Day 6 Iceland...Blue Whales!

I`d promised myself a whale watching trip whilst in Iceland,so plans were made and a 4 hr trip with `Gentle Giants` sea safaris was booked.The boat was to leave from Husavik at 1.00pm sharp at a cost of about £45.00.It was reputed to be the whale watching capital of the world with a 95% chance of seeing different species of these great mammals.They included Minke whale,Orcas,Humped backed whale and the largest mammal known to man...Blue whale!Various dolphins,mainly white beaked were also anticipated!Whilst waiting at the office prior to departure,I noticed hthat there was only myself and a youngish Dutch couple,the attendant informed us that we needed a minimum of 4 people beore the ship set sail.It was early season and the area as pretty quiet,things didn`t look at all good and the trip was looking like it would be cancelled!With less than 10 mins left, lady luck smiled down on us and up the road walked a total stranger who uttered the immortal words...is there any room on the next whale watching trip please!Well we all let out a big YES... and immediately headed for the boat.As we set sail, the young guide informed us that a couple of Blue whales were in the bay the previous day, so things looked promising!The downside was they are not known to hang about as they are only passing through!Anyway nature is nature and we`d see what happened!!

We couldn`t believe we had the whole boat to ourselves, it would have easily taken another 30 people,so it was great for photography, as I could move freely around the boat! Half an hour in and the guide spotted a lone Minke whale in the distance,I caught a quick glimpse, then it was gone! Hmm would there be others about. A few white beaked dolphins showed but too far away from the boat for any photos!Plenty time yet and sea conditions were really good, with vey little wind.We were all given a flotation suit to wear,mainly to keep warm,but also in case of any mishap...though you wouldn`t have lasted long in the icy waters if you did go in!!!Suddenly Christina shouted... Blue Whale, 11 o clock and this huge back broke surface about 800 metres away,the skipper slowly headed towards the great beast,as it spouted water from its blow hole.You could never see the total size of the whale, as only about a third of its back showed, but it was still spectacular! Suddenly another spouted much closer to the boat and the finger went hard down on the shutter button...brilliant!We slowly chugged along taking in the sights of these spectacular mammals.One whale came within 10 metres of the boat and showing very clearly its blow hole.They have a very peculiar dorsal fin,so small for such a huge animal,what purpose it serves,I don`t know.The heart of the blue whale weighs as much as a small car and the tongue weighs up to 7 tonne,incredible! A few Fulmars kept close to the boat with Kittiwake and Gannet for company.I rattled off a few shots from the trip, but they really don`t do any justice to the experience we had with these `leviathans` of the deep.They can grow to 30 metres long and feed up on the rich herring shoals that abound here!What a fantastic time we had watching the whales and it was a great way to end my adventure in Iceland, as I would be heading back down to the South and onwards to Reykjavik, later that day.I can`t recommend Iceland enough for the fantastic nature and spectacular scenery,that it has to offer.If ever you have the chance to visit,then don`t hesitate...go and enjoy,you will not regret it.....Thanks for looking in at my blog and I hope youv`e enoyed the journey!!!!

Plenty of room on the boat to manoeuvre,lets hope the whales come out to play!

Another whale watching trip sallies forth!

A sighting at last,note the very small anal fin!

Coming a little bit closer!

You could hear the rush of water coming from the blow hole!

The Fulmar wasn`t hanging about!

Now this was close,approx 10 metes from the boat...awesome encounter!

Iceland day 5 (Ducks)

So after filling my boots with the Red Necked Phalaropes,there were still plenty more birds to keep me interested, in my time around the Myvatn area!One of the finest salmon and trout rivers in the whole of Iceland runs out from the lake here, and that is the River Laxa,the fishing season would start in a few weeks time ,so the nature was relatively undisturbed.The Laxa is a wide fast flowing river with many runs and riffles,ideally suited for one of Icelands endemic species the Harlequin duck,this bird just loves the bubbling,rough fast water and plenty were visible up and down the length of the river!

