My Iceland Adventure, Part I
I had the thrill of a lifetime going to Iceland for a thirteen day adventure. The major focus of the trip was a Birding and Landscape Photography Tour. We did so many different things and stayed in such a variety of places that I am having difficulty organizing the trip for this blog. But, I am going to jump in, posting in several stages.
Today I am going to tell you about our first stop, Myvatn (Me-vah’-tin). We spent three nights in this beautiful area, exploring along the river Laxa, Lake Myvatn, and at the geothermal areas near Krafla. The lake is known for its abundance of birds, and thirteen species of ducks nest there. Many of them are migratory. The harlequin duck is the duck everyone wanted to see and photograph, and they didn’t disappoint us. They played on the bank of the river and swam in the bubbles of a small waterfall.
The phalarope is the first bird I photographed in Iceland, and probably the bird I saw the most in every location. Many other birds were on the river and at Lake Myvatn.
Phalarope
In the photos above, clockwise from top left, are Tufted Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks, a Merganser, a Barrow’s Goldeneye, and a Horned Grebe.
But, of course, I am a landscape photographer, and I had the best opportunities on this trip for beautiful and unusual landscapes. At the river, snow-capped mountains were the backdrop for beautiful farm buildings.
Lake Myvatn was a small lake that we could walk around in about 1.5 hours at a leisurely pace while stopping to photograph. Of course, we met sheep along the way.
The next blog will show you photos and provide some information about the geothermal areas we saw near Lake Myvatn.
Patricia Temples Photography 