Where to Find Birds in Iceland: The Best Birdwatching Regions and Seasons

Iceland holds the world's largest Atlantic puffin colony and up to 40% of the world's razorbills, packed into a handful of sites. This study maps where to find birds in Iceland by colony size, region, and month. Read on for the full findings.

Iceland has only about 75 regularly breeding bird species, which is modest by European standards. The birds that are here, though, are not spread evenly across the country. They are concentrated into a small number of extraordinarily crowded places, making birdwatching trips in Iceland easy to plan.

One cliff in the Westfjords holds up to 40% of the world's razorbills. One lake in North Iceland has more breeding duck species than any other lake in Europe. One island group off the South Coast holds the largest Atlantic puffin colony on the planet.

We analyzed colony counts and habitat data covering Iceland's 121 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) to identify the best birdwatching places, what species you can see, and the best time to visit. A rental car, guided multi-day tours, or birdwatching excursions offer the easiest ways to reach the biggest bird colonies around Iceland.

Key Findings

• The Westman Islands hold the world's largest Atlantic puffin colony. About 830,000 pairs of Atlantic puffins breed there, or roughly 1.1 million occupied burrows. Our count of Iceland’s biggest puffin colonies puts the Westman Islands at 1,125,000 burrows, 42% of the national total.

• Látrabjarg holds up to 40% of the world's razorbills. The cliffs run 14 kilometers along the western tip of the Westfjords and rise 440 meters out of the sea, and razorbills share the ledges with guillemots, kittiwakes, and fulmars.

• Lake Mývatn has more breeding duck species than any other lake in Europe. Roughly 15 duck species breed at the lake, and two of them, Barrow's goldeneye and the harlequin duck, breed nowhere else in Europe.

• Breiðafjörður is Iceland's white-tailed eagle stronghold. Most of the country's nesting pairs are on the islands, which also hold over half a million puffin pairs.

• Iceland's best birding sites cluster in four regions. The Westfjords and South Iceland hold the seabird cliffs, while North Iceland's lakes and wetlands and the Reykjavík area's ponds hold the ducks, waders, and swans.

• May and June are the peak months for birdwatching in Iceland. A trip timed between May and July will typically turn up 70 to 80 species, and by mid-August the seabird colonies start emptying.

• Iceland's species list is short, but its sites are internationally significant. About 75 bird species breed in Iceland regularly, while 121 sites in the country qualify as Important Bird Areas under BirdLife International criteria, and 70 of those 121 sites are seabird colonies.

• A large colony does not guarantee a big day. Fog, wind, and the tide decide whether a cliff is busy when you arrive, and puffins in particular spend much of the day at sea.

The Westman Islands Hold the World's Largest Atlantic Puffin Colony

Iceland's largest seabird colonies sit in three places: the Westman Islands, the Westfjords, and the islands of Breiðafjörður. The Westman Islands lead the list with about 830,000 breeding pairs of Atlantic puffin, or roughly 1.1 million occupied burrows.

The Breiðafjörður islands, between Snæfellsnes and the Westfjords, hold over half a million puffin pairs. Breiðafjörður is also where most of Iceland's white-tailed eagles nest, which makes it the rare Icelandic site where the headline bird is a raptor rather than a seabird.

Látrabjarg Holds Up to 40% of the World's Razorbills

The Látrabjarg cliffs stretch 14 kilometers along the western tip of the Westfjords and rise 440 meters out of the sea. Up to 40% of the world's razorbills breed on that single cliff face.

Razorbills share the ledges with guillemots, kittiwakes, and fulmars, which is what gives Látrabjarg its density. Brünnich's guillemot reaches its southern breeding limit here, so the cliff is also the easiest place in Iceland to see a high-Arctic species without going to the Arctic.

Lake Mývatn Has More Breeding Duck Species Than Any Lake in Europe

Roughly 15 duck species breed at Lake Mývatn in North Iceland, which is more than any other lake in Europe manages. The concentration comes from the lake's shallow, insect-rich water rather than its size.

Two of those ducks breed nowhere else in Europe: Barrow's goldeneye and the harlequin duck. The gyrfalcon, Iceland's national bird and the world's largest falcon, hunts the Mývatn district as well.

Iceland's Best Birding Sites Cluster in Four Regions

Iceland has 121 Important Bird Areas, covering the 81 bird species that breed in the country or visit it regularly. An Important Bird Area, or IBA, is a site that BirdLife International has identified as internationally significant for birds, judged against criteria that are applied the same way in every country.

Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands sorts those 121 Important Bird Areas into three groups: 70 seabird colonies, then rocky coast and shallow marine waters, and then wetlands and other inland areas.

The sites in this study group into four travel regions to make planning easier: the Westfjords, North Iceland, South Iceland, and the Reykjavík area. Seabird cliffs dominate the Westfjords and South Iceland, while North Iceland's lakes and wetlands, and Reykjavík's ponds hold the ducks, waders, and swans.

The Westfjords: Látrabjarg and Hornstrandir

The Látrabjarg cliffs are the single most spectacular birding site in Iceland. Farther north, Hornstrandir Nature Reserve combines seabird cliffs with Arctic foxes patrolling beneath them. The Westfjords also border Breiðafjörður, where most of Iceland's white-tailed eagles nest.

North Iceland: Mývatn, Grímsey, and the Eyjafjörður Wetlands

Lake Mývatn is the anchor for birding in North Iceland, and late May and June are its best weeks for the duck spectacle. The ferry or flight to Grímsey crosses the Arctic Circle and lands inside a seabird colony. Day tours from Akureyri cover both, and the Svarfaðardalur wetlands near Dalvík add waders and swans.

