DRAFT******

                                          

                            Continuing.........Part 2 of 3-

 Monday, August 18, 2025- Heimaey, Westman Islands, Iceland

                         7th Cruise Port, 5th Port in Iceland.  

            "Geometric Forms, Natural Abstract Art, Puffins and                                     Extraordinary Community Solidarity"!~ 

            Heimaey Harbor, "Puffins, Seabirds, Island Tour and Local Culture" 

                                                Boat Tour begins, Act 1-  

         "Puffins, Puffins and more Puffins.....and four interesting Accommodations"!

         For most of the morning, the tender boat traffic was steady shuttling people back and forth to the docks in the nearby harbor. There were an assortment of various day excursions  scheduled for Heimaey this morning including a day playing golf at the Heimaey Golf Course. The trip Jen and I selected was the seabird boat cruise which we booked long before the cruise dates. The night that the cruise line opened the online tour reservations page, we reserved our two spots..... it sold out in minutes! It was a popular tour! At the scheduled dismemberment, time it looked like we were in the company of seventy-five Puffin enthusiasts. And why not, this is the premier Puffin location in Iceland....... even (possibly) in mid-August.

       The small section of the harbor where the tender boats would be land is located inside the main commercial pier at the Fish Processing Plant. 

       On this morning, the upper hatch windows were closed on the ride to the harbor, not open like they were a few days ago on the Hofn excursion. As the tender drove towards the dock and harbor, the visibility through the windows was limited and blurred  due to the heavy accumulation of water drops. As we approached the outside of the commercial pier, I had a brief  and distorted view of  what was probably an Alcid, but I couldn't identify the species. I assumed it was a Murre being so close to the pier. Later after we had landed it became obvious what it was. 

      The tender boat pulled up to a floating dock near the main pier parking lot. We were all told to meet in the parking lot with our group (group 9) and line up by the bulkhead. This section of the harbor was busy with Black Guillemot! We had about fifteen minutes before our group would start walking down along the harbor to gather at our next station before boarding the boat. Fifteen minutes was more than enough time to get a few shots of the Black Guillemots literally at my feet.   

     Black Guillemot were numerous with many swimming out from behind boats and from under the docks. By comparison, all of the Black Guillemot in this harbor were adults still in breeding plumage which differed from all the Black Guillemot in Akureyri which were all first summer juveniles. 

        (Since this blog is a birdwatching inspired blog, and because I have Artist friends all over the World that carve, sculpt and paint avian species, I will be adding extra images of Black Guillemot and Puffins throughout this report for them to use as reference.)

       After a few minutes of observing and photographing the Black Guillemot, I met Jen at the bulkhead where she was standing in line with the others. We still had about ten minutes to go before we had to walk to the tour boat. It was about twenty steps to the edge of the pier and bulkhead. A single Puffin started swimming towards the pier. There was a little time left to go over to the edge of the pier and greet this Puffin.

    The Puffin got to within fifteen yards of the pier and turned broadside......it was a fledgling Puffin (aka "Puffling" in Iceland)!! A fledgling Puffin was something I had wanted to photograph for years. Never had many opportunities to see them but twice in New England. Unfortunately the ones I did see were in the winter way off shore on a fishing boat, and were basically dots on the horizon. Now I have one right in front of me posing!! Amazing!! 

          This youngster was quite advanced in its plumage, probably an earlier date fledgling. 

         I caught the Puffin closing its nictitating membrane over its eye..... something they do to clean their eye from debris and salt film. 

     This one "Puffling" was very cooperative...... a perfect photo study from all angles let alone an ideal opportunity to study it closely. Wonderful encounter! Jen was signaling me that I better get my butt back in line because we were ready to start walking to the tour boat. A quick glance up and down the shoreline revealed that there were numerous Puffin fledglings swimming in the immediate area. A single fledgling encounter turned into a Puffling bonanza. Why so many fledglings in this one area?  

     The answer came with perfect timing. Just as we started our walk, a car pulled up and stopped by the bulkhead. Several young (probable rehab students) got out of the car with small pet carriers in their hands. They walked over to the edge of the pier and opened the carriers. They reached in and pulled out several "Pufflings". These students were talking with several people that had gathered around them and suddenly gave each person a Puffling to hold. They coached them as to how to hold the birds properly. A minute later, they all walked over to the edge and tossed the young Puffins in the air! Two of the Pufflings kept flying and out towards the open water. The other three flew a few yards and joined the other fledglings swimming nearby. Incredible.......I wish they showed up fifteen minutes earlier! 

