Iceland, 5th-10th July 2024

   Once upon a time... Still on a major blogging backlog, thankfully photography/sound recording means I don't forget. 

Anyways. Back in Spring 2024, Sian and her family kindly invited me to join them on their summer holiday to Iceland, specifically in and around Reykjavik. I unsurprisingly didn't refuse, and it was quite perfect timing too, a few weeks after uni had finished and graduation was done. Though we had, and have since, been on domestic away days or short breaks away over the past few years, it was especially exciting to be going abroad together for the first time. 

Days 1-2:

   The trip began in one of the UK's finest towns (Luton) on the 4th July, for an early dinner and bed ahead of a 3am wake-up. On the morning, an angry man at the B&B saw us off having been woken by us departing - at the airport though, things went more smoothly, with security and bag check in mostly going OK. A relaxed breakfast and flight later, we were in Iceland and greeted by a very suspicious passport control person. I think my presence with the family did confuse the lady at the desk, which was quite funny - we were in fact not on a school trip. Soon enough we were Reykjavik bound - the first birds included Whooper Swans, Golden Plovers, Eider and the like from the car. 

Once we'd checked into our mini-apartments (me and Sian got lucky with the balcony and view), we took a first stroll around town. It was a tidy, clean and organised city, and whilst pricy, there was little to complain about. The weather was clear and not actually as cold as expected either. A bit odd being somewhere a place where the more common urban birds are Arctic Terns, Fulmar, Arctic Skua and white-winged gulls...

female Eider

Above the volcano

Humpback Whale

melee

Kitts

Kitt

Fulmar and sunset

Fliss had booked bottomless brunch for all of us which meant that, criminally sleep-deprived, the unlimited food and drink couldn't have been more appealing. Myself and Ian made the most of the beer options available, I found the icelandic booze pretty good throughout. By about 3/4 of the way through our 2hr slot, we were stuffed and in my case regretting the amount I'd eaten, so we rolled back to the apartment and took it easy in the afternoon. Sian napped, I took a book and scope out to the balcony and soaked up the surprisingly refreshing cool Icelandic air and wildlife. Besides a light dinner, the evening passed by and we crashed out early.

Day3:

   Our 1st full day was spent in and around Reykjavik city centre and a few of the main tourist spots, before going on a whale-watching boat trip in the evening. It was another rare bright day with sun, clear skies and a cool breeze, perfect weather to be outside in. Whilst being tourists and enjoying lunch/ice cream all together, there was time to occasionally take note of wildlife, which included Arctic Terns, Iceland Gull, Redwings, Eider families, Black Guillemot etc. Brief rumours of the evening being cancelled due to wind had us worried for a bit, thankfully not causing an issue - not even me missing out on icelandic hot dogs could get us down with the prospect of seeing humpbacks. 

The daylight hours are long in summer in Iceland, so we set off at 830pm. We were ready and waiting well before then to guarantee seats - Eider youngsters bubbled away in the harbour as we set off. It was much windier offshore than expected, so it was a battle to get any half decent photos of Puffins as they came out at times from close alongside the boat. Birds were, for at least an hour, the main thing keeping us preoccupied - Kittiwakes, Arctic Skuas, Oystercatcher, Black Guillemot, Fulmar, Arctic Terns and Glaucous gulls forming the interesting majority. Eventually, once further out from Reykjavik, a Minke Whale made an appearance for a handful of seconds, myself and Joy the only ones from our group to see it. It was a relief, especially to Sian who was far from pleased at missing the Minke, that that disappointment didn't last long. 

Puffins

Arctic Tern

Humpback

When the first Humpback was seen, there was panic as everyone scrabbled to get to the other side of the boat. Missing it was not a problem as what followed was ridiculous, as a family party (and another a little later) spent some time swimming and feeding together just metres away from the boat. It had always been a dream to see whales at all, Humpbacks being quite high up on the wanted list too, so seeing them in this way with Sian beside me, and with a backdrop as below, it made it really quite special. None of us expected to spend nearly an hour with Humpbacks at touching distance. Photography was difficult but I was actually pleased (rare) with some of my results. An incredible experience which went straight into my top 5 wildlife watching life memories for sure.

Once the whales had moved off, some time later, we slowly started to head back to Reykjavik. Even that journey back was memorable - with the sun setting, White-beaked Dolphins and Puffins kept us (well me) jumping up with camera in hand. A day that couldn't have been much better.

Humpback

White-beaked Dolphin

Puffin

Sunset

Glaucous Gull

Day 4:

   The late night for whales meant a slow start to Day 4, where after coffee and shops we lounged at the city's central park. The sun continued to shine, and I fancied checking out the local Arctic Tern colony. There were quite a few youngsters of various ages out and about, constantly being fed by parents. I could sit pretty close to them without issue too, so spent some quality time sound recording them. Tjornin Pond was also good for waders and wildfowl - breeding Redshank and a few Dunlin, Whooper Swans, Scaup, Wigeon, etc were all on the lakes and surrounding marshy areas, whilst Common Redpolls and Redwing were in the vicinity too. 