This small buyont sea duck is continually at home in the rough turbulent waters,even the rapids and wateralls,its yearly cycle is comparable to that of the salmon, with the same movments into the fjords and bays,and the same lingering around river mouths, with slow upstream penetration.Even nesting areas on the rivers frequently coincide with the salmon spawning grounds!When feeding it explores the gravel stream beds at depths up to 1-2 metres against the strong flow!

The duck takes its name from Harlequin,which means a colourfully dressed charachter.It also goes by the name of Rock duck,Mountain duck,painted duck and Glacier duck all of which seem appropriate!They were quite numerous around the Rivers and lakes at this time of year,many were pairing up getting ready to breed!

A few squabbles and disputes were taking place all along the river, as males competed for the attention of the females!

A few pair of common scaup were usually to be seen in the vicinity, but they weren`t as frequent as the Harlequin!

Long Tailed ducks seemed to be about in good numbers too,the males look their best in the winter when believe it or not, they are in their breeding plummage.

Also known as `old squaw` these ducks spend most of their time under water and can dive to depths of 60 metres(200 ft)

Alot of these se duck overwinter around the coasts of Britain!

Obviously named because of their long tail streamers!

Barrows Goldeneye,another endaemic bird to Iceland,lots of these about on the lakes and rivers!

Can be mistaken for Goldeneye but a few distinguishing features can be seen,mainly the white loral crescent shape reaches above the eye,instead of the familiar round white blob.The head has a lovely purple sheen to it, unlike the green of the Goldeneye.

Most water bodies had a few flocks of the Barrows oldeneye in residence!

Iceland,day 4 dedicated to Phalaropes.

I`m going to dedicate this particular blog to the Red Necked Phalarope,when I originally decided to choose Iceland as my venue,the Phalarope was very much the bird that drew me to the island.We have a few pairs that breed in northern Scotland, but they are a really abundant bird out here!I was looking forward to seeing them in summer breeding plummage as I`d only ever seen the odd one looking pretty drab on migration.It wasn`t until I reached the shores of Lake Myvatan that I could really study the birds at close range.They were unfazed by my presence and gave me many opportunities to gain images.My first 3 days in Iceland produced only half a dozen birds,but they had only just began to arrive from southern climates.Some of these birds had in the past been radio tagged and had been proven to go as far down as Argentina,south america!One male bird geo tagged in Fetlar scotland was found to have made the 16000 mile round trip,this jourey has never before been recorded by a british breeding bird,its made even more astonishing that they migrate westwards against the prevailing weatherin virtually the opposite direction to all other migrants that leave the UK!

The male phalarope is the one that does all the incubating,whilst the brightly coloured females look for another mate!

Just a half metre away from me,it was great watching them pick the many insects off the water,right under my nose!

These 4 birds were congregating around  a small inlet where the flow of the river was narrowed right down,thus bringing in regular amounts of flies for them to pick off!

A nice male far from dull!

Mating was taking over all around the lake after having returned from their wintering quarters!

Needle billed and slender necked,they were very agile on the water,often spinning and dabbling on the same spot!

Very nice when you can play with some nice light!

Even though drab,still a stonking bird to watch!

Smaller than a starling,such a strong swimmer for a wader!

Some nice colours thrown up by the bankside vegitation adds to the composition!

I believe between 30 to 50,00 pairs breed in Iceland!

Not in the least bit bothered by my presence,they carried on their daily rituals regardless.

Lake Myvatan is a real stronghold for the Phalaropes but thats hardly surprising really as the name translates as midge lake,there are literally millions swarming all over but unbelievably they dont bite but irritate!

I make no apologies for showing so many images of the one species,but believe you me they are absolutely enthralling!I hope you enjoyed looking through these shots and more from Iceland wll be conveyed in my next blog shortly,catch up with you soon and thanks for dropping by!!!