South Iceland: Westman Islands, Dyrhólaey, and Ingólfshöfði

South Iceland's three main birding sites are the Westman Islands, Dyrhólaey, and the Ingólfshöfði headland. The Westman Islands offer the greatest scale, and Dyrhólaey is the easiest cliff colony to reach on the mainland, though it closes in spring for nesting. Ingólfshöfði in the Southeast is reached by tractor and holds puffins and great skuas.

Reykjavík and the Southwest: Urban Birding and Migrant Traps

Tjörnin pond in central Reykjavík and the Seltjarnarnes reserve give year-round birding on foot, with Arctic terns, whooper swans, and a surprising duck list. The Reykjanes Peninsula adds the Hafnaberg sea cliffs and, with the South Coast, catches North American vagrants blown across in September and October. Inland, Þingvellir and its lake host great northern divers.

May and June Are the Peak Months for Birdwatching in Iceland

May and June are the strongest months of the year for birdwatching in Iceland. Migrants have arrived, territories are loud, the cliffs are full, and daylight is nearly endless under the midnight sun.

July still delivers the full breeding cast. By mid-August the seabird colonies start emptying, which is the sharpest change in the birding calendar.

The shoulder months have their own draws. April and early May offer migration staging, September and October bring rarity-hunting for North American vagrants, and winter has a short but distinctive cast: ptarmigan in white plumage, gyrfalcons, ravens, harlequin ducks riding open rapids, and eagles over Breiðafjörður.

What the Colony Data Does Not Tell You

Colony sizes in this study are order-of-magnitude estimates, as colonial seabird counts always are. Counting 830,000 puffin pairs across a cliff and a burrow field is an exercise in sampling, not a headcount, so treat the ranking of sites as firmer than the exact figures.

Breeding numbers also say nothing about what you will see on the day. Fog, wind, and the tide decide whether a cliff is busy when you arrive, and the puffins in particular spend much of the day at sea.

How to Plan a Birdwatching Trip to Iceland

The findings translate into a short list of practical decisions about timing, transport, and which sites to build a route around.

Go Between May and July for the Full Cast

A trip timed between May and July will typically turn up 70 to 80 species, counting migrants and passage birds alongside the breeders. Late May and June are the best weeks at Lake Mývatn specifically, when the ducks are at their most visible.

Rent a Car to Reach Most Sites

Látrabjarg, Dyrhólaey, Þingvellir, and the Reykjanes cliffs are all road-accessible, and they are spread far enough apart that a rental car is what makes a multi-region trip possible. Dyrhólaey is the exception to watch, because it closes in spring for nesting.

Book a Tour for the Colonies You Cannot Drive To

Some of the best sites need a boat, a plane, or a tractor. Grímsey is a ferry or a flight, Ingólfshöfði is reached by tractor across the sand, and guided bird watching tours cover both along with the Westman Islands colonies.

Keep Your Distance at the Colonies

Drones are prohibited near nesting colonies in Iceland year-round. Arctic terns will dive at anyone who walks too close to their nests, which is a reliable sign you have already gone further than you should.

Conclusion: Where to Find Birds in Iceland Based on Colony and Habitat Data

Iceland's modest species list is misleading. The country compensates with density, and the colony data points at a small number of sites that are world-class by any measure: Látrabjarg for razorbills, the Westman Islands for puffins, Breiðafjörður for eagles, and Lake Mývatn for ducks.

Látrabjarg, the Westman Islands, Breiðafjörður, and Lake Mývatn sit across three regions, so reaching more than one of them is a routing decision rather than a detour. The species count is the wrong number to plan a birdwatching trip around, and the colony count is the right one.

How We Analyzed Iceland's Bird Colony and Habitat Data

• Data Collection: Species and habitat data come from Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands (the Icelandic Institute of Natural History) and the BirdLife Important Bird Area inventory for Iceland, which lists 121 sites. Colony monitoring includes the Náttúrustofa Suðurlands puffin program.

• Inclusion and Estimation: Lake Mývatn's waterfowl status draws on the lake's long-running ecological monitoring. The Látrabjarg razorbill share of up to 40% of the world population is the published colony estimate rather than a figure calculated for this study.

• Precision: Colony sizes in this study's infographics are order-of-magnitude estimates, as colonial seabird counts always are. Figures are reported at the precision the source data supports, which means round numbers for colonies and exact counts only for the site inventory.

• Further Detail: Species-by-species detail lives in our complete guide to birds in Iceland, and the puffin chapter of this series drills into where to see puffins in Iceland.

Keep Reading: More Guide to Iceland Wildlife Studies

This article is part of a Guide to Iceland research series mapping where Iceland's animals actually are, region by region and month by month. The rest of the series covers sheep, puffins, horses, reindeer, Arctic foxes, seals, and whales:

• Where to See Sheep in Iceland
• Where to See Puffins in Iceland
• Where to See Horses in Iceland
• Where to See Reindeer in Iceland
• Where to Find Arctic Foxes in Iceland
• Where to See Seals in Iceland
• Where to Find Whales in Iceland

Guide to Iceland's other data studies cover the weather month by month, how long to stay, where the hidden gems are, and when to see the northern lights:

• Best and Worst Months To Visit Iceland: A 26-Year Weather Study
• How Many Days Do You Need in Iceland?
• The Best Hidden Gems in Iceland, Ranked by Data
• The Best Tours in Iceland by Satisfaction Rate
• How Often Do Volcanoes Erupt in Iceland?
• The Best Month to See the Northern Lights in Iceland
• Iceland's Clearest Skies: The Best Regions for Northern Lights
• The Sunniest Month in Iceland
• The Windiest Month in Iceland
• The Rainiest Month in Iceland

Keep reading or start planning your trip to Iceland right away.