Today I'd like to share a few more encounters with Iceland's wonderful birdlife. I'd also like to touch on what it's actually like to experience it first-hand.
If you travel around Iceland with a healthy interest in birds, you're almost guaranteed to enjoy some memorable encounters, even without any prior knowledge. If you happen to know a few of the best locations—or receive some good local tips—the experience becomes even more rewarding.
Bird encounters during the Icelandic summer are often quite different from what many of us are used to in countries such as Germany or the Netherlands. Quite often, species that would already have disappeared at a distance of 100 metres back home will allow you to approach to within 20 metres without showing much concern. Not every individual behaves like that, of course, but many certainly do.
I'd like to give you a few impressions of Iceland's birdlife, referring to all three parts of my wildlife series from this year's trip:
- The most common birds across Iceland's meadows, lupin fields and tundra are undoubtedly Arctic Terns, Common Redshanks, Eurasian Whimbrels, Black-tailed Godwits, Meadow Pipits and Redwings. Along the cliffs and coastline you'll frequently encounter Northern Fulmars, Common Eiders, Whooper Swans, Red-throated Divers, Red-necked Phalaropes and Black-legged Kittiwakes.
- Bird densities are often remarkably high, and many species live surprisingly close to people—something we're simply not accustomed to in Germany. Large Arctic Tern colonies, for example, can even be found around petrol stations, behind shops and supermarkets, provided there are open grassy areas without tall vegetation.
- Whenever a freshly mown lawn appears in a village or town, it's usually only a matter of time before large numbers of waders arrive to pull one worm after another from the ground. On one rainy day in Keflavík we came across countless European Golden Plovers. On the final day of this trip, Christian and I had to laugh when we spotted eleven Golden Plovers standing together on a tiny traffic island measuring no more than about 20 by 4 metres. 😶
- During the Icelandic summer, even landscapes that initially appear barren are never truly quiet. Depending on the habitat and the time of day, there's always one species dominating the soundscape. On the tundra it's mainly the Redwings; at night the haunting calls of Red-throated Divers—or the Whimbrels—take over. Around the glaciers you'll hear Snow Buntings and Common Eiders, while during the day various wader species are constantly calling, together with the truly extraordinary sound made by Common Snipe. Photographing them, however, is quite a challenge.
- Many locations offer wonderfully soft, almost pastel-coloured habitats—quite different from my home region, where dark woodland edges often dominate the background. In general, Iceland's habitats are incredibly photogenic, with mosses, lichens and low-growing vegetation, and usually without tall grasses getting in the way.
- On our final day in the south-west of the island we also watched large numbers of Northern Gannets and Black Guillemots feeding offshore—something I had never witnessed before.
Looking back at all of this year's wildlife photographs across the three parts of the series, I hope they give you a sense of the remarkable diversity and abundance of birdlife in Iceland. In fact, there are now several species—such as Common Redshanks and Whooper Swans—that I hardly photograph any more.
The main focus of this trip is, of course, landscape photography, and when travelling with participants I spend only a fraction of the time on wildlife that I would normally invest when travelling on my own. That's exactly why I'm always amazed at just how much Iceland has to offer with comparatively little effort.
I've probably already shown you this year's absolute highlights, but I still think the images in this final collection are well worth sharing…have fun with the pictures…
I hope you enjoyed the 4 series 😊👋
Kind regards,
Thomas