A Stickless place

One of the unexpected downsides of going for a walk in the countryside is the danger of being attacked by birds. Growing up in a town I am used to animals being scared of people and not it being the other way round.

During this summer I was in the West fjords doing a bit of camping.The weather was so nice and the scenery so beautiful I decided I would go out on my own for a walk. It was not long before I was attacked by angry mob of Arctic Terns, they dive bombed me and tried to go for my head. I had to beat a hasty retreat. Kria is the Icelandic name for these birds and I realised why they are called this, "Kria" is exactly the sound they make when they attack.

They say that if you hold a stick above your head the Terns will attack the top of the stick, as they always go for the highest part of you. With this in mind I looked about desperately for a long stick, then it dawned on me that the chances of find one were quite low, as this was Iceland, a place is devoid of Tree's.

I ran along a dirt track away from the long grass where I assumed the Terns were nesting and they quickly lost interest in me. I kept a watchful eye out for them for a while but quickly became distracted when I came across a small river and a bridge. I crossed the bridge and started walking by the river bank on the other side. I had been told that there were Salmon in this river and so I was busy peering into the water looking for fish when the Kria came back for round two.

Then whilst I was fending off this second attack from above, two Oyster catchers decided they would fly out of the reeds and have a go at me as well, coming in at the side at high speed at about waist height.

I decided after this second incident to cut my walk short and headed back. Some sort of head protection is probably in order next time I think, or maybe a Stick.