Although I am no wildlife or bird expert I have been having a go at them lately. Late July I borrowed an 400mm f2.8 lens for my Canon 5D MKII (not the best bird camera either) and headed to the south and south-east Iceland.

 

Great Skua

My main objective was to shoot the great Skua and the Atlantic Puffin. The Atlantic Puffin was gone once I arrived. But me and Mai had alot of fun shooting the great Skua which is an very aggressive bird once you get close to his nesting area:

Great Skua and Öræfajökull.
The great Skua resting the late evening sun.
Great Skua and Öræfajökull.

 

Arctic Tern

The Arctic Tern was another subject. Not the hardest to find but sometimes tricky to capture at the right place with its fast and never resting pace. In the fading light near Vík we stopped by the large colony that breeds there:

An angry Arctic Tern at Vík.
Arctic Tern landing near its hidden chick.
Angry Arctic Tern ready to strike.

 

Razorbill

As an extra surprise we saw a group of Razorbills with their chicks at the glacier lagoon. The group feeding on small fish that the currents of the outlet bring back from the sea into the lagoon. The group ran into big trouble at the entrance of the lagoon as they got stuck between strong currents smashing against icebergs and a group of seals. An epic battle of survival ensured as the chicks could not fly away and their parents stayed in the water with them. For about an hour the chicks where fighting for their lives being smashed and crushed by small icebergs in the strong current. The lost chicks screamed and their panicked parents swam frantically to try to find them:

Short moment of peace. Razorbill at Jökulsárlón.
Razorbill calling for its chick.
Bewildered Razorbill chick screaming for its parents at Jökulsárlón.

 

2 Responses to Birds of the South

  • Diana Michaels

    Sko, það má taka þig til fyrirmyndar (sem ég geri!)
    Virkilega gaman að skoða þessar myndir.

  • orvaratli

    Takk fyrir Diana.