The Sigurgeir's Bird Museum at Mývatn - Breeding Birds in Iceland

I have written several travel-blogs about one of my favourite places in North Iceland, the amazing Mývatn area. But seeing that there is so much to see and do in this amazing part of Iceland, I will be adding a couple of more travel-blogs about the Mývatn area.

At Mývatn, you can see bubbling mud pools, walk on the rim of a crater filled with a lake, see beautiful lava pillars and amazing lava formations, bathe in the Blue Lagoon of the North, visit geothermal springs, visit the Cave of the Icelandic Yule lads, etc, etc.

Top photo: the eagle at the museum

The Sigurgeir's Bird Museum at Mývatn

By Lake Mývatn you can also find the largest private bird collection in Iceland at the Sigurgeir's Bird Museum or "Fuglasafn Sigurgeirs Stefánssonar". Here you can find specimens of all the Icelandic breeding birds, bar one.

Sigurgeir Stefánsson was born and raised at Mývatn. He was an avid bird and egg collector and he owned a large collection of stuffed birds. He kept his collection in a shed at Ytri-Neslönd, where the museum is located, and people visited the shed to have a look at his collection.

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A snowy owl at the museum

It was jokingly said that this must be the smallest natural museum in the world. Sigurgeir's dream was to erect a bigger building to house his collection. But a tragic accident took place when he drowned in Lake Mývatn at age 37 before he could realize his dream.

Sigurgeir had collected around 180 species and 300 specimens of birds plus some 100 types of eggs when he died.

Sigurgeir's friends, family, and benefactors helped make his dream come to fruition and in August 2008, an extraordinary beautiful museum was opened on the farm Ytri-Neslönd by Lake Mývatn, a lovely tribute to Sigurgeir, the avid bird collector.

A colourful Mandarin duck at the museum

The architectural design of the museum building itself is so lovely and blends in with nature. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good photo of the design of the museum, but you can see it on the museum homepage.

The bird museum is interactive and the curator of the museum enters the area of the bird collection with you and explains how it works. The museum is small and round with an artificial stream flowing under glass on the floor with fish swimming in the stream.

Puffins at the museum

I lost myself amongst all these birds. I have always wanted to know more about birds and spent a good hour inside taking in all the information and admiring these beautiful birds. While visiting this museum I realized that I knew way too little about the birds here in Iceland. 

I have seen the puffin many times and the seabirds and migrating birds, the ptarmigan, and from time to time an owl and merlin. And my main enemy here in Iceland is the Arctic tern, which fearlessly attacks me again and again on my travels through my country. But I am thirsty for more knowledge on the birds here in Iceland.

Hrossagaukur - the Common snipe at the museum

What I found to be especially useful was to be able to compare the sizes of the birds. The big difference in the size of birds that I had thought were approximately the same size came as a surprise to me. One cannot really see the size of the birds in the bird handbooks, so seeing them here closely together was very useful.

There are so many birds here at the museum, all of them with their name listed in several languages and their whereabouts in summer and winter. You can press buttons that activate lights to show where the appropriate bird is located. I pressed all the buttons in the museum for sure, as I was so eager to learn more about the birds. 

Súla - the Northern gannet at the museum

Sigurgeir also collected birds' eggs and at the museum, you will find a large egg collection. I couldn't for the life of me get a decent photo of the eggs, but you can see lovely photos on the homepage of the museum.

The birds missing to complete Sigurgeir's exhibition on breeding birds in Iceland is the sea-eagle and the grey phalarope. But Akureyri town was friendly enough to lend the bird museum a sea-eagle. See also:

Eyjafjörður Fjord - Akureyri, the Capital City of North-Iceland

The museum is by Lake Mývatn

The museum is right by the lake and from the museum restaurant, there are great views of Lake Mývatn. And if you are an avid bird watcher there are bird hides available for bird watching. 

Lake Mývatn is the 4th largest lake in Iceland, approximately 36.5 km2, and dotted with islets and skerries. A myriad of duck species gathers at Mývatn.

Lake Mývatn is a protected nature reserve, and here by Lake Mývatn and in its surrounding areas is f.ex. the only breeding place for the Barrow's goldeneye in Europe. I visit Mývatn every year and am always on the lookout for new duck species, and sometimes the lake is almost black with birds gathering on it.

Sleipnir at the boathouse museum

Next to the bird museum, you will find a is a boathouse museum with the motorboat Sleipnir on display. There one can get an insight into what life was like by Lake Mývatn. 

The museum received the Innovation Prize of 2009 by the Icelandic Travel Industry Association.

By the northwest side of Lake Mývatn, you will find a monument on the tragic accident, which happened on the 26th of October 1999 at Lake Mývatn. Three men in a boat were putting a fiber optic cable in the lake when bad weather hit them and they drowned.

The memorial for Sigurgeir Stefánsson, Böðvar Björgvinsson and Jón Kjartansson

One of them was Sigurgeir Stefánsson (an employee at Kísiliðjan diatomite factory) and the others were Böðvar Björgvinsson and Jón Kjartansson, who were employees at Síminn telephone company.

Do pay Sigurgeir's Bird Museum a visit when you are in this area. This informative museum is a lovely tribute to Sigurgeir and his dream.

To visit this area you can rent a car in Reykjavík and drive up north in two days. 

I have added several other travel-blogs about Mývatn, as my husband's family owns a summer cottage there and we spend a lot of time exploring and enjoying this lovely area:

The Amazing Mývatn area - part I

The Amazing Mývatn area - part II

The Amazing Mývatn area - part III

The Amazing Mývatn area - part IV

Grænavatn Turf House at Mývatn

The Sigurgeir's Bird Museum at Mývatn - Breeding Birds in Iceland

Úlfhildur the Elf-lady at Lake Mývatn in North-Iceland - an Icelandic Folklore

A Wonderful Day of exploring the Extraordinary Mývatn Area in North-Iceland

The Extraordinary Ice Sculptures in Lofthellir Cave in Mývatn North-Iceland

A Unique Lava Walk through the Colourful Lava Field at Gjástykki in North-Iceland

Have a lovely time at the amazing Mývatn :)