Birds of the North-East of Iceland – June 2025

Domestic flight 1 hour to Akureyri - Road to Húsavík 130 km – Hótel Húsavík Morning domestic flight to Akureyri in the North of Iceland - Welcome by your guide - Departure due north towards Grenivík then we head due north up the wooded valley where the beautiful and clear Fnjoská tumbles down. On its banks and islets, numerous Greylag Geese nest. Heading north again we head north through the pretty countryside of the great Aðaldalur valley where the powerful glacial river of Skjálfandafljót zigzags through meadows which intermingle with ancient lava flows, streams, ponds and woods. arctic birches This valley is outside the active ridge but large lava flows have spread to the ocean, creating beautiful pseudo-craters in the wetlands crossed by birds, sheep, cows and horses. install in silhouettes. Night in hotel in Húsavik (Two optional paid options in Húsavík: whale watching North Sailing and swimming at GeoSea).

150 km - Hostel in Raufarhöfn Bypass of the Tjörnes peninsula to the Ásbyrgi canyon - Then bypass of the desolate Melrakkaslétta Peninsula (The plateau of the grass dog = The polar fox) a paradise for waders (Golden plover, Dunlin, Black-tailed godwit, Whimbrel, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Greater Plover And pretty passerines, some not very shy like the Gray Wagtail, the Snow Bunting or more nervous like the Northern Wheatear. Gannet.

135 km – Night in hotel in Vopnafjörður Visit and stroll on the deserted point of Langanes. Gannet colony. Continuation along the coast to Vopnafjörður with numerous sightings including the Narrow-billed Phalarope, dabbling and diving ducks, and among the birds of prey if we are lucky: the Gyrfalcon, the Short-eared Owl and the Merlin Night in a hotel in the small town of Vopnafjörður

200 km - Hotel in Bakkagerði Dizzying track and immense landscape at the Hellisheiði pass (Purple Sandpiper, Boreal Duck) from where we overlook the vast black sand bay of Héradsfloi. On the other side of the bay stands the colorful rhyolitic massif of Dyrfjöll. We reach the pretty isolated village of Bakkagerði in eastern Borgarfjörður. Night in Bakkagerði.

30-40 km of track - Hotel in Bakkagerði Observation in the bay of Borgarfjörður on the shore and in the surrounding moors where there is, among other things, a colony of not very shy Atlantic Puffins, or even histrionics. Magnificent rhyolitic mountains in shimmering pastel colors. Countless waders. Second night at Bakkagerði.

80 km – Inn in the forest Short hike along a river at the foot of the rhyolitic massifs to reach the sands of Héradsfloi. Beautiful countryside driving towards the small town of Egilsstaðir. Bordering the long and narrow lake of Lagarfljót, the beautiful forest of Hallorrmsstaðir is home to numerous passerines such as the Red-winged Thrush and the Redpoll.

70 km of road – 80 km of track – Möðrudalur Inn The road climbs towards the desert highlands to Möðrudalur, a farm located at an altitude of 500 m, once the most isolated in Iceland. The vast tundras of the large Möðrudalsöræfi plateau represent one of the main sanctuaries of the Short-billed Goose with Greenland and Spitsbergen. It is a more slender goose and also wilder than its cousin the lowland greylag goose. It is a very sociable species that nests in colonies. Goslings from several nests are grouped together under the supervision of a few adults. Almost everywhere, when you know how to look, you spot the heads of the guardians raised at the end of their long necks which emerge from the clods and sedges of the tundra.

70 km of road – 80 km of track – Möðrudalur Inn 110 km – Farm-Inn in Mývatn Departure for Lake Mývatn. This large lake is a sanctuary for anatidae since American, European and Arctic species coexist there. You can easily observe the magnificent Barrow's Goldeneye, two American species that are completely unaware that Iceland is apparently in Europe. Numerous dabbling ducks whose males are still in their nuptial attire: Green-winged teal and whistling ducks, Chipeau, Pintail, Souchet and of course the unavoidable Green-collar which is not in the majority here Among the diving ducks: the Boreal Duck, the Black Scoter, the Great-crested Scaup, the Greater Greater Scaup…

50 km around the lake - Farm-Hostel in Mývatn or 150 km Hotel in Akureyri Day of observations in Mývatn and its outskirts to meet the Sclavon Grebe and the Imbrim Loon. Second night in Mývatn or drive at the end of the afternoon to Akureyri, the small and charming “capital” of the North of Iceland via the very beautiful Goðafoss waterfall where the tourist crowds surprise us after our trip to the North. East.

Domestic flight 1 hour Domestic flight to Reykjavik early in the morning (or around noon if arriving from Mývatn that morning). Taxi transfer to your hotel (*) Rest of the day and evening at leisure or departure from Iceland by night flight (*) Info for the French: in summer, direct flights are scheduled around midnight which arrive in Paris at 5 a.m. and save you an overnight stay in Reykjavik)