Iceland (day 3)

The next day,I was heading across the peninsular in the direction of Stykissholmur, another small fishing port again on the north east coast.Leaving the coast I cut through more volcanic mountain passes,snow was more evident at this altitude and to be honest wildlife was pretty thin on the ground.The ever present Whooper swan was seen in groups of 1 to 10,with the Raven thrown in for good measure!The pictures below are a selection of images that I took later in the day,the Snow bunting came completely out of the blue really, as it was a bird that I`d sort of forgotten about,what a treat I had when this male and female landed close by!Ptarmargin was also a bird high on my hitlist,I`d never encountered these birds before,even back home but they ended up being quite common out here,though they still needed a cautious approach!The Slavonian Grebe really are common out in Iceland,but for whatever reason I struggled with them,have to save them for my next trip!

Ptarmigan still in winter plummage,brilliant!

Even better when they pose like this for you!!

It didn`t pose for lon though!!

Ringed plover were plentiful,this bird had a nest with 4 eggs near by!

Slavonian or Horned grebe,common out here but not for me!

It never really gets dark at this time of year as this picture proves,it was taken at 11.30pm,just makes you wonder how the wildlife adapts to the long daylight hrs,certainly plenty of food about for them to feed on,bet its non stop when they have young to feed!So that was another interesting and long day I had in this great place,I was more or less in the middle of my holiday now and I wondered what else lay in store for me.I`ll tell you in my next blog and thanks again for looking in!!!!

Iceland (day 2)

With a good nights rest under my belt,I was up and away for 4.30 heading North east again for the small fishing town of Borganes.It was a pleasent drive through the terrain,all the time keeping my eyes open for arctic fox which should be about at this early time.They are still in their winter coat too so would be relatively easy to pick out amongst the backdrop of the open fields,search as I may, it wasn`t to be but there was plenty of birds to keep me occupied.With the roads being free from traffic, it was easy just to stop there and then, if a photographic opportunity arose.Plenty of birds were around calling and displaying,none moreso than the Whimbrel,whose constant trilling was never far away.Up to 700,000 birds head back here from Gambia every year to breed,3/4 of the worlds population in fact,with according to data,60 pairs per sq km.Their main predator is the raven, who were constantly trying to rob their eggs.Slightly smaller than the curlew with a shorter bill and black headstripe,they were never far away. On reaching Borgarnes,I headed for the small harbour, were I found half a dozen Black Guillemot.They were constantly diving looking for food and their bright red legs contrasted greatly against their dark plummage.Quite a common bird around the coasts of Iceland, they showed quite close and I obtained a few shots for my collection.Coming away from the town, I left the main tarmac road and took some of the gravel roads that abound,these lead you into the valleys and more rural areas.Sometimes I`d drive for an hour or so and not see another soul,peace and tranquility at its best,and all set against a backdrop of volcanoes and snow clad mountains.Many times I`d pull over and just be in awe of the scenery.Black tailed Godwits,Golden Plover,Snipe and Redshank all in breeding plummage, were the main birds in these parts and on a short walk, I flushed a Golden plover off its nest which had 2 eggs!As I moved away she quickly returned to incubate.I always had my eyes peeled skywards, looking for Gyr falcon,any rocky valleys and cliff faces I scanned thoroughly in the hope of seeing one,again I was unsuccessful, but I knew it was only a matter of time before one came into the viewfinder!The North area was a noted place for these raptors and I was informed that good numbers breed up there! A 1/3 bigger than our Peregrine falcon and with some birds being nearly white,it was never far from my thoughts! The weather was being kind to me on my second day, with long spells of sunshine and blue skies,I just couldn`t think of a better place that I`d rather be with the camera.The birdlife of the island was amazing,throw in some stunning scenery and long hrs of daylight,it was a photographers dream.So pressig on North,I`ll tell you all about my sightings and experiences in my next blog on Iceland!Thanks for taking the time to visit and I hope you enjoy some of the shots that I managed to capture!!!!

Deserted gravel roads,care must be taken when driving on these at all times.

A familliar and common bird,but I never tired of their pipeing call!

Icelandic Black tailed godwit.Iv`e usually only seen these in their hundreds at Marshside and Leighton moss.



Stunning in their summer plummage!



Whimbrel.We get good numbers of these stopping off in Lancashire en route to Iceland!

Black Guillemot...a first for me!