Arctic Foxes & Birds in Iceland Westfjords / Tour Report June 2020
It's midnight. We celebrate the start of our wildlife tour in Iceland with a bottle of Prosecco right in the middle of nature enjoying the sunset. It is June 21, 2020 and our journey really begins now.
A few months earlier. While everything was in order and our trip to the Westfjords had been sold out for many months, Covid-19 is starting to plague all over the world. One country after another is closing, including Iceland. Our trip has become impossible, but we are not canceling anything at this time. Hope is life!
Early June. The Icelandic authorities are announcing the reopening of the country to tourists from June 15 under certain conditions. Knowing that our flight is scheduled for June 21, less than a week later. We announce the news to the group, everyone is delighted.
2 days later, the Icelandair airline cancels our flights. Exceptionally, we take care of the issue directly for all the guests and we finally have the possibility of booking other flights, leaving from Zurich and staying a few more days in Iceland. With the agreement of all, we validate this change and add a stopover to our itinerary.
June 21, 2020. I meet our guests at the airport. We all take the same flight. Hallways are empty, the atmosphere is strange, but that doesn't dampen our enthusiasm, knowing how lucky we are.
The flight goes smoothly and we land in Reykjavik. We are among the first tourists to be able to return to the country. We have to wait an hour on the plane before we can disembark. Once inside the airport, we join the queue to do our PCR test. There, we are given a paper on which is indicated:
if the test is positive, the authorities call us to return to Reykjavik and do additional tests. If we are contagious, we must stay in quarantine for 14 days.
if the test is negative, we will receive an SMS within 6 to 12 hours and can continue our journey normally.
So we get our rental car and take the road north knowing that our trip may be stopped short a few hours later. This trip is already a great adventure as we have barely set foot on Icelandic soil!
The light is magnificent and the landscapes become grandiose. Despite the uncertainty, we are enjoying these first moments. It is 10 p.m. when a first guest is contacted by text message. The test is negative. That’s one! Little by little, everyone receives their text message and we are all negative!
We stop on the side of the road in the middle of nothing to celebrate. We are in Iceland, everyone is in great shape, and we can finally begin our trip to the Westfjords.
From then on, everything went wonderfully and our guests will remember this trip forever. We savored every moment. The encounters greatly exceeded our expectations.
In terms of wildlife, this trip was simply extraordinary. Often animals are not shy and not afraid of humans. Sometimes they are even the ones approaching. Pure happiness!
The Arctic Fox, little king of the Icelandic Westfjords
The Arctic Fox is the main focus of our nature tour to Iceland. Over a week spent in areas favorable to the species, we saw more than 12 Arctic Foxes. Each day brought new encounters, with beautiful scenes that left us speechless.
Birds of the Icelandic Westfjords
During this adventure dedicated to Icelandic wildlife, we had the chance to observe 53 species of birds. There too, the encounters were incredible, whether in the sharp cliffs where hundreds of thousands of seabirds nest, or in the open spaces we crossed on our hikes. And as always, we've recorded our observations and submitted our data to ebird to help advance birding science.
Northern Fulmar
Northern Fulmar
Common Murre
Brünnich’s Guillemot
Black Guillemot
Common Eider
Black-legged Kittiwake
Common Murre
Common Eider
Redwing
European Gloden-Plover
Northern Lapwing
Arctic Tern
Common Snipe
Harlequin duck
Whooper Swan
Razorbill
Razorbill
Razorbill
Common Ringed Plover
And arguably Iceland's most legendary bird, the Atlantic Puffin, also dazzled us with its unique beauty. We had the chance to observe it both from the sea and from the top of the cliffs. Extremely not shy, we could often observe them a few meters away without disturbing them.
We even had the exceptional chance to see the mythical Gyrfalcon! This bird is the largest falcon in the world, with a wingspan of up to 130 cm. A real holy grail for any naturalist or ornithologist traveling to Iceland.
Icelandic marine mammals
The marine mammals also amazed us. A mother humpback whale with her calf was in our way on our first crossing. A half hour dream where we observed them resting on the surface. When we left, they were still there, peaceful, moving gracefully in the calm waters of the fjord.
The Harbor seals were present every day in the bay where we had our base camp. And we also visited a colony in a quiet little bay.
Then, as a land mammal this time, we got to see another animal in addition to the Arctic Foxes: the American Mink, with whom we had a very nice time.
Landscapes of the Icelandic Westfjords
The landscapes in which all these magnificent wild animals evolve are breathtaking. On this naturalistic trip, we focus on the Westfjords, located in the northwest of the country. And as with all our travels, we take the time to admire every corner we explore. We are committed to going slowly, to contemplate in detail the splendours that are presented to our eyes.
The weather spoiled us, we had all the weather: moments of great sun when we could have lunch outside by the beach in a t-shirt, but also the rain, the wind, the fog, etc. Iceland has kept all its promises. The weather is unpredictable and all four seasons can happen on the same day.
Finally, I cannot close this story without talking about the group that I had the chance to lead. The mood was simply exceptional. All fed by the same desire to explore and discover this remote and wild corner of the world, we experienced moments of memorable intensity. The moments of sharing spent on the ground or in our base camp, whether by the fireside or around the table, filled us all with joy. Our local guide was mind-blowing in professionalism, flexibility and kindness throughout the trip. We also got to spend some time with Ester Rut Unnsteinsdóttir, who studies the Arctic Fox population in Iceland at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History.
FabWildPix was part of our group during this tour and he made an amazing video about it:
So if you like adventure, join us for the next edition of our ethical nature tour “Arctic Foxes & Birds of the Icelandic Westfjords”! It will be a privilege for us to guide you.
Jonathan
Guide Salva Fauna
