How to see Red Phalarope in Iceland

It's been too long since I've seen my favourite Icelandic bird, Red Phalarope. Just as I prefer the North American name for Lapland Bunting, Lapland Longspur, then I also prefer their name for Phalaropus fulicaria, Red Phalarope to the British name Grey Phalarope for the simple reason that 95% of all the individuals I've seen have been in bright red breeding plumage rather than grey winter attire. Grey Phalarope is far too prosaic for such an attractive bird. The Red Phalarope population is small and vulnerable in Iceland and all breeding sites are off limits to visitors. There is, however, one place where visitors have a pretty good chance of seeing them in summer without disturbing breeding birds, and this is the island of Flatey in western Iceland. It's a wonderful place and worth every effort for visiting birders to visit.

Above: Red Phalarope, well worth a 6 am start from Reykjavík

The ferry to Flatey leaves from Stykkishólmur at 9 a.m. which necessitates a 6:30 a.m. departure from Reykjavík, an easy and enjoyable drive, through increasingly beautiful countryside, especially on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, where jagged mountains and lava fields line the road. The roadside birds were the usual suspects, i.e. Redshank, Golden Plover, Snipe, Arctic Tern, Whimbrel, Oystercatcher etc. but pride of place went to my first Short-eared Owl of the year, trailed by a long line of irate waders.

Above: Red-necked Phalaropes are absolutely abundant at Flatey

It's a pleasant 90 minute trip across to Flatey, with views all the way west to Snæfellsjökull in the southwest and Látrabjarg to the north-west and an abundance of Fulmar, Kittiwake, Puffin, Eider, Black Guillemot and Arctic Tern en route. The sound of a singing Snow Bunting alerted me to the fact that we were about to dock; an apt first land bird on Flatey as Snow Buntings are incredibly common on the island. Flatey is a very small island, only a mile or so long, with one road (and very few cars) and its tiny village is easily the most picturesque in Iceland. Nearly all the houses in the village are holiday homes now, and there is a permanent population on only two farms. But more remarkable than the dense Snow Bunting population is the incredible profusion of Red-necked Phalaropes. I had hardly gone 100 metres from the harbour when I heard a familiar chup chup from the grass and there, just a few metres away was a male Red-necked Phalarope. I think a case could be made for Flatey being the best place in the world to see Red-necked Phalaropes. Yes, there may be equally good places, but I can't imagine that you could ever see this species better than here. Not only do they occupy ever pond, but you can see them wandering down the village street, foraging for insects at your feet and picking flies from the clifftop dandelions only inches away from where you are sitting. While Red-necked Phalaropes are unmissable, Red Phalaropes are much scarcer. Although I saw a female fly over almost as soon as I arrived, I had a long wait to get good views of them. The part of the island where they breed is closed to visitors, with very clearly placed STOP – DO NOT ENTER signs giving people no excuse to trespass. However, the Red Phalaropes, just as tame as their red-necked relatives, don't know which areas they are supposed to stay in and can be frequently seen in the village, feeding in the grass at the feet of delighted birders. The best tactic for seeing Red Phalarope on Flatey is to go up to the church and walk along the fence which runs down to the sea. Set up your scope by the stop sign and wait, because sooner or later a Red Phalarope is likely to feed in the bay below - this tactic does not work at low tide, the birds like to feed on the surface of the water, not on mudflats, so if the tide is low, you are better off looking elsewhere or spending your time photographing the abundant Snow Buntings, Red-necked Phalaropes, Black Guillemots or Puffins, or avoiding the hyper aggressive Arctic Terns, which drew my blood while I was scanning for Red Phalaropes. While on Flatey I ran into Istvan and Gaby Katona from Hungary, who were enjoying a short working/birding trip to Iceland. They too had struggled to get good views of Red Phalarope, only flight views, but we decided to try the spot by the church for the third time. After a couple of minutes Istvan saw a brightly coloured female Red Phalarope come in to land in the bay and we are able to watch it very well for the next half hour as it picked up flies from the surface of the sea and observe its habit of frequently flying 4-5 metres from one feeding spot to the next. It's a real privilege to see this regionally rare breeder on its breeding grounds. Flatey in June or early July is another place not to be missed on a trip to Iceland.