When do puffins arrive in iceland

Svafar has been recording the spring return of puffins in the area for 19 years. Atlantic puffins spend most of their lives at sea, but return to coastal locations to breed during the summer. Last year BirdLife International declared the Atlantic puffin in danger of extinction. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

One hundred people live on the island, along with one million birds every summer. The island is a remarkable puffin and tern nesting site but kittiwake, northern fulmar, razorbill, guillemot, and murre can be observed among many other kinds of bird. Note: there is another island with this name in the West Fjords which is also a popular puffin watching spot. Photo: MosheA. With its highest peak rising only 22 meters above sea level, Flatey the fifth largest island in Icelandic waters. Flatey has been uninhabited since the s but families that lived there still keep their houses as summer homes.

After the population became really sparse, the inhabitants they held a town meeting and asked themselves, do we stay or move? Finally, they decided on moving, so all that remained then left together. Do not mistake it with the other Flatey island in the West Fjords, which is more famous for its arctic tern colony. The Westfjords offer some of the best bird watching sites in Iceland.

The unique Hornstrandir Nature Reserve is located on the northernmost tongue of the Westfjords. This beautiful spot is known for being one of the most unique nature reserves on the planet.

There are no roads leading there, it is inaccessible and closed to any kind of motor vehicle. It can only be accessed by boat and then explored on foot.

This is an ideal place to combine hiking and bird watching. Photo: Evgeniy Metyolkin. The 14 kilometer-long 8. However, this fact makes it more dangerous than other spots I have mentioned.

Many visitors are not aware of the fact that there are puffin burrows beneath their feet, which make the ground very unstable close to the edges of the cliff. Where many people gather, they tend to mimic one other which can lead to people straying, literally, onto the dangerous ground!

Photo: Progresschrome. Please take care and do not approach too close to the edges. Puffins have been hunted by man since both species have existed. They provided a vital source of food through the centuries for the locals in this harsh climate. The birds were caught for their meat and eggs, while their feathers were used in bedding. Thanks to some long periods of hunting bans on, the colony succeed in recovering fully.

Today, Atlantic puffins are protected by legislation in most countries, except for Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Strict laws prevent them from over-exploitation and hunting is maintained at a sustainable level in these two countries. Not only human hunters, but rats, mice, and arctic foxes are also a danger to the puffins. They eat the eggs and the young chicks, leading to a lack of breeding success for the puffin colony. Overfishing and serious sea pollution, like oil spills, can also endanger the survival of these beloved birds.

A strong and rapid decline has been seen again in the Icelandic population since A puffin egg. Firstly, check out our puffin map and choose the location. If your plan is to join a puffin tour, you will surely find instructions in the tour description.

If you decide to drive yourself, make sure you have checked the weather and road conditions , and also check your car will be suitable for the drive you are planning. So, you also need to make certain that your car is insured for use on roads which are not asphalted. Make certain your gear, your clothing , and boots, will be compatible with the weather forecast and the likely underfoot conditions. Approaching the puffin watching points often requires hiking — with Iceland being Iceland, you can expect rapid weather changes at any time.

Sturdy, waterproof boots and rain gear are a necessity for any puffin watching trip. Most of the time, it is quite easy to see the puffins without binoculars, however, if you have them you might enjoy the sightseeing even more.

Plenty of companies offer puffin watching tours all over the country. You can also visit the Westman Islands by taking the scheduled ferry. Most of the puffin watching places on the mainland are normally accessible by car. Only highly experienced hikers are advised to explore Hornstrandir without a guide. There are no roads or any other kind of facilities in the nature reserve.

What are the pros and cons to traveling to Iceland during summer? What is there to see, to know and to do? Inga takes on the Icelandic summer in an excellent way. You have to get out of your comfort zone to find them. But when you do, your prize is much more than a Iceland has become world famous for being a geothermal paradise.

