Ingólfur Arnarson first stepped on Icelandic soil around 874, or so this is how the story goes. According to the Landnáma (The Icelandic Book of Settlements), Arnarson and his family were the first Norse people to settle the subarctic island, and claim Reykjavik to be their home. However, prior to reaching the infamous capital city to the west, Arnarson spent his inaugural winter in Ingólfshöfðil along the cape where he beached his seafaring vessel. Named for the nordic explorer who founded Iceland, Ingólfshöfðil is now a privately owned and managed nature preserve.

Two Steps up One Step Back
Nikon D810 + Nikon 16-35mm f/4VR

Isolated by kilometers of black sand and unpredictable rivers, the journey from Iceland’s loop road to the coast is how I’d imagine a trip across the Martian landscape. Hobbling along as if on the Mars rover, a tractor-pulled cart dragged us through sand and sea in search of gems that inhabit the cliffs. Rising 76 meters above the ocean, we climbed the steep and sandy terrain descending one foot for every three feet of progress.

Flight to the Colony / Atlantic Puffin
Nikon D500 + Nikon 200-400mm f/4.0VR

With the exception of its colorful lighthouse, the windswept plateau is void of human constructs and consists of grassy fields and jagged cliffs that drop off into the ocean. The main attraction of the cape is a colony of puffins nesting at cliff’s edge where they have access to nutrient rich waters. While seemingly idyllic to the peninsular’s inhabitants, the neighborhood is not without its dangers, for nesting within the grasses are predatory skuas. Here the drama of predator and prey can be witnessed as skuas rob puffin nests and even capture unsuspecting adult birds.

Skuas eat Lundi
Nikon D500 + Nikon 200-400mm f/4.0VR

I arrived at my buddy's home just as the dashboard read 4:30. The consummate outdoorsmen, Brian is the one guy you want to be near when the shit hits the fan. Kind as the day is long, the man is as strong as an ox and knows how to survive when the weather turns nasty. A fellow biology teacher and former co-worker at the Bell Museum of Natural History, Brian shares my passion for wildlife and nature photography. Bound by similar experiences in academia, work and avocation, it is a love of the St. Croix River Valley and its secretive wildlife that brings out the "weekend warrior" in us both.

Rush to the Other Side (Canis latrans)Nikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm f4VR + Nikon TC14EII — Rush to the Other Side (*Canis latrans*)
Nikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm f4VR + Nikon TC14EII

The call the previous night went something like this... "I think I saw coyote tracks near the otter hole... want to check it out?" "When," I asked... "give me the start time."
"Be here at 4:30 a.m.," he said.
I frowned at the time, but Brian knew that I could not resist the temptation to photograph a predator.

I was out of bed at 3:15am and in the car by 3:30. It was a dark and snowy drive as I made my way north along the river valley. The mix of adrenaline and caffeine were my companion for the next 40 minutes. After a bleary-eyed greeting, we did that man-hug thing, jumped in his Rav4 and headed north for another 30 miles.

The snowfall intensified with every mile, but we were awake and determined to scout the area. Pulling off along a quiet county road, I put on a head-sock, some camouflage and began the hike down a wooded hill towards the river. Stepping carefully, we traversed the shallow waters of the St. Croix as we made our way towards the peninsula. While the bay on which we walked was iced over, we could feel our boots push deep into the snow with every step. The sound of breaking ice was unnerving but not unusual. Thirty minutes after leaving the car we dug a snow shelter and waited.

Pulling a predator call from his pocket, Brian blew into the crude wooden whistle to make the sound of a struggling rabbit. Nothing happened and we waited some more. Snow now began to accumulate on my numb legs, the camera bag and on my lens. Just as we were thinking... "time to give up," the coyotes emerged at a distance. There were five running from Minnesota to Wisconsin across the St. Croix. Far, far away we could make out their form outlined by the falling snow... and we waited some more.

I took about 500 photographs on this day and deleted about 485. The ones presented here are among my favorite works in a catalog of images that include predators of Africa, exotics from Costa Rica and landscapes from around the world. Maybe it's the story in my own mind, but this shoot will likely be a treasured memory for me into the future.

Discovered (Canis latrans)Nikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm f4VR + Nikon TC14EII — Discovered (*Canis latrans*)
Nikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm f4VR + Nikon TC14EII

Should you with to see some of Brian's photographs from this day visit hits blog "One Thousand Days in Nature."

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