Borgarfjordur Eystri Harbour

The colony is on top of the cliff, and a wooden staircase leads up to it from the harbour. At the top a boardwalk runs along the nesting ground, with an enclosed observation room, so the birds are watched from a fixed line rather than followed around.

The platforms stand a few metres from the burrows and the puffins take little notice of people. Hundreds are on the cliff and in the water at the right hour. The colony is relatively small, which is why the viewing is this close. A three-storey cafe stands by the harbour, with a lift to the upper floors.

• The middle of the day is the empty slot. The puffins are out at sea. Come in the morning or the evening, when the birds are back on the cliff.
• Stairs, not a ramp. A wooden staircase runs from the harbour up to the nesting ground, and there is no step-free route to the top.
• Keep back and keep the noise down. Stay on the boardwalk and do not approach the burrows.
• Toilets are on site. Cards and contactless payments are accepted.

Reaching the harbour means driving: it is a detour off the Ring Road, and the road is now fully paved. Park at the harbour itself. From the car park a wooden staircase climbs the cliff to the nesting ground, where a boardwalk leads along the burrows to the observation room.

Better: early morning, or the evening from around 6 pm.

Avoid: the middle of the day.

The puffins feed at sea through the day and come back to the cliff in the evening. Hundreds are on the slope and in the water in mid-May and June. Photography needs no long lens here, but birds in flight are hard: they are small and fast, and a fast shutter is the only way to hold them.