   This was an event that I had read about but have never experienced. When young Puffins are ready to leave the nest burrows for their new life at sea, they leave at night. A clear sky full-moon night is ideal and what they wait for. Because of the town lights in Heimaey (and other areas) the young fledglings get confused when they leave their burrows and end up landing in town on the ground, on rooftops, parking lots and in the streets. In Heimaey, the children of the town (and adults) actually go out on midnight patrols to gather up the lost Pufflings. They put them in cardboard boxes lined with grass to keep them safe and warm for the night. In the morning they release them into the sea, or deliver them to the Puffin rehab facility. Either way, when the young Puffins are examined and given the healthy OK, they are released.  In Heimaey, the commercial pier is a great place for releasing the fledglings. It was amazing that Jen and I had the wonderful opportunity to see this in person.

     

        After a ten minute walk on the way to the tour boat dock, the group made a short stop at the tour boat office. We were given a little talk on boat tour safety, and then they gave all of us a wearable floatation coat which was mandatory to wear on boat tours in Iceland. It was not at all cumbersome and awkward like most life jackets are, it was actually quite comfortable. After the safety and procedure rules were completed, a short two minute walk to the docks and the boat. And yes, more Black Guillemot swimming around the boats. 

    Even though the sun was shining brightly, even at noon, it was still a little chilly. Just about everyone in line boarded the boat and went directly to the inside cabin. Jen and I were shocked that the bow on the main deck was empty...... not one person wanted the best spot on the boat!   

    The tour boat cast off the dock and our three-hour tour had begun. Some of the excursion boats follow a northerly route heading left around Heimaey .........

      This boat would be taking the southern route out of the harbor, heading right around the island. 

     Heading out of the harbor, all the fledgling Puffins were still hanging out in the same places I saw them earlier. Many of the newly introduced Pufflings were getting their first education lessons about boats. 

      This young Puffin must have just fledged recently, maybe in the last few days......its body was still covered in a thick layer of its hatchling natal down. 

     And this one fledgling was still carrying small amounts of natal down. 

     One thing that still puzzled me was the lack of Gulls since we arrived that morning. At this point, the only Gull to make an appearance was a single adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. Heading out of the harbor on the port side of the tour boat was a small Gull roost on the beach at the base of a small breakwater. 

     At a quick glance it looked like Herring Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls. 

     Later that day when I was reviewing the images on my camera viewing screen, a single white-winged Gull was standing among the group of Gulls. I assumed Glaucous Gull, but something made me waver a bit with  Glaucous Gull. 

    The wing-tip protrusion was a bit too long for Glaucous, maybe a large Iceland Gull? Also, the tertials and secondaries were very white, matching the white primaries..... which makes for a tricky identification. 

      All the images I took that featured this bird had the Gull looking away not giving a god view of the head and bill which could also help with the ID. Finally on the last image, the bird turned its head a little. Because of the long primary extension, white tertials and secondaries, I really can't make a definitive identification. I would call it a partially leucistic unidentified Gull. Anyone looking at these images who is a Lariphile would probably come to an identification conclusion. It certainly is an interesting Gull! 

     At the end of the first small breakwater, this really cool Icelandic sculpture was prominently displayed. 

      This Puffin fledgling got a bid surprise when it surfaced form a dive........it was only feet from the bow of the advancing boat. It made a quick dive to escape. It was so close I couldn't get a photo without being blurry.

 

        The boat hugged the north side of the harbor area passing right by the massive anchored Nieuw Statendam. We were able to get really close looks at the steep vertical cliff faces. 

      All along this tour around the islands,  these large caves were quite prevalent on all the lower cliff faces. Some of them were smaller and many were the size of highway tunnels. The Captain said we would stop back at this cave at the end of the tour for something special! We were all curious and also anxious for that! 

     The majority of the Kittiwake we saw this tour were either hanging out on the cliffs or swimming, gathered in small groups..........

      ......... and sadly, several expired, mostly juvenile Kittiwake floating in several spots.

          When the boat reached the tip of the north side of the harbor/small fjord area, it started to make its southerly turn to the right...........

       ......... which brought it by the first landmark destination on the tour. This is the same isolated brown house on the top of this mountainous island the Statendam passed by in the early morning. I kept wondering if this is the famous "The Most Isolated House in the World" on Ellidaey Island? I read a little about this famous house in an Iceland Travel Guide Jen bought long before our cruise. However, the Ellidaey Island house was white, and this one is brown. The design of this house is similar but much different,..... and this island is not Ellidaey Island. Does someone live there? Even if they did, the access to this house is straight up the sides of the cliff. 

