Iceland July 2018

[John Frankland]

Primarily a family sightseeing holiday for 1 week in SW Iceland but with binoculars always close to hand !

Overall, what a fantastic place Iceland is and a country I couldn’t rate highly enough ! Had a wonderful time.

Highlights:
Harlequin Duck 5 incl 1 male (Pfingvellir waterfall)

Red-necked Phalarope most days incl feeding flocks of 27 and 18 on same river near Skalholt.

Great Northern Diver in 3-4 places incl just outside Reykjavík and one family with 2 young

Red throated Diver in 3-4 places incl 2 very tame ones at Pfingvellir which showed to 6-8 feet away !!

Storm Petrel and Manx Shearwater on whale watching trip from Reykjavík (1 Humpback and 2 Minke seen)

4 types of auk but didn’t include Brunnichs Guillemot.

5 types of gull included Glaucous

Great and Arctic Skua

6 common breeding waders (Snipe, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Whimbrel, Black tailed Godwit, Golden Plover) - seemed strange that they would just pop up in unexpected places.

Redwing singing everywhere (first time I’ve heard the song)

Couple of very brief possible falcon sightings could have been Gyrfalcon but frustratingly were from a moving car.

Full list 46 species
Great Northern Diver, Red throated Diver, Whooper Swan, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Scaup, Eider, Red breasted Merganser, Goosander, Harelquin, Golden Plover, Whimbrel, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, Red necked Phalarope, GBB Gull, LBB Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous Gull, BH Gull, Arctic Tern, Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, Guillemot, Razorbill, Black Guillemot, Puffin, Gannet, Fulmar, Kittiwake, Storm Petrel, Manx Shearwater, Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Short Eared Owl, Raven, Carrion Crow, Redwing, Blackbird, Starling, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Redpoll.

[Leonard Poxon]

Great sightings John, I never imagined you could get Phalarope in more than ones and twos.

[Neville Root]

Sounds like a great trip John, but you're missing an Iceland Gull from your list -:)

[John Frankland]

Len - I was probably the same before Iceland. For a wader, they have a strange feeding technique with the flock flying upstream before floating downstream and then repeating every 20-30 metres.

Neville - I was expecting Iceland Gull too but apparently it doesn’t actually breed in Iceland, just a winter visitor !

It was a great holiday and a highly recommended place to visit. Wonder whether any of the Whimbrel I saw were ones which called into Chorley in April ?

[ianball]

Great place to visit and some great birds. If you saw a large falcon it is worth remembering that Peregrine is quite rare on the island and Gyr is the default large one, especially near the waterfalls. Phalaropes at the latter end of the breeding season can form very large flocks. I remember seeing over 100 RN Phalaropes on a small lake in northern California. They're wonderful birds.

[Jed Kirkham]

Yes agree re RN Phalaropes. Saw 2 females and a male for an hour on a lochan on Unst in June. Apparently they breed at Funzie on Fetlar, but we didn't see any there, it's a wonderful place nevertheless. In June 2016 saw a female at another lochan on Unst. I reckon there are a quite a few sprinkled between the 3 Northern Isles (Unst, Fetlar, Yell) during summer but they are difficult to spot and some of the "small waters" are very isolated. Fabulous birds.