4 days in Iceland. Where to go???? (1 Viewer)

Hi guys.
Firstly a Happy New Year to everyone.

I'm starting to plan a quick trip to Iceland at the end of April, and to be quite honest have no idea where to start...

Not taking into account the arrival and the departure days, We'll have 4 whole days to go and explore a bit a see birds. I've been reading up a bit on the limited info available, and from what I gather the distances are quite large between the best sights. We are hiring a car, so the idea would be to stay maybe a night in Reykjavík and then stay wherever.

Any recommendations? We have never been to Iceland before, so obviously we would really like to see the seabird colonies (puffins, etc). A Gyrfalcon would be a real bonus..

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Cheers :t:

I'm sure Edward will be along soon with some advice, but until then, this would be a good place to start.

Hi,

As stated already, Edward is perhaps your best source of Icelandic birding sites. I had 10 days there in July 2010 and I have to say that Latrabjarg was amazing if you like to see hundreds of thousands of seabirds! Maybe April will be a bit early?? Flatey island was another highlight too - and great coffee and cakes.

Don't underestimate the time it takes to drive around in Iceland, often on gravel roads - your hire car may suffer!

Incredible country though - enjoy.

We'll be there about a month before you. We'll be too early for the sea bird colonies but our reasons for going include a chance at seeing the Aurora Borealis and the possibility of Orcas as well as some geysirs and waterfalls. We'll definitely be on the lookout for some of the regional specialities as well, though and surprisingly Gyr Falcon is high on our list. We're concentrating on the SW of the country (from Gullfoss to the Snaefellsness peninsular). I'm sure that Edward will provide much more useful info but I'll be happy to share any data on my return if you send me a p.m. etc.

I have visited Iceland twice in the last couple of years (business I am afraid so not too much chance for birding) but was told that the best chance of Gyr is in the North of the country, and it will indeed take you some time to get there.

The other sights you refer to are in the Golden Triangle which is in the South. They are stunning: well worth seeing regardless of the bird life, although you may be a little late for the Northern Lights.

Hope you have a great time!

I think the aurorae are pretty much year round and dependent upon solar activity, but obviously quite hard to see when there is 20+ hours of daylight. I'm guessing there will be about 11 hours of darkness in late March and we will be there shortly after the new moon, which helps, but it will all be down to luck in the end.

As for Gyrfalcon. I remain hopeful.

According to Wikipedia "Geomagnetic storms that ignite auroras actually happen more often during the months around the equinoxes. It is not well understood why geomagnetic storms are tied to Earth's seasons while polar activity is not. " so late March doesn't sound too bad. Of course it might rain all night.

ESTEBANNIC said:

Hi guys.
Firstly a Happy New Year to everyone.

I'm starting to plan a quick trip to Iceland at the end of April, and to be quite honest have no idea where to start...

Not taking into account the arrival and the departure days, We'll have 4 whole days to go and explore a bit a see birds. I've been reading up a bit on the limited info available, and from what I gather the distances are quite large between the best sights. We are hiring a car, so the idea would be to stay maybe a night in Reykjavík and then stay wherever.

Any recommendations? We have never been to Iceland before, so obviously we would really like to see the seabird colonies (puffins, etc). A Gyrfalcon would be a real bonus..

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Cheers :t:

Click to expand...

The end of April is a nice time to visit Iceland, long hours of daylight, few tourists (although overcrowding is rarely an issue even in midsummer) and plenty of birds. Although you will be too early for the phalaropes and some things like Whimbrel and Arctic Skua will only just be starting to arrive, migration is well under way and the seabird colonies will be reoccupied.

NE Iceland is undoubtedly the best place in Iceland to see Gyr Falcon as it has one of the highest, if not the highest, breeding densities in the world but on such a short trip it is a long way to go (at least six hours' one way to Mývatn) so it's probably better to concentrate on southern Iceland. Gyr Falcons can be encountered across the country, particularly along the coast in the case of non-breeders.

