Impressions of Iceland - an island born of fire and formed by ice

[Dave Williams]

Im surprised your photos show no signs of them bringing fish to the Pufflets in the nest.

[Botswanadreams]

You are right. At Látrabjarg Cliff it was July the 27th. The day before we went to the cliff around 9am. No Puffins but terrible storm. The next morning we went 6am to the cliff. Only windy but no puffins. Than in the evening a lot of this beautiful birds were on the top of the cliff. We spend 3 hours there but only saw once a Puffin came with fish. On this place I'm not sure about the baby Puffins were fully fledged. On August 1st we saw baby Puffins out in the water during our first Whale Watching Tour around Grimsey island near Drangsnes in the southern part of the Westfjord. I'm not sure where the parents feed the youngsters in the first days when they are out of the nest. 

 

Puffin with sandlances near Lundi island (Húsavík) 

Edited December 9, 2021 by Botswanadreams

[Botswanadreams]

Lets move on to the "Mammals of Iceland"

 

The list of land mammals in Iceland is very short. The only native mammal is the Arctic Fox. We saw one of the blue morphs on our second day crossing the road in front of our car but no way to stop due to the traffic behind us. What a shame. 

 

Is this a fresh track from an Arctic Fox? We are not sure. Seen at Breiðavík Beach.

 

 

From the Arctic Fox Centre in Súðavík

 

The Reindeer were not brought to Iceland until the 18th century - much later than domestic animals. Originally, they were supposed to be bred, as is common in Scandinavia. The domesticated reindeer from Finnmark, who received the "offer" to become wild reindeer in Iceland's mountains and fjords, are apparently doing well in their new homeland after more than 200 years. Around 3,000 reindeer live in the country today, all concentrated in the east. They are most common around the Snaefell, in summer in the higher elevations and in winter in the warmer plains; but they have also been sighted as far south as near the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and as far north as in the area of Vopnafjördur. The population has been controlled by hunting for years. 

 

Unfortunately very far and against light but we were happy to see this one because we missed on our short visit around Snaefell mountain. 

 

 

 

[Botswanadreams]

The list of sea mammals in Iceland is a bit longer but we only saw two species.

 

Harbor Seal at Ytri Tunga Beach

 

in the Skötufjörður

 

or at Stokksnes

 

 

 

Humpback Whale (Húnaflói Bay in the Greenland Sea)

 

 

and on our "Húsavík Whale Watching and Puffins" tour

 

 

[Botswanadreams]

That was our safari part in Iceland. Iceland has a lot of beautiful natural wonders.

 

Beaches like:

 

 

Skarðsvík Beach

 

The black sand beach  Reynisfjara

 

Mountains like:

 

Vestrahorn

 

Landmannalaugar

 

Canyons like:

 

Kolugljúfur Canyon

 

Dimmugljúfur Canyon

 

Lava Fields like:

 

Berserkjahraun

 

Brunahraun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Botswanadreams]

Geothermal areas like:

 

Hverarönd

 

Haukadalur with Stokkur

 

Glaciers with the lagoons like:

 

Heinabergsjökull 

 

Fjallsjökull

 

Waterfalls like

 

Skógafoss

 

Háifoss

 

Turf houses like:

 

Grenjaðarstaður 

 

Bustarfell

 

Icelandic sheep and horses like this one:

 

 

 

 

*** END ***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Zim Girl]

Really enjoyed your report @Botswanadreams.  Lovely set of pictures to finish - beautiful landscapes!