West Iceland early June advise please (1 Viewer)

[stefano t63]

Hi all

I am going to spend a few days in Iceland on the first week of June.
Due to time constraints, I will not go to the NE part of the Island (Myvatn and sorrounding), but rather I will concentrate on few areas like Snaefellsness, Westfjords (Latrabjarg), and possibly Selfoss/Pingvellir in the South.
It is my second visit to Iceland, this time I would like to focus on a few species which I didn't see or not photographed well in my previous visit.
The target species are:

Long-Tailed Duck (only females seen on my previuos visit in July)
Purple sandpiper (supposed to be common, but I didn't see one on my previous visit)
Great Northern Diver (only distant views in Myvatn area)
Crossbill (are they breeding near Reykjiavik?)
White tailed Eagle (is still operating the Ferry from Stykkisholmur to see them?)
Ptarmigan (not a very good period I am afraid...)
Red Phalarope (still Flatey the best option? I didn't see one last time..)

Any update advice where to find them in west Iceland will be very welcome.
thanks, regards
Stefano

 

[Edward]

Hi Stefano

The best thing to do when planning a trip to Iceland is to consult eBird as we have a lot of data on there showing the distibution of birds.

Long-tailed Ducks breed and occur very widely. At the moment they are common on the lake Bakkatjörn, 5 km west of Reykjavík City Centre but they do disappear in midsummer from there. You could try the lake Bessastaðatjörn, next to the president's house. But you should just come across them on lakes in western Iceland.

Purple Sandpiper is a common bird but breeding birds are hard to find, both because of their habitat and habits. But there should be plenty along coasts in the north-west. I've also seen them in good numbers in the harbour in Flatey.

Great Northern Diver breeds at many large lakes throughout the country, including in the Reykjavík area. It also breeds on the southern side of Snæfellsnes and I've seen them many times on the sea on the north side. Check eBird for sites.

Crossbill does breed near Reykjavík but is rather erratic and unpredictable. It's more common in forested areas near Selfoss in southern Iceland, try the small wood (Þrastaskógur) where the road no. 35 crosses the river Sog.

White-tailed Eagle - I think they still do trips from Stykkishólmur but you should check their website (Seatours)

Ptarmigan - they can occur pretty much anywhere but I've frequently seen them in the lava fields out on the end of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, where the roads goes out to the bird cliffs (also good for Arctic Fox in some years). A friend of mine who visits Iceland every year always sees them at Reykhólar in western Iceland.

Red Phalarope - yes, Flatey is still the best site. June is much better than July for this species so you might have more luck this time.

 

[stefano t63]

Thank you Edward,

very useful information, and will check the situation on eBird in the next days.

All the best
Stefano

 

[rob lee]

Brunnich`s

Hi Edward/Stefano
Hope you dont mind me crashing this thread but I`m coming out with my family on the 25th & will only have a few days to try & cram too much in, I`ve found sites for most of my targets but dont know if I`ll be able to get around them all as I`m the only one who`ll be birding. Are there still Brunnich`s on the cliffs at Hafnaberg or would I be better off looking at Krysuvikurberg ?

 

[Edward]

Hi Edward/Stefano
Hope you dont mind me crashing this thread but I`m coming out with my family on the 25th & will only have a few days to try & cram too much in, I`ve found sites for most of my targets but dont know if I`ll be able to get around them all as I`m the only one who`ll be birding. Are there still Brunnich`s on the cliffs at Hafnaberg or would I be better off looking at Krysuvikurberg ?

Hi Rob

I haven't been to either site for a long time as I simply prefer going to Snæfellsnes, admittedly a longer drive, but more Brunnich's and a generally more attractive area. However, you can probably still find Brunnich's on Krysuvikurberg in the area to the east of the lighthouse. Numbers at Hafnaberg were in decline for many years and the species has very probably disappeared now from this site.

 

[rob lee]

Thanks for that Edward, we are going up to Snaefellsnes anyway for a Whale trip so I`ll just concentrate my efforts there. Do you know if the H.Merganser or the W.W.Scoter are still around ?

 

[fdokykcu]

Hi, I'll be also during this two weeks around at Iceland, if there is an opportunity to contact in place I'll be very happy to do so

Hi Rob

I haven't been to either site for a long time as I simply prefer going to Snæfellsnes, admittedly a longer drive, but more Brunnich's and a generally more attractive area. However, you can probably still find Brunnich's on Krysuvikurberg in the area to the east of the lighthouse. Numbers at Hafnaberg were in decline for many years and the species has very probably disappeared now from this site.

 

[Edward]

Thanks for that Edward, we are going up to Snaefellsnes anyway for a Whale trip so I`ll just concentrate my efforts there. Do you know if the H.Merganser or the W.W.Scoter are still around ?

If you can manage it I'd try to visit the cliffs at Svörtuloft at the end of Snæfellsnes (Svörtuloft) for Brunnich's. It's conceivable that you could see Brunnich's while whalewatching, depending on how far west you go, they tend not to come far into the bay (Breiðafjörður). The Hooded Merganser was actually reported recently for the first time in ages at Hrauntúnstjörn at the end of Reykjavík but it tends not be seen in the summer. No reports of the White-winged Scoter recently but it was seen in Keflavik last summer too. I just don't think anyone looks for it in summer.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

No reports of the White-winged Scoter recently but it was seen in Keflavik last summer too. I just don't think anyone looks for it in summer.

According to the excellent Birding Iceland website, the White-winged Scoter was seen at Keflavik a week ago. You should check it out!
https://notendur.hi.is//~yannk/birdnews.html

 

[Edward]

According to the excellent Birding Iceland website, the White-winged Scoter was seen at Keflavik a week ago. You should check it out!
https://notendur.hi.is//~yannk/birdnews.html

Haha, oops, well Yann tends to update the news these days while I do the Facebook updates. But yes, check out that site, Facebook and eBird if you are coming to Iceland.

 

[rob lee]

Haha, oops, well Yann tends to update the news these days while I do the Facebook updates. But yes, check out that site, Facebook and eBird if you are coming to Iceland.

Thanks for the updates Edward, certainly will be visiting Svortuloft & been checking said websites. I`ve only just discovered ebird, a great resource ! Perhaps I`ll bump into you in the Reyjavik area?