For seabirds then the massive cliffs mentioned by "Blue Chaffinch" at Látrabjarg are too far for a short trip. Instead you should visit the Snæfellsnes peninsula which is much closer to Reykjavík and offers some tremendous scenery and excellent birding. The seabird colonies here are smaller but you can see all five breeding auks here (including Brünnich's Guillemot) and Harlequin Duck is easy too in this area. You could base yourself in a place like Grundarfjörður, which is a pleasant village on the north side of the peninsula with a very spectacular backdrop and you could easily spend two nights here. Glaucous Gull is very common here.

For the rest of the time you could explore southern Iceland (should be lots of geese on the southern lowlands), including the Golden Circle (massive waterfalls and geysers), and a chance to see Barrow's Goldeneye on the river Sog (not guaranteed but possible in late April). Time permitting you could drive out as far as Vík at Iceland's southernmost point, where you will see some very impressive volcanic (yes, THAT volcano) and glacial scenery. There is roadside birding all the way here, including Great Skua.

The peninsula on which Iceland's international airport Keflavík is perhaps Iceland's best all-year birding location but in my opinion is the least scenic area in Iceland - but there are always lots of birds there and if you have time when you land you should definitely make a detour to the village of Garður, where there should be plenty of seabirds offshore, masses of gulls (including Iceland Gull) and it's one of Iceland's best migrant traps. It's also as good a place as any for Gyr Falcon although there are much fewer around in late April.

As an alternative to the Snæfellsnes peninsula you could drive along the south coast as far as Höfn - this takes you past Iceland's most spectacular glacial scenery (around the Skaftafell National Park) and the stunning glacial lake at Jökulsárlón. Apart from the great scenery this whole area will be great for incoming migrants but not so good for seabirds (there are plenty of Puffins around Vík though).

To give you an idea of distribution of Icelandic birds check out eBird. There are only a few of us entering data so far and we have been doing it for less than a year (and I have only entered a fraction of the data in my old notebooks) so it is far from complete but you can get an idea of where your target species can be found. Just click on "MAP" next to the species name:
http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?repo...cations=countries&continue.x=61&continue.y=13

E

pandachris said:

I think the aurorae are pretty much year round and dependent upon solar activity, but obviously quite hard to see when there is 20+ hours of daylight. I'm guessing there will be about 11 hours of darkness in late March and we will be there shortly after the new moon, which helps, but it will all be down to luck in the end.

As for Gyrfalcon. I remain hopeful.

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Yes, you are right you are certainly not too late to see the aurora - I've seen them in every month from August-Arpil, i.e. every month when the sky gets dark. I saw them the other night when I was coming into land at Keflavík.

You have every chance of Gyr Falcon in late March in the Reykjavík area. They patrol the coastline but range over quite a large area so a bit of luck is required. In December I was doing an interview for Swedish radio about midwinter birding in Iceland when a Gyr Falcon appeared out of nowhere and tried to catch a Black-headed Gull right in front of us as the tape was rolling - could hardly have planned it better.

Fantastic info Edward, just what I needed :t::t:
Would definitely go and have a look at THAT volcano!
Will keep my fingers crossed for the Gyrfalcon..
Many thanks
Steve

http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?repo...cations=countries&continue.x=61&continue.y=13

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Thanks for the map link Edward. I shall be in Iceland for 10 days end August /early Sept. Travel company family holiday trip so opportunities for birdwatching limited, but I am basically travelling around the coastline so looks like a good chance to see a number of interesting species.

Nick Elliston said:

http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?repo...cations=countries&continue.x=61&continue.y=13

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Thanks for the map link Edward. I shall be in Iceland for 10 days end August /early Sept. Travel company family holiday trip so opportunities for birdwatching limited, but I am basically travelling around the coastline so looks like a good chance to see a number of interesting species.[/QUOTE]

Hi Nick

Yes you should be able to see most species at that time of year except the auks (Puffins will be around though), and phalaropes will be very thin on the ground in late August. Harlequins will be on the sea as well, rather than on rivers.

