so close to it at points I couldn’t focus on it. I had to try and wiggle backwards with out spooking the bird. I managed to and the I liked the results. It was raining very lightly and the cloud was very low. This made a lovely effect on the skuas head as the rain formed little droplets on the birds feathers.
Arctic Skua, Rif, Iceland, June 2022
We then spent the next hour or so checking out the surrounding area. There were possibly as many as 5 pairs in this area. There was also a couple of whimbrel. Whimbrel are everywhere in Iceland and you kind of take them for granted. They are also very skittish and as difficult bird to get close enough to, to photograph. I did however manage to creep up on a lone bird.
Whimbrel, Rif, Iceland, June 2022.
I headed over to a small pool where I had photographed Red-necked Phalaropes a few years back. Adrian and Ricky went off looking for other waders. Ricky found a few more snipe nests to add to his tally. I didn’t have so much luck the Phalaropes they weren’t in great numbers and the pool only held one pair. Also on the pool were a pair of Whooper Swans.
This pool was full of phalaropes in June 2019
Whooper Swan, Rif, June 2022
Red-necked Phalarope, Rif June 2022
Snipe nest - Rif June 2022
Black Church of Budir, Iceland, June 2022
After a long day in the field it was time to head to our next overnight stop. A place we had stayed at in 2019 it was Laekjarkot Rooms, near Borgarnes. Basic but comfortable accomadtion. The real bonus here was you could walk stright out the rooms and into some great habiat. We stopped first in Borgarnes for some grub. A stunning burger which was pretty decent after a long hard day
Laekjarkot Rooms, Borganes, Iceland, June 2022
After heading back to our digs i headed out into the adjcent woodland to look for Redwings. Also in the area were Ptarmigan, snipe and Golden Plover. It wasnt long before I heard my first Ptarmigan but sadly it was located. I did however find numerous Redwings nest in different stages and also a Redpoll nest with large chicks and a beautful one with very young chicks and eggs
Redwing Nest, Borganes, June 2022
Redpoll nest, Borganes, June 2022
The sun was setting fast and it was time to head back toward the digs but not before a few snaps of the local landscape