     Over the PA System on the boat that question was soon answered but not before another question......"I'll bet you all are wondering about that house"!!  You could hear all the anxious "yes" responses throughout the boat. The story was told to us........years ago, a shipwreck took the lives of all onboard except for one strong sailor. He swam to the island fighting the wind, waves and the storm. The exhausted sailor eventually struggled and climbed his way to the top of the island hoping for safety, food and shelter from the storm! When he eventually made it to the top of the barren island, he found nothing to help him....... he unfortunately died from exposure. 

     To pay tribute this brave sailor, the community got together and built this house in his honor! They stocked the house with food, water, warm blankets, firewood and it is fully furnished. The hope was that if another sailor survives a shipwreck and makes it to the island, they would be able to survive the storms! That to me is amazing community solidarity! So happy they had this landmark as part of the tour!!

       After leaving the island with the sailors monument, the boat started around the tip of Heimaey. 

      In the distance along the shoreline, I saw a concentration of white dots. I assumed they were Gulls until I reviewed the images..... a beach of lost buoys and driftwood. I started wondering where the driftwood came from since there weren't many (if any) trees here. But the rocky shoreline was interesting, and the only one I saw so far on this tour. The deep red (small stone) beach and cobble stone edges were interesting. 

         Following along the eastern and southeastern shoreline, the same towering and sheer cliff faces continued all along the trip. The birds were scattered and spread out at this point but were steady. Fulmars.......

        ........... and the first Eiders I had seen since we left the harbor.

                                         The Puffin numbers slowly increased.  

         Interesting cliff face formations framed the slowly increasing Puffin numbers. The first Great Cormorant flies into the picture.

               Still plenty of Icelandic Sheep skirting the sheer edges of the brow of the cliffs. 

                           Another Cave.......this one appeared to be deep.

      We were heading south towards the Puffin Rock area where one of the largest concentrations of Puffin would be located-

            And the closer we traveled towards Puffin Rock, the sightings of Puffins sharply increased.

                         .......... and the numbers of Fulmar also increased-   

         Getting closer to Puffin Rock area, this  small island in the distance with a passage through it seemed attractive to Cormorants.

        In every direction you looked from the boat you would see Puffins..... not many at first but a steady flow of them. 

          The first Black Guillemot of this tour were starting to show up in small gatherings.

       The number of Puffins dramatically increased. Flocks of multiple birds became the norm.

       This Black Guillemot was holding a small brightly-colored prey item..... maybe a Crab?

        Nothing in this image except the water. I liked the interplay between the gray shapes and color values of the surface of the water and the blue sky reflections. 

      We were now approaching the big cove at Puffin Rock. The sea with its cast green reflections from the bright green grassy tops of the cliffs added an interesting background to the dozens and dozens of swimming Puffins that were now all around the boat!

                     This Puffin decided that the moving boat was getting close enough......

      We had arrived at Puffin Rock Cove, and just as the name implies......Puffins, Puffins, Puffins! 

         No matter from what side of the boat, in all directions, the area was covered with Puffins! 

                                         Puffins flew in..... Puffins flew out! 

      Many of the Puffins swimming in the area and close to the boat had bills full of Sandeels and Capelin.

      It was a little difficult to photograph Puffins since there were so many in every direction and distance form the boat......hard to make up your mind which one to concentrate on! Everyone on board the boat was really enjoying the Puffins......everyone loves Puffins! But other than everyone's iPhones, I only saw two other conventional cameras equipped with telephoto lens...... and they only came out for the Puffins. 

                                   More caves and caverns along the shoreline- 

                              Many scattered flocks of Puffins out to the horizon-

                                                        Yup, more Sheep! 

       Even though this was mid-August and the end of the Puffin's summer..... and we were cautioned head of time that there was a chance that the Puffins would be gone......hundreds and hundreds of them were still here.....so far!!

           "Puffins, Puffins and more Puffins.....and four interesting Accommodations"!

               Heimaey Harbor, "Puffins, Seabirds, Island Tour and Local Culture" 

                                    Boat Tour,    ACT 2, CONTINUES--  

       

   This blog report is in progress. I continue to work on it and am writing the next port destinations. I will post them when each destination page is posted. For now, I am posting them out of order. When I have completed the entire trip report, I will re-post them in order. 

   To go back to the beginning of this in progress trip report, click on "Older Posts" below right