Rjúpa!

 

 

We've been hoping to see rjúpa, or Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in Iceland and tonight we got lucky.  Eric spotted a small flock of seven birds after dinner.  The light was getting dim, but I managed a few photos to share.

 

 

 

Check out the feathers covering the legs and feet!  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says, "Their feathered feet help them to walk on deep snow and to dig snow burrows and tunnels for refuge from severe cold."

 

Here are a couple more showing several birds and some of the habitat:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tjaldur

 

 

Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus), or tjaldur in Icelandic, along the shoreline of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in Iceland.  It's been fun hearing them during our travels, both reminding of us home (Black Oystercatchers) but also teaching us about oystercatchers in new landscapes.

Tidepooling at 66° North

During our first few days in Iceland, we were fortunate to find some excellent tidepooling locations.  We've been taking lots of photographs, but it's hard to find time at the end of the day to write a complete post , so I'm sharing a few fun highlights for now.

 

 

Silver-spotted Anemone (Aulactinia stella)

 

 

 

 

Northern Red Chiton (Boreochiton ruber) 

 

 

 

  

A small staurozoan (Haliclystis sp.).  This stalked jellyfish was very active so the image is a little blurry, but we were excited to find a couple of them! 

 

 

 

  

A striking Daisy Brittle Star (Ophiopholis aculeata).  We found quite a few individuals all with different color patterns.

 

We've been impressed with the diversity of marine invertebrates in the tidepools in Iceland and feel fortunate to be exploring and learning more about them.  We hope you enjoy meeting them, too!

Westernmost

 

 

A couple of scenes from the West Fjords of Iceland.  In the photo below, that's Eric waving at the top of the cliff!

 

 

The fox and the cliff

 

 

A quick photo of an Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus) approaching a steep bird cliff.

 

 

Blue-rayed

A beautiful limpet…from Iceland!  Meet the Blue-rayed Limpet (Patella pellucida).  We’ve done some tidepooling around Reykjavik during the last couple of days and this is a species I hoped to see.  Lots of other amazing marine invertebrates to share, so stay tuned!

Layers of sunset

  

Layers of sunset, from Cotati, 23 August 2026