Our brief news item in March concerning golden plovers returning to Iceland didn’t foresee an important new record of their Icelandic distribution...

Golden plovers have bred on Surtsey for the first time reports the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. A recent expedition to the new volcanic island (Surtsey formed in an undersea volcanic eruption in 1963) discovered the plover’s nest. There are now 15 species of birds recorded breeding there.

Good news for plovers and it really is very interesting to see the continuing pattern of natural settlement occurring on the island.

Hot springs are common phenomena in Iceland, geysers much less so. One of nature’s truly dramatic spectacles an erupting geyser is a sight never forgotten. The word geyser originates from Geysir — a well known spouting hot spring in Haukadalur.

Geysers are fascinating but the physics behind their eruptions is rather complex. Step forward Amanda Lloyd, a Manchester University undergraduate, who on a recent field trip to Iceland neatly summarised the science in a presentation she gave to the rest of her group. We’re grateful to her for allowing us to reproduce it here.

There are still some places left on our guided wildlife tours in June, July and August. We have availability on one week, ten days and two weeks tours in various parts of Iceland. It's also not too late for us to arrange self-drive tours during this period as well.

Please get in touch if you are interested.

Lóan er komin reports daily paper Morgunblaðið in a traditional news piece at this time of year when the first golden plovers return to Iceland following their winter migrations. It’s a sure sign that spring is not far away — though with the storm warning that’s in force it’s easy to think otherwise!

The first arrivals were seen in SE Iceland and it won’t be long before others start appearing all around the coasts. They have a lovely, though rather mournful, call which will be heard all over the country in the weeks ahead. The RSPB provides more information (including the chance to listen to the call) here.

These past few weeks have been something of a gyrfalcon bonanza with our bird watching groups reporting as many as four individuals on a single day’s birdwatching. The sightings have included a ‘white’ falcon, lots of hunting behaviours — including harassing fulmars prospecting nest sites — and several instances where the birds have been settled on the ground allowing wonderful telescope views.

There’s no doubt that travelling in wintertime Iceland can sometimes be a bit of a challenge but the rewards are often wonderful and well worth cold fingers and toes!

Discover the World is a UK based tour company that has specialised in Iceland trips for many years.

Their 2009 brochure is now available and we're really pleased to once again handle the Iceland Countryside Tours programme for them. These are general purpose trips and will appeal to anyone who likes wild places and wildlife. Have a look at the Countryside Tours page on their website for much more information.

Iceland’s glaciers and ice-caps provide us with some wonderful landscapes and leave a lasting impression in the minds of all our visitors. They are, of course, transient landscapes coming and going with prevailing climatic conditions. The names people have given to the glaciers is an interesting study in its own right and a new book published by the US Geological Survey summarises their histories.

You can read more about the book here and it’s even possible to download a PDF version to read on your computer.

The authors have done a commendable job and all interested in the ‘ice’ of Iceland will enjoy browsing this work.

It’s been noticeably lighter in the mornings these past few days though with temperatures below freezing and strong winds it still feels as if spring is quite some way away.

All this hasn’t stopped the hardy band of travellers who join us on our winter tours to see Iceland’s wildlife and wild places. The picture shows sunrise at the geysers -- very dramatic.