Iceland March 2016
In late March Sophie and I spent a few days in southern Iceland taking in the tourist spots from Grundarfjörður to the Ice Lagoon, Jokulsarlon including a visit to Geyser and the famous waterfalls or Foss. I did not expect too many birds and there is a very limited number of species there in March but Iceland and Kumlien’s Gulls along with the resident Glaucous Gulls are an attraction and the first Greenland White-fronted Geese and Whooper Swans were back with a few Red-throated Divers while there were plenty of Brunnich’s Guillemots around the colonies and of course an abundance of Common Eiders with some Northern Eiders and a few superb Harlequins. Fulmars were abundant but all seemed to be pretty standard pale morphs and the first influx of Icelandic Redwings also provided some photo opportunities. The weather was very variable from cold and sunny on the first full day to a force 10 westerly with driving rain the day we travelled to the Ice Lagoon which prevented any decent images but we did see a small child rolled down the beach by the wind. We were treated to a good aurora display on the first night and a more mediocre display at the end of the trip.