Late afternoon, we were going off to Sky Lagoon, a spa retreat type thing Iceland is well known for. I'll be honest I had absolutely no idea what to expect and wasn't sure it would be my thing, not even knowing whether to be blind and go without glasses, or risk my glasses melting to try and see. Tried the former, then risked the latter. It was actually quite cool albeit strange having never done anything similar before, and the views out were scenic when I could see them. A few bonus bits included a Great Northern Diver and a Ringed Plover. 

Whooper Swan

Arctic Tern

Redwing

Eider

Day 5:

   Supajeep day. We really did get lucky with the weather on this trip, so even though the first half of the day was a bit grey, it brightened up nicely by lunchtime. In order to explore a few of Iceland's most well-known geographic hotspots along the Golden Circle east of Reykjavik, we'd booked onto a tour led by Thor [can't remember his real name] on a hunk of a superjeep. Unfortunately, as is completely standard for my holidays, I had gotten ill (immune system of an ant per Sian) and was feeling worse for wear, so did spend some time napping, something I hate to do when driving around such scenic areas.

The first of many sites we blitzed included Thingvellir and the Atlantic Ocean Ridge, one of the country's most significant culture, historical and geological sites. It was an impressive place with plenty of paths to explore, all of which rewarded us with views like below. Snipe and Crossbill were seen overhead, Whimbrel were singing and divers were on pools as we drove in. Attempts to put birding on the backseat failed miserably - no Harlequin Duck was a disappointment (well the ducks were so far off so not IDable though presumably were harlequins), made up for when I caught movement on the rocky face of the Atlantic Ridge as we walked alongside. Seeing an owlet was unexpected in itself, but I was especially surprised to see bright orange eyes, I expected a Short-eared Owl to be more yellow. Most agreed at the time that I was right to call people back as it appeared to be a Long-eared Owl-et, a rare but under-recorded breeding species in Ireland - in fact it proved to be popular with the dozens of tourists too, so I left feeling a tad guilty. However I can't say I've ever been certain, so hopefully at some point the cute baby bird's ID can be cleared up...

The weather started to improve and birds such as Golden Plovers, Pink-footed Geese, Red-breasted Merganser were out on the lake distantly. It was better birding than anticipated, I'd have spent far more time there, but glaciers awaited. Over the course of the next few hours, we made stops at a number of what I can only describe as a geographer's dreams, including Langjokull glacier (which was incredible, especially to drive across in our superjeep), Geysirs and hot springs, waterfalls, old volcanic craters and mountains etc. From our superjeep, the views were never anything but sublime - terrain there is bleak and often void of life, almost adding to the beauty. Golden Plovers and Whimbrel were among the common species, with not much else bar singing Redwing and Redpoll in most places. Slavonian Grebe on the way back to Reykjavik was a bonus.

Words don't do justice to the landscape so hopefully the photos suffice. Rarely was a 360 degree view underwhelming. Very much the Geographer's dream. Dinner was spent at an Icelandic restaurant in town, scouted at by the mercer team. It was, once again, high quality seafood, for me a mix of fishes. Everyone left and went to sleep full and happy.

Redwing

owlet

Golden Plover

Day 6:

   While Day 5 saw illness gradually grow worse, by the last full day I was feeling deathly snuffling my way around. The cold and wet had arrived too, perfectly timed for our venture 'into the volcano'. An extinct volcano being made into a tourist spot was very Iceland, and is something we were all very up for, even if weather was far from ideal. Suited and booted, we wandered the few kilometres through mist and what felt like a volcanic battlefield to the lunch hut, seeing Arctic Skuas, plenty of breeding waders and more along the way. We didn't expect to find that the local resident mammal was an orphaned Arctic Fox, relying on scraps and kindness to stay alive it seemed. The volcano experience was expectedly amazing, as photos hopefully show. A once in a lifetime experience. 

Perfect for the conditions was a delicious Icelandic soup and bread, which I could've had much more of. Our walk back yielded similar to before, singing waders and the odd skua. The afternoon thereafter was just relaxing and resting (napping), before going to a pub for dinner in the evening. 

On the final morning, we were leaving pretty early and unfortunately involved more stress than ideal. Our driver didn't turn up for a good 40 minutes, before materialising and confessing he'd just overslept. This thankfully didn't cost us, especially after some minor delays. It was a treat to be invited along and a trip with such happy memories, in terms of wildlife, geographic and in general. Extending an enormous thank you to the mercers again.

sian and her coffee

supajeep

Into volcano

Above volcano