Top 100 Birding Sites of the World

Information

SITE RANK

HABITAT Large shallow freshwater lake, river, moor and bog

KEY SPECIES Barrow’s Goldeneye, Harlequin Duck, other ducks, Gyr Falcon, Rock Ptarmigan, Red-necked Phalarope

TIME OF YEAR Breeding season: late April to August. Avoid the months of June, July and August because of the swarms of biting insects

An atmospheric scene at Europe’s premier site for ducks.

Many of us first notice birds when, as youngsters, our parents take us to the park to feed the ducks. A visit to Lake Myvatn, therefore, is rather like the grown-up fulfilment of those early experiences, for this place is an absolute paradise for ducks. More species (15) breed here than anywhere else in Europe, and probably the world.

Situated in the north-central part of Iceland, the Lake Myvatn area is a unique ecosystem. With an area of 37 sq km, the lake is Iceland’s fourth largest, but it is highly unusual in being almost entirely spring-fed, rather than river-fed. Rains are absorbed quickly into the bedrock and re-emerge as mineral-rich springs all around the lake, together producing a net inflow of 35 cubic metres of water per second, most of which eventually exits from the west corner as the River Laxa. Fed by the sunlight, algae grow abundantly in these fertile waters, and provide food for midges and blackflies. These insects, indeed, are found in such vast abundance here that they have given the lake its name: Myvatn is Icelandic for ‘Lake of Flies’.

The flies provide ample sustenance for ducks (especially the young) and their presence is a major contributory factor in making this place so special for wildfowl. Two other aspects of the wetland are also important: the whole lake is extremely shallow, never more than 4 m deep (average 2 m), and it is topographically varied, with myriad inlets and islets. The depth allows the ducks to obtain food easily, and the topography provides many and varied breeding sites.

As for the ducks themselves, Iceland’s position between the European and North American continents means that the cast list is drawn from both sides of the Atlantic, and two primarily New World species, the Harlequin Duck and Barrow’s Goldeneye, breed nowhere else in Europe. The Harlequin Duck is widespread on the island, but Barrow’s Goldeneye is almost confined to the Myvatn area. In North America this duck nests in holes in trees, but here in Iceland it would quickly become extinct if it had to depend on these, since no large trees grow here at all. Instead it utilizes holes of a different kind. The whole Myvatn area is highly active volcanically (there are hot springs near the lake), and females often fly out from the lake in groups to the lava fields to look for a suitable crater or burrow in which to nest, a habit unique to this region. The birds also use holes in buildings, and visiting birders are sometimes met by the incongruous sight of a female Barrow’s Goldeneye peering down a rooftop chimney!

The other star species is the Harlequin Duck, a bird of exquisite colour and pattern which is a specialist in feeding in turbulent waters. These delightful ducks, top of most visitors’ ‘wanted’ lists, are easily seen in the River Laxa, which has the highest breeding concentration in the world. In summer the Harlequin Duck specializes in foraging upon blackfly larvae, which tend to be most numerous within these highly oxygenated, fast-flowing waters; when the adult flies emerge in August, they provide food for the young.

The population of Harlequin Ducks in this area is about 250 pairs, while Barrow’s Goldeneyes now numbers about the same, having been in sharp decline in recent years. After breeding, the Harlequins leave the area and indulge their passion for turbulent water along the coasts. Barrow’s Goldeneyes, meanwhile, mainly sit out the winter at Myvatn in patches of unfrozen water.

Aside from these specialities, the most numerous duck at Myvatn is the humble Tufted Duck, a rather common European species. In 1970 this diving duck, which feeds on freshwater molluscs as well as the ubiquitous midge larvae, overtook the Greater Scaup in abundance at Myvatn, and now outstrips it four to one (6,000:1,500 males). The scaup takes fewer snails than the Tufted Duck and more crustaceans. These species are closely related, and when the females lead their broods on to the lake (late July onwards), the ducklings sometimes become intermixed.

Myvatn attracts a number of other ducks to its water. Among the diving ducks the most interesting are the Common Scoters (approximately 350 males), which are rare elsewhere in Iceland; for food, they favour crustaceans over midge larvae. Long-tailed Ducks (150 males) have similar tastes. The Red-breasted Merganser (700 males in 2005) and Goosander (15 males), on the other hand, are both specialist fish catchers. One other diving duck, the Common Pochard, used to breed in very small numbers but has done so only sporadically since the 1950s. Among the surface feeding ducks the most numerous is the Eurasian Wigeon, with about 1,000 pairs, followed by the Gadwall (nearly 300), the Mallard (about 200), the Eurasian Teal (50–100) and the Northern Pintail (20–40). Northern Shovelers are sometimes seen in spring, and may breed regularly in very small numbers. All the dabbling ducks feed on the midges.

In addition to the ducks, Lake Myvatn offers an excellent supporting cast of other birds. One of these, the Great Northern Diver, is another of the New World brigade; along with Barrow’s Goldeneye and Harlequin Duck it has its European headquarters in Iceland; a few pairs nest in the district. The Slavonian Grebe is common (about 600 pairs) and hard to miss, and the gloriously plumaged Red-necked Phalarope can be seen almost everywhere, spinning in the water as it picks midges from the surface. These waders are as sociable as they are approachable.

If you can tear yourself away from the lake for a while to visit the lava flows and moors, you are certain to stumble across the Rock Ptarmigan, which is common here. That is exactly what the Gyr Falcon is intending to do. This large and spectacular raptor is a major predator of ptarmigan in Iceland; indeed, it is thought that predation is such that the ptarmigans have a slightly different breeding system here than they do elsewhere. Instead of being monogamous, the birds seem to have no more than casual relationships; life, it seems, is too short for serious commitment.

The colourful Harlequin Duck is one of Lake Myvatn’s top attractions; these three are drakes.

Like all members of its family, Red-necked Phalarope exhibits reverse sexual dimorphism, with the female being larger and more colourful than the male. Here a female reduces the lake’s midge population by one.

Displaying drake Barrow’s Goldeneye. This species nests in holes in Myvatn’s volcanic lava fields, a habit unique to the region.