Spring birdwatching: Puffins in Iceland

Iceland is a summertime breeding destination for thousands of birds, and the locals pay heed to the arrival of these visitors: It signals that spring is finally arriving and long daylight and milder weather await.

But it’s not just the locals who roll out the welcome mat for these stopover guests: tourists flock (sorry!) to anywhere that offers the promise of puffins. They’re everyone’s favorite bright-beaked clowns, but supporting these headliner acts is a magnificent cast of feathered co-stars, spread across the country. See our map for some birding hotspots, and read up on some of the best and most surprising bird-loving locales.

Budding leaves and blooming bulbs may be springtime markers in other parts of the world, but in Iceland spring is heralded by the golden plover (the lóa in Icelandic), a bird with pretty mottled feathers and an unmistakable call.

Lóan er komin! (the lóa has arrived!) is both a well-known folk song and the headline of newspaper articles reporting the first sighting of the season. This welcome migrating guest normally arrives in the latter half of March.

Got a thing for feathers? Twitch away, friends. This map only scratches the surface of the avian riches to be found across Iceland, from tiny islets and soaring sea cliffs to lakes, ponds and lagoons that play host to countless visitors with a starring role on birders’ checklists.

Icelandair connects Reykjavík with domestic destinations close to some of the finest birdwatching and puffin-admiring locales:

Akureyri in North Iceland acts as a gateway to birdwatching hotspots including Hrísey, Grímsey and Mývatn.

Egilsstaðir in East Iceland serves as an access point to the secluded, puffin-rich jewel of Borgarfjörður Eystri.

Ísafjörður in the Westfjords is a stepping stone to the island of Vigur and the magnificent bird cliffs of Látrabjarg.

Embarking on a birdwatching adventure in Iceland not only allows you to immerse yourself in the calls of countless avian residents, but is a chance to witness Iceland’s majestic landscapes, too. Some of our most beloved birdwatching hideaways include:

Puffins make up a large part of Iceland’s birdlife pull. And no birdwatching adventure in Iceland is complete without laying eyes on these sublime creatures.

Puffins spend the winter at sea, and come to Iceland for spring and summer in their preferred breeding grounds: steep rocky cliffs by the ocean.

Fun fact: puffins return to the same breeding grounds, and are monogamous, breeding with the same partner for life.

They usually begin arriving in early April and stay as late as early September, so May to mid-August is the best time to be assured of seeing them in large numbers. (In 2025, the first puffins were observed on Grímsey and in Borgarfjörður Eystri around April 5.)

They are best observed at the breeding grounds in the early mornings or evenings, as they often spend the day at sea.