Iceland Day6 Staðarfellsvegur to Stórikarl Skoruvíkurbjarg
I first became interested in birds when I saw the film “Le Peuple Migrateur”. It is a documentary film about migratory birds, with beautiful visuals such as the use of a drone, which was still rare at the time, to film birds in flight from the side. One of the most beautifully depicted birds in the film was the Northern Gannet, and I had always hoped to someday see such a bird with my own eyes. Today, with 22 years being passed, I see it.
Instead of going directly to the nesting site of the Northern Gannet, I headed to Lake Mee, where a variety of birds are said to be seen. Lake Mee is a very large lake, and there are indeed many waterfowl. However, they are very wary and swim offshore when approached, making photography a bit difficult. The kind of birds that can be photographed are those that take time to become one with their environment and become like air. Today, I didn’t have time to be airborne, so I cut out early and headed north.
As far as I know through researches, there are two nesting sites for the Northern Gannet in Iceland. First, I headed to Raudinupur Cape. The way to get there is a little ambiguous, and the route indicated by Google Navigation and the route described on the guide website are different. First, I followed the Google route, but the road was blocked on the way. I turn around to find that the guide site was correct. Continued on the lonely road, which made me feel endless and the end of the world. Finally arrived at the parking lot, from there an easy trek to a hill begins. On the way, I am threatened by a tern raising its young. As climbed the hill and approached the cliff, a large nesting site appears. The beautiful birds seen in the video are gathered on the rocks in large numbers and singing.
The Northern Gannet is a very beautiful bird, as seen in the video. When taking off, they spread their wings and float slowly, then glide. When they descend, they hover, find a landing spot, and then fly down. Their flight is graceful, often gliding rather than flapping their wings.
After taking pictures, I headed for the stay. Before going to the lodge, I visited another nesting site. This will be described in detail in the next Blog.
