Just found out I’ll be in Reykjavik or Keflavik (not sure which we’re staying in yet) in mid-October. Not the ideal time to visit for nature, I know, but it’s when my wife has an excuse to go to Iceland for her work. Two questions: where to go and what can I see? It looks like I will have missed most bird species by then, but any that are left would be of interest, and it seems like there are maybe 60+ possibles including several life birds. These range from certain (Iceland Gull) to longshot vagrant (Bohemian Waxwing, Chiffchaff).
Where to Go
Keflavik
Is the sea accessible? Any parks? Is there anything there? What’s right outside of town? (i.e. walking distance from the hotel?)
Reykjavik Harbor
Good for gulls and maybe seabirds.
Reykjavik City
The downtown lake for sure. Also the zoo, Botanical Gardens, and cemetery
The harbor is supposed to be especially good. Will I find anything I don’t see in Reykjavik? Maybe accessible by bus?
Reykjanes Penisula
I would probably need to rent a car for this. How bad are the road conditions? Am I likely to drive off a cliff out there? Which sites still have birds by next month? Sandgerði? Garðskagi? Hafnir?
Heiðmörk
What to Look For
Shag
Great Cormorant (Hafnarfjörður harbor)
Northern Gannet
Crossbills (Heiðmörk)
Long-tailed Duck
Ptarmigan (in the car park at the airport!, or the Heiðmörk area just east of Reykjavík)
Goosander
Red-breasted Merganser
Iceland Gull
Glaucous Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Ivory Gull (longshot)
Gyr Falcon
Redwing
Winter Wren (or is that now just Wren?)
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Snowy Owl (longshot)
King Eider (longshot)
American Wigeon (longshot)
Eurasian Wigeon
Mallard
Greater Scaup
Horned Grebe (Hvalfjörður near Reykjavík?)
Water Rail (Longshot)
Pink-footed Goose (Maybe a tad too late?)
Greylag Goose
Barnacle Goose
Brent Goose
Greenland White-fronted Goose (Maybe a tad too late?)
Whooper Swan (Maybe a tad too late?)
Northern Fulmar
European Golden Plover
Ringed Plover
Eurasian Oystercatcher
Grey Heron
Siskin
Wood Pigeon
Brambling
Blackcap
Willow Warbler
Chiffchaff
Icelandic Redpoll
Arctic Redpoll
Merlin
European Starling
Snow Bunting
Bohemian Waxwing
Raven
Fieldfare
Gadwall (Hafnarfjörður harbor)
Redshank (Hafnarfjörður harbor)
Purple Sandpiper (Hafnarfjörður)
Ruddy Turnstone (Hafnarfjörður harbor)
Black-headed Gull (Hafnarfjörður harbor)
Common Gull (Hafnarfjörður harbor)
Little Auk (requires a boat or bad weather; maybe a whale watching trip?)
White-tailed Eagle, by the River Sog, hour East of Reykjavik
Barrows’ Goldeneye, River Sog and Lake Úlfljótsvat
Harlequin Duck: harbour at Hafnir, and the bay Hraunsvík east of Grindavík, and the Kjalarnes headland just north of Reykjavík.
There’s a second edition of the Collins Field Guide, aka Svensson and Mullarney. Should I buy it?
What lenses do I want to take? I usually want length above all, but in Iceland I may actually find a use for the wide end of the zoom. Should I take my Canon 17-85mm or my Tamron 28-300mm or both? or rent/buy a Tamron 18-270mm?
For the birds, do I want my 400mm f/5.6L or rent a 100-400mm zoom to have more range?
Iceland is not known bugs, and it’s getting cold. I’ll leave the macro lens at home.
Should I rent/buy a second camera body? and/or a point and shoot? I’m probably going to risk it with one camera body under the assumption that Iceland is a developed country, and if disaster strikes I can buy a new camera in Reykjavik.
And how to pack all this gear? I should probably get a photographer’s vest with a lot of pockets and abuse the hell out of carry-ons.
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