Birds of South Iceland
About place
Birds of South Iceland is a program offering excellent year-round services for birdwatchers. South Iceland has a great deal to offer visiting birdwatchers with its wide variety of habitats, including wetlands, seabird colonies, highland oases and unique coastlines. The largest colonies of puffins, pink-footed geesese and great skuas in the world are located within this region, together with Europe’s largest leach’s storm-petrel colony. South Iceland has a wide range of accommodation from camp sites to 4-star hotels and some within a short driving distance from Reykjavik.
Hornafjörður and Skarðsfjörður are shallow fjords or coastal lagoons on either side of the village of Höfn. The area is home to large numbers of birds all year around. Not only is it an important staging area on migration, but breeding birds are well represented in spring and summer and it is also the region’s main wintering area for birds. A rich mosaic of wetlands stretches from Höfn all the way west to the glacial sands of Breiðamerkursandur.
The bird life of the great glacial sands of the south coast has a character all of its own. It is the kingdom of the great skua and is home to the largest colony of this charismatic species on Earth. Wherever there is sufficient water, vegetation sprouts up and attracts a range of birds. The spectacular Skaftafell in Vatnajökull National Park contains woodlands and a variety of species.
The areas Landbrot and Meðal-land support a wide range of birds. The region’s wetlands are varied and include flood-meadows, lakes, springs, streams and lava fields. Breeding birds include horned grebe and various ducks. The freshwater springs attract numerous birds in the winter and form important wintering grounds for barrow’s goldeneye, common goldeneye and goosander. White-fronted geese are common visitors on spring and autumn passage. Great skuas are conspicuous on the glacial sands.
The valley of Mýrdalur is a rich birding area, with Reynisfjall, Reynisdrangar and Dyrhólaey the chief birding sites. Puffins breed on the cliffs at Víkurhamrar above the village of Vík (the furthest colony from the sea in the world), on Reynisfjall mountain and the headland Dyrhólaey, while common guillemot and razor-bill breed at the sea stacks Reynisdrangar and at Dyrhólaey. There is a huge arctic tern colony at Vík and a smaller one at Dyrhólaey.
Þjórsárver to the south of the glacier Hofsjökull is the most expansive oasis in the central highlands. It is an area of spectacular scenery, with rich swathes of vegetation alternating with barren sands and glaciers. The area represents very important breeding and moulting grounds for pink-footed geese. Other breeders include the great northern diver, the whooper swan, the long-tailed duck, the purple sandpiper, the red-necked phalarope, the arctic tern and the snow bunting. Part of Þjórsárver is protected and a Ramsar site.
Another key birding location in the highlands is the chain of lakes called Veiðivötn. This beautiful and unusual landscape has been shaped by repeated volcanic activity and most of the lakes are located in craters. Great northern divers are particularly common, and other breeding birds include the whooper swan, the pink-footed goose, the scaup, the long-tailed duck, the harlequin duck, the ringed plover, the purple sandpiper, the arctic tern and the
snow bunting. Barrow’s goldeneye winters here and has recently bred.
Lakes, ponds and marshes can be found across the lowland areas of Landeyjar and Rangarárvellir. Some of the best birding sites are the lake Skúmsstaðavatn and surroundings, Oddaflóð (protected) and lake Lambhagavatn. Large numbers of wildfowl and waders breed in the area and pass through in the spring and autumn.
Two of the larger lakes in the area, Apavatn and Laugarvatn, along with adjoining wetlands and rivers, are among the best sites for ducks in south Iceland. Barrow’s goldeneye, common goldeneye and goosander winter here. Harlequin ducks breed locally and hundreds of scaup, tufted duck and red-breasted merganser stop off on passage and are also common breeders.
Sogið, the river which flows out of lake Þingvallavatn, is one of Iceland’s best locations for winter ducks. It is home to the largest flock of barrow’s goldeneye outside Mývatn and is the main winter site for the common goldeneye in Iceland. Goosander, red-breasted merganser and tufted duck are common. White-tailed eagles are often seen in winter and harlequin ducks move up the river in spring. Lake Þingvallavatn itself is known for its breeding great northern divers.
The coastline between the mouths of the great glacial rivers Ölfusá and Þjórsá is the largest lava shoreline in Iceland and forms the southern end of the vast Þjórsárhraun lava field which flowed 8,000 years ago and is the largest post ice age lava flow on Earth. Inland there are myriad lakes and ponds. The area hosts an array of birds all year and it is of particular importance for migrants such as knot, dunlin, sanderling, turnstone, brent goose, Eurasian wigeon and various other ducks.
On either side of the estuary of the river Ölfusá there are two large wetlands: BirdLife Iceland’s reserve at Flói on the east bank, and Ölfusforir on the west bank. Both are large expanses of pools and lakes which attract numerous birds in the breeding season and on passage alike. The red-throated diver is the characteristic bird of the Flói reserve and dunlin and black-tailed godwit are particularly common here. Ölfusforir is an excellent birding location in winter, attracting large flocks of teal, mallard and goosander, as well as Iceland’s largest concentration of the grey heron.
The Westman archipelago has over million pairs of seabirds within stunning landscapes. Here is the world‘s center of Atlantic Puffins with over 800 thousand breeding pairs. Three nocturnal tubenose species breed in the Westmans, which has virually all the the Icelandic populations. Here is the largest Leach‘s Storm-Petrel colony in E-Atlantic (around 200.000 pairs), and a large European Storm-Petrel colony as well. Few thousand Manx Shearwaters pairs breed here also. About 50.000 pairs of Northern Fulmars breed also. Kittiwake, Common and Black Gullemots are widespread and common. Some 10.000 Northern Gannet paris breed in four spectacular colonies residing in the southern islands. Many other seabird species breed in lesser numbers or are seen on the sea.
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