Birds of the Arctic:

An Iceland Photography Tour

The spectacular country of Iceland has become a very popular tourist destination. The combination of geology, cultural and natural history, and location is unique. It is not a species-rich location for avifauna, but the set of breeding species are fascinating, and the abundance of birds is high. Bruce Dudek visited Iceland on a bird photography tour with goals of photographing an array of species including Alcidae, Laridae, Gaviidae, Charadriiformes, as well as some passerines and others, all on breeding grounds. The destinations included areas in the SW portion of Iceland and then a primary location of the tiny island of Grimsey, off the north coast. Grimsey is the only part of Iceland where the Arctic Circle crosses and nearly the whole circumference of the island is a bird cliff. It is a destination that avoids the human crowds and provides unparalleled access to hundreds of thousands of nesting seabirds.

Bruce Dudek has only taken up an active interest in birds and nature photography in the past 15 years. He is a long-time professor of Psychology and Adjunct Professor of Biology at the University at Albany, SUNY. Originally trained in animal behavior, his research career focused an intersection of neuroscience, genetics, and behavioral science with an emphasis on alcohol research. His primary photography interests have been bird life and bird behavior, as well as wildflower photography including native orchid species. Much of his work has had an Adirondack emphasis. While nature photography has been his primary interest, he also does sports photography. As a member of HMBC for well over a decade, he looks forward to sharing information on arctic birds of Iceland.