An Iceland Trilogy
- pmh0606617
- Sep 7
- 5 min read
In June, July and August, I made three trips to Iceland, on board Fred.Olsen Cruise lines MS Balmoral and MS Bolette vessels, as a Guest Lecturer with Ocean Wildlife Encounters (OWE). Whilst my main duty on these cruises, as part of the OWE team (usually four people), is to show passengers whales, dolphins and other sea-life during the cruising days, we get plenty of shore days when we can "do our own thing". This normally means looking for potential good birdwatching sites and the heading off for the day.
On all of the cruises we made stops at Reykjavik, Isafjordur, Akureyri and (on two trips) Seydisfjordur; each port offering excellent birding, plus some superb whale watching. We also visited Greenland on the final cruise.
Reykjavik
The capital of Iceland was our first stop on the June cruise. Checking on e-bird, a visit to the Bakkatjörn Nature Reserve to the west of Reykjavik seemed a good idea, after all it was only a 5km walk. We walked along the coast path from Reykjavik, making occasional stops for Eider, various waders and other wildlife we encountered, which included Glaucous Gull, and a Mink that was taking Eider ducklings to feed its young. As we were walking along we suddenly saw the Eider duck that had been on the shore head into the water and panicking. We then saw the Mink carrying a duckling into the boulders and then return to try and take another one. A sad reminder of what can happen when a non-native species gets a toe-hold anywhere.
Glaucous Gull
American Mink making off with an Eider Duckling
Eiders
After a couple of hours we arrived at Bakkatjörn Nature Reserve, wet grassland and pools that were to prove very productive for breeding waders.
Bakkatjörn Nature Reserve
Conveniently a pizza restaurant was located next to the reserve and we were able to enjoy lunch whilst listening to drumming Snipe, displaying Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Oystercatcher and Ringed Plover.
Black-tailed Godwit; Redshank; Snipe; Redshank; Ringed Plover
Having had our fill in the pizzeria and also of the breeding waders, we headed towards the coastal lagoon. Eider were very abundant on the lagoon and Arctic Tern mobbed us as we walked around. A male Red-necked Phalarope and chick were glimpsed, but the far side of the lagoon held more of the species, and an assortment of other waders, all sporting their rather splendid summer plumage.
Arctic Tern; Red-necked Phalarope; Golden Plover; Dunlin
Male Red-necked Phalarope and chick.
On our visits to Reykjavik in July and August we visited the town lake and some wetlands near the Airport; not quite so far to walk, but still productive. The town lake held Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Gadwall, Tufted Duck and Scaup; the wetland near the airport supported a similar range of species along with plenty of Arctic Tern.
Airport wetland and Reykjavik Town Lake
Arctic Tern; Scaup
Glaucous Gulls and Glaucous x Herring Gull hybrids (known as Viking Gull) were present round the harbour and cruise port.
Glaucous x Herring Gull hybrids
Reykjavik was also host to several Humpback Whales on all our visits.
Humpback Whales and an obliging Puffin
Isafjordur
Isafjordur sits at the end of fjord in the North of Iceland. The port is still "under development"; Arctic Terns were nesting on the bare ground and disembarking the ship, meant running the gauntlet of the adults!
Arctic Terns at Isafjordur port
The shores of Isafjordur and surrounding wet grasslands and pool supported plenty of breeding waders, terns and passerines. On our first, visit we walked to the end of the fjord and to some small pools which held breeding Eider, Red-throated Diver, Arctic Tern and Red-necked Phalarope. The biggest surprise though was a summer plumage White-winged Black Tern!
White-winged Black Tern
Top row: Red-throated Diver; Eider; Red-necked Phalarope
Walking back towards the port, we ventured up a small stream feeding the fjord. Harlequin drakes and a single duck were present on the first visit; in July a female was present with six ducklings.
Harlequin duck
As we sailed into and out of Isafjordur in August, we were able witness over 35 Humpback Whales feeding - well worth getting out of bed early for. A whale watching trip during the day afforded us some excellent close views.
Close encounters of the Humpback kind
Akureyri
Another fjord, another port and more humpback whales! The port at Akureyri is a short walk from the a small lake near the Airport. Once again a town lake proved to be an excellent birdwatching venue, with plenty to see on the fjord on the walk down. On our August trip, two Harlequin ducks were close to the shore and Black Guillemots looked resplendent in their assorted plumages.
Harlequin Duck; Black Guillemot
Our main target at Akureyri though, was the Slavonian Grebe that breed on the lake near the Airport. Long-tailed Duck, Red-throated Diver and assorted wildfowl can also be seen there.
Slavonian Grebes at Akureyri
Wigeon; Red-throated Diver; Long-tailed Duck
Seydisfjordur
Our final port of call in June, but first in July, Seydisfjordur is probably the most picturesque of those we visited. A Glacial valley with high mountains and low wet grasslands, easily explored on foot from the port.
The wet meadows held breeding waders, whilst the port also supported failed breeders such as Purple Sandpiper. The river was also home to a male Harlequin, Red-necked Phalarope and Arctic Terns.
Redshank; Black-tailed Godwit; Whimbrel; Snipe
Harlequin Duck; Arctic Tern; Red-necked Phalarope
Black Guillemot and Purple Sandpiper
Greenland and Prins Christian Sund
The final cruise of the Iceland Triology included three days in Greenland, sailing into the Prins Christian Sund on the our journey in (only to have turn back due to the ice-floe, but managing to traverse the full length on the return. Birdwatching wasn't quite as productive, but mammals were well represented with Bearded Seal, Harp Seal, Arctic Hare and, of course, Humpback Whales. The lack of birds, though was well compensated by the scenery and icebergs.
Icebergs and Prins Christian Sund
Humpback Whale; Arctic Hare; Bearded Seal; Harp Seal
There were a few birds - Lapland Bunting and Iceland Gull the most memorable.
Iceland Gull and Lapland Bunting
Great Shearwater and Fulmar were a constant feature around the ships as we cruised to and from Greenland and Iceland
Fulmar and Great Shearwater.
Whales and dolphins, of course stole the shows on sea-days - with several species seen, often on quite high numbers: Whales included Blue, Fin, Sei, Minke, Sperm and Humpback; beaked whales included Northern Bottlenose Whale and Sowerby's Beaked Whale, dolphins were represented by White-beaked, Atlantic White-sided, Bottlenose and Common plus Killer Whale.
Bottlenose Dolphin
Common Dolphin
Risso's Dolphin
Sowerby's Beaked Whale
Northern Bottlenose Whale
Humpback Whale
The table below gives the minimum numbers of each species of cetacean seen on the three cruises.
SPECIES | Minimum Number Seen |
White-beaked Dolphin | 452 |
Common Dolphin | 275 |
Long-finned Pilot Whale | 163 |
Humpback Whale | 233 |
Harbour Porpoise | 83 |
Fin Whale | 82 |
Minke Whale | 66 |
Bottlenose Dolphin | 40 |
Atlantic White-sided Dolphin | 37 |
Risso's Dolphin | 37 |
Sperm Whale | 30 |
Sowerby's Beaked Whale | 19 |
Killer Whale | 13 |
Northern Bottlenose Whale | 13 |
Blue Whale | 12 |
Dolphin sp | 9 |
Sei Whale | 9 |
TOTAL | 1,554 |
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