Iceland 2.30: Ingólfshöfði 2

Puffins weren't the only birds at Ingólfshöfði, of course, and plenty of gulls were also in evidence: mainly great black-backed and fulmars, but we also saw the occasional kittiwake.

Ingólfshöfði is usually a safe breeding area for ground-nesting species: especially great skuas (bonxies) which have a large colony there.  The sheer scale of the sandur separating the rock from the mainland means that predators, such as arctic foxes, are kept well away.  This was certainly the case in 2013, and we had to be careful not to tread on bonxie nests while, at the same time, suffering an aerial bombardment from the chicks' parents.

In 2015 a pair of arctic foxes managed to make the crossing, and this spelt disaster for the bonxies.  Their first brood was totally wiped out, as the foxes used the plentiful supply of food to raise a large litter of pups.  They then attempted a second brood, but this too was also completely obliterated.  Not one chick survived, and the parents didn't try a third time.  As a result, all the adult bonxies were - effectively - standing around, twiddling their thumbs.  They had no young to feed and no nests to protect, meaning that the usual aggressive  behaviour was completely absent.  All desperately sad, although I'm sure the family of arctic foxes (now, thankfully, removed) didn't see it that way.

There were precious few seabirds on the cliffs, so we eventually walked back to the escarpment past the sheep hut.  It looked very dramatic with Vatnajökull as a backdrop.

Going down the sand slope was significantly easier than going up it, and then it was all aboard the tractor for the ride back to base.  As with our previous trip, the visit to Ingólfshöfði was definitely one of the highlights of the holiday, and it really should be on the itinerary of anyone who is visiting this part of Iceland.

Lihou Island

After an Image Appraisal workshop on the Sunday morning, we then had the afternoon free before dinner with Carl and Gill in St Peter Port.  Given the fortuitous timing of low tide, we decided to walk across the causeway to Lihou Island, just off the Western coast of Guernsey.

There was Thrift everywhere on the island.

Other plants too, although not being botanically inclined I've no idea what they are.  No doubt someone will put me out of my misery.

[Later:  Indeed, a wise man has informed me that the plant in question is "Umbilicus rupestris", also known as "Navelwort" and "Wall Pennywort".  Consider my misery well and truly ended.]

 

Presumably this is Cow Parsley.

I'm on firmer ground with Homo photographicus.  Jan, Gill, Ann, David and Carl were all in evidence.

There were lots of Gulls nesting on the island.  Mainly Lesser Black-backed,  but also others including several Herring Gulls.

The "natives" weren't all that friendly, however, given that it was the nesting season.  As a result, everyone was attacked as they walked close to the nesting area.

A quiet sit-down at the end of a hot afternoon before walking back across the causeway.  The concrete monstrosity on the hillside is one of the many Martello Towers (*) on Guernsey, left over from the German occupation during the Second World War.

* [Later:  I was suspicious when I wrote the last sentence, as I thought that the Martello Towers were earlier than WWII.  I checked with my friend Mr Google, and the search threw up pictures of the German gun emplacements in addition to the real Martello towers which are Napoleonic.  Serves me right for being lazy and only looking at the pictures; if I'd read the small print, my original suspicions would have been confirmed.]

By this point we'd built up quite an appetite for dinner - especially having skipped lunch in order to catch the tide!