Tag Archives: redstart

Three rare birds in a day

graeningi-3
Græningi – Red-eyed Vireo – Vireo olivaceus

Bird watching is an interesting pass time. There are not as many species to observe on an isolated island like Iceland, out in the North Atlantic Ocean, as there are on the mainland. But there are days when exotic birds are seen,some of which have come from afar. Today was such a day.

gardaskotta
Garðaskotta – Redstart – Phoenicurus phoenicurus

On my  bird watching trip down to the shore I saw three vagrant bird species; Red-eyed Vireo from America, and Chiffchaff and Redstart from Europe.  The Red-eyed Vireo and the Redstart were seen in a garden in the village Stokkseyri on the exact same spot that I saw a Red-eyed Vireo on September 30, last year. Strange coincidence that. The Red-eyed Vireo is one of the most common American vagrants in Iceland and I have seen five in the last few years.

laufsongvari-2
Chiffchaff – Phylloscopus collybita – Gransöngvari

These are all taken today.