Edward
Umimmak
Yesterday, Ascension Day, was a public holiday in Iceland and I decided to go for a trip out to the Snæfellsnes peninsula with my friend Simmi. This is an outstanding area approximately three hours north-west of Reykjavík and although I've been many times I've never visited in May and it receives virtually zero birdwatching attention in spring and early summer. When visiting birders ask me where to go in the summer I invariably send them to this area and it's often visitors who turn up the good birds here. There is plenty to offer non-birders as well, mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, cliffs, old churches.
Although it was the 20th May we had snow on the way (!) but otherwise the weather was half decent.
The lakes and fields on the south side of the peninsula hold all the characteristic Icelandic spring birds: WHIMBREL, BLACK-TAILED GODWIT, SNIPE (super-abundant), GOLDEN PLOVER, REDSHANK, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, MEADOW PIPIT to name a few. If there is any vegetation in the lakes then SLAVONIAN GREBE is easily seen and the larger lakes hold pairs of GREAT NORTHERN DIVERS, although strictly one pair per lake. GNDs are not social birds at all in the breeding season and usually scare off all other waterbirds except WHOOPER SWANS (also very common in the area).
On the northern side of the peninsula we saw large numbers of SANDERLING, KNOT, DUNLIN and RINGED PLOVER, all in bright breeding plumage and just getting ready to continue north and west to Greenland and the Canadian Arctic. We saw a couple of groups of BRENT GEESE flying high and north-west during the day.
The main target during the day was the sea cliffs at Öndverðarnes at the end of the pensinsula. It is the first time I've been here during the breeding season and as I'm always sending visiting birders there I thought it's high time to check it out myself to see if it lives up to its reputation. It turns out to be easily the best place I've seen in Iceland for BRÜNNICH'S GUILLEMOT and there are scores of pairs at very close range (10 metres), sitting alongside COMMON GUILLEMOT and RAZORBILL. There are about 600,000 pairs of Brünnich's in Iceland mostly concentrated in the north and west, but this site is easily accessible. The highlight of the day here however, was whilst seawatching and hoping for Pomarine Skuas (do they exist?) seeing a pod of KILLER WHALES close to land. There was at least one adult male with a huge dorsal fin and at least two calves in the group. It was my first ever sighting of Killer Whales although a friend of mine says a visit here in May-July almost guarantees Killer Whale sightings from land. Other birds here included abundant FULMAR, GANNET, KITTIWAKE, ARCTIC TERN, PUFFIN, BLACK GUILLEMOT, GREAT SKUA, ARCTIC SKUA, GLAUCOUS, HERRING, GBB GULLS and the odd ICELAND knocking around too.
On the way back to Reykjavík we stopped off at a large marshy area called Mýrar, well off the beaten track, and this is an incredible area for ARCTIC SKUA and especially RED-THROATED DIVER. Unlike Great Northern Divers, RTD are very social and on one small lake by the road were eight pairs, and six on the next. The area is constantly overflown by them, commuting from the myriad lakes to the sea. We also found a first summer LITTLE GULL and a pair of Iceland's newest colonist, SHELDUCK. Two drake HARLEQUIN brightened up a roadside river.
No Pomarine Skua on my life list yet but a fine day's birding nonetheless.
E
Although it was the 20th May we had snow on the way (!) but otherwise the weather was half decent.
The lakes and fields on the south side of the peninsula hold all the characteristic Icelandic spring birds: WHIMBREL, BLACK-TAILED GODWIT, SNIPE (super-abundant), GOLDEN PLOVER, REDSHANK, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, MEADOW PIPIT to name a few. If there is any vegetation in the lakes then SLAVONIAN GREBE is easily seen and the larger lakes hold pairs of GREAT NORTHERN DIVERS, although strictly one pair per lake. GNDs are not social birds at all in the breeding season and usually scare off all other waterbirds except WHOOPER SWANS (also very common in the area).
On the northern side of the peninsula we saw large numbers of SANDERLING, KNOT, DUNLIN and RINGED PLOVER, all in bright breeding plumage and just getting ready to continue north and west to Greenland and the Canadian Arctic. We saw a couple of groups of BRENT GEESE flying high and north-west during the day.
The main target during the day was the sea cliffs at Öndverðarnes at the end of the pensinsula. It is the first time I've been here during the breeding season and as I'm always sending visiting birders there I thought it's high time to check it out myself to see if it lives up to its reputation. It turns out to be easily the best place I've seen in Iceland for BRÜNNICH'S GUILLEMOT and there are scores of pairs at very close range (10 metres), sitting alongside COMMON GUILLEMOT and RAZORBILL. There are about 600,000 pairs of Brünnich's in Iceland mostly concentrated in the north and west, but this site is easily accessible. The highlight of the day here however, was whilst seawatching and hoping for Pomarine Skuas (do they exist?) seeing a pod of KILLER WHALES close to land. There was at least one adult male with a huge dorsal fin and at least two calves in the group. It was my first ever sighting of Killer Whales although a friend of mine says a visit here in May-July almost guarantees Killer Whale sightings from land. Other birds here included abundant FULMAR, GANNET, KITTIWAKE, ARCTIC TERN, PUFFIN, BLACK GUILLEMOT, GREAT SKUA, ARCTIC SKUA, GLAUCOUS, HERRING, GBB GULLS and the odd ICELAND knocking around too.
On the way back to Reykjavík we stopped off at a large marshy area called Mýrar, well off the beaten track, and this is an incredible area for ARCTIC SKUA and especially RED-THROATED DIVER. Unlike Great Northern Divers, RTD are very social and on one small lake by the road were eight pairs, and six on the next. The area is constantly overflown by them, commuting from the myriad lakes to the sea. We also found a first summer LITTLE GULL and a pair of Iceland's newest colonist, SHELDUCK. Two drake HARLEQUIN brightened up a roadside river.
No Pomarine Skua on my life list yet but a fine day's birding nonetheless.
E
