Sigurgeir's Bird Museum (Fuglasafn Sigurgeirs)
About Sigurgeir's Bird Museum (Fuglasafn Sigurgeirs)
Sigurgeir's Bird Museum (Fuglasafn Sigurgeirs) is a natural history museum at Ytri-Neslönd, a farm on the northwest shore of Lake Mývatn in North Iceland. It holds one of the most complete collections of Icelandic birds anywhere, and it's the best place to learn what you're looking at before birdwatching around the lake.
The museum is built around the private collection of Sigurgeir Stefánsson, who grew up at Ytri-Neslönd and spent his life gathering mounted birds and eggs. He died in 1999, and the museum that carries his name opened on the family farm on August 17, 2008. The collection now numbers about 330 mounted birds and about 500 eggs.
Around 280 birds and 300 eggs are on display in the main hall. Every Icelandic breeding bird is represented, with the white-tailed eagle on loan from the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. Labels give each bird's name in several languages and its summer and winter range, and a button lights up the bird you're reading about, which turns the room into a guessing game for kids.
The setting matters, because Mývatn and the Laxá river are famous for their waterfowl. Fourteen species of duck breed here, more than at any other single place in the Northern Hemisphere, and May and June are the liveliest months at the lake. The museum café serves waffles, cakes, flatbread with smoked lamb and rye bread with smoked trout from the Mývatn area.
The bird museum is open every day of the year. Hours are 12:00 to 17:00 from June 1 to August 31 and 14:00 to 16:00 the rest of the year. Admission is 2,400 ISK for adults and 1,400 ISK for children aged 7 to 14 and seniors, while children under 7 get in free. It's about 10 minutes by car from Reykjahlíð and roughly 1 hour 15 minutes from Akureyri.
Good to know
Where is Sigurgeir's Bird Museum?
The museum is at Ytri-Neslönd on the northwest shore of Lake Mývatn in North Iceland. It is about 10 minutes by car from Reykjahlíð.
What are the opening hours of the Mývatn bird museum?
From June 1 to August 31 it is open daily from 12:00 to 17:00. The rest of the year it opens daily from 14:00 to 16:00.
How much does Sigurgeir's Bird Museum cost?
Adult admission is 2,400 ISK. Children aged 7 to 14 and seniors pay 1,400 ISK, children under 7 get in free, and groups of 10 or more pay 2,000 ISK each.
What can you see at Sigurgeir's Bird Museum?
About 280 mounted birds and 300 eggs are on display, covering every Icelandic breeding bird species. Labels show names in several languages and each bird's summer and winter range.
When is the best time for birdwatching at Mývatn?
May and June are the best months, when migrant birds have returned and the ducks are nesting. Fourteen duck species breed at Mývatn, and some birds stay on open water around the lake all winter.
Is there a café at Sigurgeir's Bird Museum?
Yes, the museum café serves coffee, homemade cakes and waffles, flatbread with smoked lamb and rye bread with smoked trout.
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