Iceland

Iceland

By July 2020 and with ongoing covid and travel restrictions I had stayed in the USA for 5 months and according to immigration I had to move on if I could; I had already been given two one-month extensions on my ESTA stay. Iceland at the time was easy to visit for EU citizens, requiring only a PCR test on arrival, so I flew there from Los Angeles. My 18-day stay (27 July – 13 August) included 4 nights in Reykjavik. Once I had the results of my PCR test I booked a 2WD car from Hertz; and drove clockwise around the island; covering 3,370 km. I car-camped where possible, mostly in camp-grounds, or booked rooms on the day. I did four whale-watching trips; at Reykjavik, Olafsvik, Hauganes and Husavik (marked W1 to W4 on the route map below).

My mammal highlight was the Arctic Fox at Modrudalur; a farm and campground with a regularly used den and habituated animals. Further details posted here: Arctic Fox at Modrudalur.

Mammal List (Iceland, 2020)

  1. Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus) @ Heydalur and Modrudalur.
  2. Harbour Seal (Phocoena sinus) @ Ytri Tunga, Illugastadir and Jokulsarlon.
  3. Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) @ Ytri Tunga and Illugastadir.
  4. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) @ Hrafnavellir.
  5. Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) @ Olafsvik, Hauganes and Husavik.
  6. Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) @ Reykjavik and Olafsvik.
  7. White-beaked Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) @ Reykjavik, Olafsvik, Hauganes, Husavik and Borgafjordur.
  8. Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) @ Hauganes and Husavik.

Route Map
The map below shows the key mammal sites that I visited. My four whale-watching trips were .

Arctic Fox at Modrudalur (Northern Iceland)

Posted by Paul Carter
Arctic Fox

In August 2020, midway through a 3,300 km drive around Iceland and about 65 km from Lake Myvatn, I was driving east on the ring-road when I came across a remote cafe – Fjalladýrð Kaffi. It was the only building at the intersection with a dirt road (#901) to the south. I stopped for a coffee and randomly picked up a brochure on “one of the most isolated farms” in Iceland; the brochure included a photo of an Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus). This was of interest as it appeared that they were locally protected, unlike many other parts where they are hunted. I had seen habituated Arctic Fox earlier at Heydular and when I mentioned that later to the owner of another farm-stay she replied that it was not right to encourage foxes; she also said she had been to a mink farm and “the mink seemed happy” **. So instead of continuing east on the ring-road I headed south on the track to Modrudalur/Fjalledyrd, about 7 km south of the ring-road. Modrudalur at 469 meters above sea level is the highest inhabited farm in Iceland and it includes turf houses, a church, restaurant, campground and an Arctic Fox den. The den is easily found on a grassy bank about 50 meters north of the restaurant and just off the wooden boardwalk that leads to some accommodation.

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