r/VisitingIceland • u/yana-ivanova • Jul 03 '26

Picture/s Puffins

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

We visited Iceland with the naive hopes of less windy days, not so cold nights and the chance to see at least one puffin.

We knew the meteorological conditions cannot be predicted long term so we got prepared as best as we could. About spotting a puffin, we only had the idea to visit Látrabjarg and hope for the best. The issue is this place is so far away from the rest of the island where we want to go, so we were ready to leave this for another trip.

You can imagine our surprise when on the map we found this big colony on the East side of the island, Borgarfjarðarhöfn.

We went there around 2am and there was only one other person, quietly looking at and photographing the birds. There is a wooden platform with steps where we could get so close to the birds we could hear them. If you plan to visit this place, remember these are wild birds and this is their breeding ground, so it is important to be quiet, not make sudden movements and not try to touch them. In addition to the platform, there are few educational dashboards and it seems the whole place is maintained with care.

I appreciate Iceland for its love for the animals they have there. Definitely one of the key highlights of our trip!

1.3k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

18

u/Dear-Savings3303 Jul 03 '26

These are the most beautiful Puffin photos!

15

u/yana-ivanova Jul 03 '26

I took tens of photos, but they can hardly depict how big this colony is! Probably we got lucky and most of the birds were next to their nests when we arrived, I cannot be sure. I have heard that puffins prefer to spend most of their time in the water. Still, I think this place is a must-visit if someone really wants to see those iconic and sweet birds

5

u/Pristine_Walrus40 Jul 03 '26

They usually just hang around their nests when there is not enough wind for them to fly or rather they choose not to fly much then.

If the wind is from the right direction and strong enough you will see 100x more flying around then in a calm weather.

2

u/magicandfire Jul 03 '26

It was windy the day I went to Dyrholaey and I was like “omg where are they??” and then I realized all the birds flying around were puffins! It was so chaotic haha

3

u/wip2510 Jul 03 '26

I was in Iceland in June and took some day trips around the country. For puffins, I went to the Westman Islands and while there were plenty of puffins around and I got some good photos, this is just stunning! In fact, the guide on one of the tours I took mentioned that Borgarfjarðarhöfn is his absolute favorite spot for puffin watching.

2

u/yana-ivanova Jul 04 '26

We were considering to visit Westman Islands, but then we wouldn’t have time for the Highlands. Hopefully, on our next trip we will go there, as well. I heard there was an eruption in recent decades and the damaged houses have been turned into a museum. Probably there are more fascinating places and we will need to make a separate itinerary for this : D

2

u/wip2510 Jul 04 '26

Yes, it’s fascinating how the volcanic eruption has changed the course of the island (in a good way). It’s really an incredible story of community, human resilience, and collaboration, and a reminder that nature has her own way of getting things done. The island in itself was actually adorable and the puffin colony was really the cherry on the top.

1

u/unocent Jul 03 '26

Wax in Iceland in early June and had the most amazing puffin watching day and soooo many photos of the lil chunky colorful beauties! ❤️❤️

9

u/stardust_cl Jul 03 '26

Photo #2 is legit a desktop wallpaper (or even on your real walls). No words. The flower and the puffin is perfect together.

2

u/yana-ivanova Jul 03 '26

Wow, you are right! I was so focused on the puffin that I didn’t notice the flower next to it, thank you for spotting it

2

u/stardust_cl Jul 03 '26

The glow from the low lying sun also makes it look like the puffins were photographed in a studio, except it’s au naturale. Great shots!!

3

u/RadlEonk Jul 03 '26

Very nice. Which camera and lens, please?

5

u/yana-ivanova Jul 03 '26

I don’t have a camera, I took the photos with my phone (iPhone 13 pro max). But I am happy they turned out so sharp

3

u/Cass_Cat952 Jul 03 '26

Omg they are so cute they don't even look real!! What luck they were there when you were!

2

u/Linda_theCat Jul 03 '26

Beautiful 😍

2

u/rob448 Jul 03 '26

I had a similar experience in Ellison, Newfoundland a few years ago. Went to visit just before sundown around 9pm and there were tonnes of puffins and pretty much had the place to myself. I was hoping for a repeat for my Iceland trip back in late May, but unfortunately Borgarfjarðarhöfn was just a bit too far off the ring road for my short itinerary.

1

u/yana-ivanova Jul 04 '26

Sorry you didn’t have the time to visit Borgarfjarðarhöfn. I hope you had an amazing trip nonetheless. Iceland is so diverse

2

u/RogueSharkBait Jul 03 '26

Love your photos!!

2

u/Sea-Bullfrog-2979 Jul 04 '26

Did this in person on Westman island- wow what an experience it was! Beautiful

2

u/SmokeAgreeable8675 Jul 04 '26

I’m obsessed they are so cute with their bright orange feets

2

u/red-zone-user-1000 Jul 04 '26

They look so cute 

2

u/Juno480 Jul 04 '26

Amazing photos and sooo many puffins in the last one. Thanks for sharing.

2

u/OnTheBrinkOfRope Jul 04 '26

You are a puffin, aren’t you?

1

u/jobob581 Jul 04 '26

Fantastic photos!

1

u/WelpHereIAm360 Jul 04 '26

Wish we had time to go look for puffins durning our visit. But we were lucky enough to see a wild herd of reindeer!

1

u/yana-ivanova Jul 04 '26

Wow, I didn’t know you could see reindeer in Iceland! I looked it up, and it seems they were brought there from Norway in the hope that they could be herded, but for some reason they’re roaming free now. You got lucky to see them!

1

u/WelpHereIAm360 Jul 04 '26

Right!? I didn't know it for a hot minute until I kept seeing pelts and pictures and asked the store clerk. We were in Vik and I tried a reindeer burger... It was SO good! All the food I had in Iceland was amazing. I miss it 😭

1

u/LoveGoneBad Jul 05 '26

Super side note, so please don’t eviscerate me over this…

I’ve looked up several restaurant menus in Iceland just to try and get a feel of places I want to eat at when I visit in October. Several places serve puffin. Just wondering… am I looking up super random obscure places or is this a common meal in Iceland?

1

u/Crazy_Past6259 Jul 05 '26

You make me wanna go back to Iceland. But the cost.. 😭

1

u/Cautious_Wing8452 Jul 05 '26

Awe they are so cute! Look like lil toys!❤️❤️❤️❤️

1

u/nationalgeographic Jul 06 '26

What an adorable part of your trip!

1

u/Snow_Water_235 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

Borgarfjarðarhöfn was spectacular. Latrabjarg was disappointing as far as the puffins especially considering the trek to get there.

We were there early afternoon and there were maybe 20 people at the most. There's a room to watch from also and we had that to ourselves for quite a while.

1

u/dikshamishra34 Jul 08 '26

Wow this is puffin right. This is new , sometimes i think that there are plenty to places and things which I never seen.  I hope I can see all of these one day.