Uncategorized – Adam Jack

A grey & rainy day offered a great opportunity to go looking for seabirds on Krísuvíkurberg Cliffs. Inclemant weather could increase the odds for interesting sightings…

Flói Bird Reserve

On the way at Flói Bird Reserve and, at this time of year, was a treat of raucous caterwauling from red-throated diver / loons. The hide was everything it should be, and this brief stop was a wonderful start to the day. Driving back and forth along the country road to the reserve gave some additional varied bird sightings, with the ability to pause and observe with no pressure from other traffic. Also, the snipe were seriously active overhead.

Passable Road

The road in to the cliffs was large/rough gravel, with some puddles in potholes, but it wasn’t challenging for an SUV proceeding gently. Two of spots, including the culvert crossing over a small stream, needed a moment of pause. Rock ptarmigan were the first welcome along the way.

Merlin Upon Arrival

Upon arrival a smaller brown falcon flew quickly past. My first raptor of the Iceland trip, and likely a merlin. A very brief encounter, but a promising one. What more might I find here?

A sign CAUTIONED that the cliffs were cracked, and WARNED to keep back from the edge. That felt hard to do with all the tempting views, but it was important. Along the clifftops there were quite a few very significant signs that small and large chunks of the cliff could separate. Keep back from the edge.

Gulls and more …

The cliffs were mostly occupied by gulls, although the seas were more varied. Various guillemots, a few small divers, eider ducks, the obligatory fulmar, shag, gannets traveling by. On land a raven and the merlin from earlier. Again, the site was mostly gulls … but quite a variety of gulls. Not nesting, but resting.

Puffins

Glassing the cliffs and water, various patterns became clear. Birds would fly from the cliffs and circle around, returning to the cliffs. Sometimes birds would fly out to feeding spots, or back. Observing every dark bird it became apparent that most were dark headed and pointed with a rapid wingbeat, but a few were smaller, more stubby than pointed, and had a different wingbeat frequency. When viewed closer … they had some facial color! Following one back to the cliffs I saw an upright bird, with orange legs and orange beak. Puffin!

Once I’d seen on puffin I started to get better at identifying them from the other darker birds. A few hours watching these cliffs, and the cliff-life, and started to be able to identify puffins.

With nothing more than a phone camera, this is my puffin photo. 🙂