Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mývatn
Around 100km east of Akureyri on the Ringroad,
Mývatn
's placid, shallow
spread of water belies its status as one of the country's most touristed locations.
Admittedly, Mývatn has had its detractors ever since the Middle Ages - when the
lake and its steaming surrounds were fearfully dismissed as a pool of the devil's piss
- though the only annoyance nowadays are summertime swarms of tiny black
flies
(Mývatn means “Midge Lake”). These provide an abundant food source for both
fish and the hundreds of thousands of
wildfowl
which descend on the lake each
year to raise their young: all of Iceland's duck species breed either here or on the
Laxá
, Mývatn's fast-flowing, salmon-rich outlet, and one -
Barrow's goldeneye
-
nests nowhere else in Europe.
Most people base themselves at
Reykjahlíð
, a small service centre on the northern side
of the lake, though a few alternatives are dotted elsewhere around the shore - especially
at southerly
Skútustaðir
. A good
road
circuits Mývatn, with tracks and footpaths
elsewhere, and two busy days are enough to take in the main sights. Mývatn looks its
best in summer, but can get very crowded then: beds are in short supply and it's a
toss-up to decide whether there are more tourists, insects, or ducks. As for the flies: a
few bite, but most just buzz irritatingly around your face - keep them off by buying a
hat with attached netting. Alternatively, hit a few good days in late spring and, while
you'll miss out on some of the bird life, there are no flies and you'll have the place to
yourself - though facilities are limited out of season.
6
MÝVATN'S DUCKS
In summer, plentiful food and nesting space make Mývatn the best place in northern Europe
to see
wild ducks
- it's possible to clock up eighteen species during your stay. Their favourite
nesting area
is in spongy heathland on the northwest side of the lake, though more
accessible places to spy on them include Mývatn's southeastern corner (especially good for
Barrow's goldeneye); the Laxá outflow on the western side of the lake (for harlequin ducks);
and even the shore at Reykjahlíð (anything). Female ducks tend to be drably coloured, to blend
in with vegetation while incubating their eggs, and unless otherwise stated, the following
descriptions are of breeding males.
Several types of duck at Mývatn have a black head with a black and white body
(females with a brown or russet head and grey elsewhere). The most celebrated is
Barrow's goldeneye
, resident year-round and easily identified by a characteristic white
comma-shaped patch between the manic golden eye and bill. Keep an eye open too
for their cute black-and-white striped chicks. Barrow's goldeneye are most likely to be
confused with either the similar-looking
tufted duck
or
scaup
, though neither shares its
“comma” - tufted ducks also have a droopy back-swept crest, while the scaup has a grey,
not white, back.
Mývatn's other speciality is the
harlequin duck
, here from May until July, which sports
unmistakable chestnut, white and blue plumage. As indicated by the Icelandic name
-
straumönd
, stream duck - harlequins are most often seen bobbing in and out of rough water
on the Laxá. Other marine ducks spending their summers at Mývatn include the
scoter
, a
uniquely all-black diving duck, which in Iceland breeds only at Mývatn, and the
long-tailed
or
old squaw
, another strikingly patterned bird with a summer plumage including a black neck
and crown and very long, pointed tail (the similar
pintail
has a white throat, though so does
the long-tail in winter).
Otherwise, you'll be fairly familiar with most of Mývatn's ducks, which are primarily freshwater
species. Some of the more plentiful include the
mallard
; the red-headed
pochard
; the
long-beaked
merganser
and
goosander
, and the wide-beaked
shoveler
;
widgeon
, with
their coppery heads and vertical blond streak between the eyes; the uniformly nondescript
gadwall
; and
teals
, which sport a glossy red head and green eyepatch.
