Birding Iceland: West Fjords, Latrabjarg, Myvatn, and Husavik. Summer Solstice!

Описание: We started in Reykjavík one week before the June 20th summer solstice. Our first stay was along the south coast in Eyrarbakki, where we stayed to explore the populat Golden Circle, and a day trip to Vestmannaeyjabær by boat. We then traveled straight north to the whale watching town of Húsavík, where we could also visit lake Mývatn.

It was officially the longest day of the year, the sun barely struck the horizon, and we made our way to the West Fjords, stringing together stops in Hólmavík then Bolungarvik. This portion of the drive was long but very scenic. Our ferry to the Horn for camping was cancelled due to weather, so we stayed at the hostel and enjoyed the area around Ísafjörður.

From here we cut south to near Krosslaug hot spring, serving as a central location for heading to the birding cliffs of Látrabjarg. Our hopes of a ferry to the Snæfellsnes peninsula never came to be, due to the ferry on our travel day being unavailable for advanced reservation even months before our trip. We drove around the peninsula instead and headed back to the heart of Reykjavík for our last day.

The birds on the island were loud, close, and relatively easy to find! Highlights included
Pink-footed Goose
Whooper Swan
Common Scoter
Rock Ptarmigan
Common Snipe
Purple Sandpiper
Atlantic Puffin
Razorbill
Arctic Tern
Arctic Loon
Gyrfalcon
Redwing

00:00 Reykjavík and Keflavík
00:39 Eyrarbakki and the Golden Circle
01:45 Vestmannaeyjabær
02:26 Seljalandsfoss
02:25 Eyrarbakki
03:10 Hellisheidi Power Station
03:25 Varmahlíð and Akureyri
03:56 Húsavík
05:06 Mývatn
05:42 Húsavík and Öxarfjörður
06:35 Mývatn to Goðafoss
06:55 Akureyri
07:43 Hólmavík
08:36 Bolungarvik
09:48 Hæstahjallafoss
10:14 West Fjords
11:05 Látrabjarg
12:14 Snæfellsnes
12:34 Reykjavík
12:56 Keflavík