Helgi Pálmason continues his family’s legacy at Hlaðseyri Farm, an eider duck sanctuary in Patreksfjörður.

“The night in the nesting site passes like an hour. My cousin once took the night shift and asked me: ‘How do you manage to stay awake?’ I just said, ‘Observe the birds and study their nesting habits.’ Afterward, he told me, ‘It was a ridiculously short night!’” 

Helgi Páll Pálmason lives in Patreksfjörður in the westernmost part of the Westfjords. Nearby is his old family farm called Hlaðseyri, now used as a holiday retreat and eider duck sanctuary. “My grandfather grew up here. For him and his family, eiders were sustenance,” says Helgi Páll. “My father started the eiderdown sanctuary in 1971. He passed away when I was 15, and then I took over.”  

Today, there are about 500 eider nests. The ducks make their nests along the shore, in the skerries, and around an artificial pond Helgi Páll made for them. “When they were fixing the road and needed gravel, I made a deal with the road agency. They could keep all the gravel they excavated, and I suddenly had a pond.” The nesting area is fenced off, and cans and flags are used to scare foxes and minks away. They have also tried playing music to scare them off, but still, they must keep a close watch because, “After a while, the predators get used to the music.” 

Helgi Páll has constructed a watchhouse with a kitchenette, bathroom, bed, and armchairs, providing a comfortable vantage point to oversee the eider ducks at “night” in the dim light of the Icelandic midnight sun. Tonight, his son, Svanur Þór Helgason, is on the night shift. “After midnight, the birds drift asleep,” he shares. “Suddenly, a sereneness settles over the surroundings for a few hours. Even the Arctic terns pause their chatter for a while. Then, around 3 AM, life reawakens.” 

A jack of all trades, Helgi Páll, has made a hydropower turbine to harness the energy from a spring on his land, which has enough flow to keep the old farmhouse frost-free. “We also harness the wind and have a solar panel,” he says proudly.  

Soon, the family will gather to collect the eiderdown. It usually takes them two to three weeks, and then they send approximately 5 kilos (11 lbs.) of down to be cleaned in the next fjord. “My wife is a seamstress, and she sometimes makes eider duvets. Every child in the family is gifted with an eiderdown duvet when it’s born,” says Helgi Páll. “I’ve had a lot of different jobs in my days: carpenter, plumber, and truck driver. I was also the steward at the hospital for a while. However, the eider season is my carrot—my treat, my favorite time of year!”  