Drifting north

  

While walking a beach near the Garðskagi lighthouses (near the village of Garður on the Reykjanes Peninsula), I looked down to see a cluster of Blue Buoy Barnacles (Dosima fascicularis) in the wrack line.

Although we knew there were previous records of this species in Iceland, it felt a little surprising to see them.  Most of the records for this pelagic barnacle are from further south.  In California, we found these barnacles in Sonoma County during the warm-water events in 2014-2016 (e.g., see "Blue buoys!" on 31 August 2014).

Here's a close-up where you can see the thin, transparent plates.  You can also see the white foam-like float that the barnacles make to stay afloat at the surface of the ocean (upper left corner of the image).

 

 

 

And Eric took this beautiful photo of the cluster floating in the water next to the beach so you can envision them in their natural habitat.  [You can also see a piece of rockweed (Fucus sp.) at the lower right corner of the barnacle cluster (look for the orange color).  The barnacles might have attached to this piece of seaweed initially and then created their float around it.]

 

 

 

Fun to find this offshore barnacle at 64° North!

sandlóa, lóuþræll, and lóa

  

A few shorebird photos from Iceland.  Above, sandlóa (in Icelandic) or Common Ringed Plovers (Charadrius hiaticula).  (I really enjoyed hearing their calls.)

Next, a juvenile lóuþræll or Dunlin (Calidris alpina):

 

 

  

And two different views of lóa or European Golden-Plovers (Charadrius apricaria).  Although they were often feeding in grassland sites, we also saw them roosting among rockweeds.

 

 

 

 

 

Northern landscapes

  

Well, we're nearing the end of our visit to Iceland.  Eric thought it would be fun to post some landscape photos, so here's a selection from a few different areas.  Above, along the shoreline of the West Fjords.

 

Below, two from Breidavik Beach:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, a scene from Lake Mývatn near Höfði:

 

 

 

Boiling mud pots at a geothermal area, Hverir:

 

 

 

 

Two from the thundering waterfall, Dettifoss:

 

 

 

Lava columns at the fascinating Hljóðaklettar:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And one with reflections from peaceful Botnstjörn:

 

 

 

Iceland has been so inspiring!

 

We haven't had much time to process our photos, but we'll be sharing more as time allows.  Thanks so much for joining the journey!

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!