Iceland forums. All forums. Level Contributor. Report inappropriate content. Iceland Unlimited. Re: Puffins - when do they leave? Destination Expert for Iceland. Ask a question. Covid Test? Secondly, it allows you to watch puffins doing more than just guarding their burrows, such as bobbing in the water and diving for fish. Finally, it also provides a better chance to see more of the animals that many hope to catch in Iceland, such as Humpback Whales which also migrate to Iceland for the summer and White Beaked Dolphins.

The most affordable and direct trip will take you out in a boat that has been visiting these islands for seventeen years; it is small enough to get close to the islands safely and quietly, yet still has a sheltered area in case it the weather becomes problematic.

There are binoculars on board so that you can get a perfect view of the nesting puffins. It is also possible, however, to combine your puffin-watching trip with a whale-watch.

Even if you overlook a puffin-watching segment and simply take a standard whale-watching tour , you are still more than likely to see puffins, bobbing like corks in the ocean or fluttering overhead. Although your operator will do their best not to disturb any animals, you may see a puffin take off in flight from the ocean, which is quite an entertaining sight.

Most of these tours will make a stop at Flatey island, which is renowned for the sheer number of puffins that crowd it.

It has many little islands dotting it and fertile waters making it a perfect place for puffins to nest.

For example, you could take this adventure , which combines a cruise with a freshly caught seafood dinner served as sushi, blending Icelandic ingredients and ingenuity with Japanese style. Though it is available throughout the year, taking this tour between May and September almost guarantees that you will see several islands with thriving puffin colonies. You could also jump onto this whale-watching tour in the final months of its season it runs from November until June for the same results.

While great whales do not frequent its waters so reliably, the area is the best place in the country to find the elusive and magnificent orca. Those travelling around the country may have this in their plans anyway, as the ferry carries cars and is the quickest way to get between the two locations. As discussed earlier, if you want to make the most of the largest Atlantic Puffin colony in the world, you can take boat tours from Heimaey in the Westman Islands to fully immerse yourself in an avian spectacle.

These tours do not necessarily market themselves as puffin-watching excursions, as puffins are just an expected part of the experience. Many of the little isles and rock crops you will pass and, of course, linger at will be packed with puffins, and throughout the tour, you will see many in the air and water. These tours often have a lot more life than just the birds; seals are likely to be sharing the craggy coasts with them, and you have a good chance of seeing cetaceans too.

It was, after all, home to Keiko, the long-suffering orca that played Free Willy, prior to his release back into the wild. Just off the shore of East Iceland is another enormous puffin colony that can be reached by boat. Papey is a low-lying island, just two kilometres squared, that since has been deserted of full-time residents. Now, it is a paradise of birds with puffins and guillemots being the main residents and seals. Those who are taking the ring-road of Iceland will no doubt pass through here, as it is the first major settlement of the East Fjords if approaching from the South Coast.

This part of your journey is mainly comprised of sightseeing landscapes, rather than specific features, so interrupting it with a boat trip to Papey can make for a great way to break up the day.

Most people visiting come only for the novelty of having their passport stamped with the proof they entered a polar region, and are surprised to find the wealth of birdlife present.

Something to be aware of if planning a visit to Grimsey is that, because of how far north it is, the puffins tend to migrate a little earlier than in much of the rest of the country.

While in September, there will certainly still be a few puffins at, say, Vestmannaeyjar, they are likely to have already left Grimsey by mid-August. Grimsey Island is easy to reach for any travellers to North Iceland; ferries run throughout the summer from Akureyri, and flights from its domestic airport go on throughout the year. To conclude, Iceland is the puffin-watching capital of the world.

No matter where you are based in the country with the obvious exception of the Highlands, a puffin colony will be easy to reach and return from within a day. If travelling in summer, then you should make every effort to get to at least one of them; you will not regret it. Seeing these creatures is a blessing, no matter where you are in the world.

The fact, however, that in Iceland you can get so close to them, that they nest in such numbers, and that they nesting grounds are in such beautiful locations, puffin-watching over here has a special kind of magic. Get a vacation.

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