A raptor on my wishlist for Iceland is the Iceland falcon or gyrfalcon, the world’s largest falcon.

I believe that if you wait long enough, birds will come to you. Such was the case with the gyrfalcon.

On February 2, 2019 I saw my first gyr at the Arcata Bottoms in Northern California. What an amazing view of this female gyr that perched on power lines and then hunted coots near the road where we where the lone audience to nature’s sometimes cruel theater! This was one of my best observations of any raptor in the field.

So gyrfalcon would not be a lifer on my Iceland birding saga but seeing the Iceland falcon in Iceland would be a special experience. But first we had to find one.

Our guide had staked out a gyrfalcon nest on a cliff with two chicks. Through the scope, we could just pick out the chicks, sitting on either side of the nest but the adults were nowhere to be seen. They were probably off hunting to feed their future falcons.

This nest is believed to be the only active nest in Iceland this breeding season. Whether avian flu is to blame or a crash in prey populations, the reasons are unclear.