Thanks from me too, Edward. You say "Barrow's Goldeneye on the river Sog (not guaranteed but possible in late April).". Is that because it's too early or too late. It's one of the species we'd very much like to see. We're spending three of our five nights in Grundarfjörður which looks fascinating.

pandachris said:

Thanks from me too, Edward. You say "Barrow's Goldeneye on the river Sog (not guaranteed but possible in late April).". Is that because it's too early or too late. It's one of the species we'd very much like to see. We're spending three of our five nights in Grundarfjörður which looks fascinating.

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It might be too late for Barrow's Goldeneye on the Sog as they tend to head back to Mývatn earlier than that. However, sometimes a few spend the whole summer in the area so it's definitely worth a look. Grundarfjörður itself is perhaps not fascinating - just a small village - but the whole area is and the village has a backdrop of 1,000 m high mountains which will be snow-covered in late April. There are some nice waterfalls in the hills behind the village too which you can walk to.

Thanks again Edward. It's actually late March for us (late April is the OP, I've just pigy-backed on his post). We'll have a car so I don't expect we'll be spending long in Grundarfjörður though I believe the area is quite good for Orcas. The scenery looks fantastic.

When is the best time of year to connect with hunting Gyr's near Rejkavik, as opposed to travelling the six hours to Myvatyn?

pandachris said:

Thanks again Edward. It's actually late March for us (late April is the OP, I've just pigy-backed on his post). We'll have a car so I don't expect we'll be spending long in Grundarfjörður though I believe the area is quite good for Orcas. The scenery looks fantastic.

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Right, you should be OK at the end of March for Barrow's Goldeneye on the river Sog - try the "big bend" where the river swings next to the road (also a chance of early Harlequin here), the lagoon between the two dams by the power station and either end of the big lake above the dam. Orcas do occur regularly in the Snæfellsnes area and there were a lot of them feeding there in February 2011 at least. Just depends on where the herring shoals are. Good chance to find King Eider as well at the end of March.

wolfbirder said:

When is the best time of year to connect with hunting Gyr's near Rejkavik, as opposed to travelling the six hours to Myvatyn?

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Mid to late March would be a good time for that as the birds are generally present (they disappear from this area in summer) and the daylight hours are decent again. Gyr Falcons hunt along the coast so visits to areas with plenty of gulls i.e. with a hire car, would maximise your chances.
But NE Iceland is definitely THE place to see Gyr Falcon (although I always see them every time I go to NW Iceland too). A friend of mine saw 10 different birds in a day there in February 2011.

Excellent info. Is the 'big bend' the obvious big bend to the west of what is described on Google Maps as road number 36? If do that looks like a simple diversion on our way too or from Geysir.

pandachris said:

Excellent info. Is the 'big bend' the obvious big bend to the west of what is described on Google Maps as road number 36? If do that looks like a simple diversion on our way too or from Geysir.

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Yes, that's it, on road 36. When you turn off road 35 onto no. 36 you soon pass a lake (Álftavatn), in fact it's just the river broadening out, on the left - that's not it, keep going and the big bend is quite obvious, the river runs right next to the road. The lagoon between the two dams is on road 360. You could also try further down where road 35 crosses the river Sog for Barrow's, I've often seen them there in the past. Be aware that Common Goldeneye occurs in this area in winter.

There are Killer Whales present around Grundarfjörður at the moment feeding on herring, so I hope they stick around for you. This short video was taken last week from the main road just east of Grundarfjörður of Gannets feeding on the herring shoals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWDoR18FcZE

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Yet again, thanks Edward. It sounds like the winds in Iceland weren't as bad as those we endured in North Wales at the weekend but it's much nicer today and I don't start work until 3 p.m. so I'm going to get a couple of hours birding in.