What’s a vacation without a little birding, right? So, during some recent trips to visit Reykjavik, Iceland and Florence, Italy, I was able to take some time to look for birds in these foreign locales.
In addition to seeing some familiar birds that I have photographed overseas before, I was able to find eight new-to-me birds to add to my birding catalog.
The new birds in Iceland (not surprising) were from the shorebird family: Common Eider and Northern Fumar. In Italy, many of my new birds were found while I was wandering along the Arno river: Common Sandpiper, Eurasian Blackcap, Hooded Crow, Italian Sparrow, Little Egret and Yellow-legged Gull.
And also in Iceland and Italy, I came across a few birds I had photographed while visiting Europe previously.
New birds
Common Eider, Reykjavik, Iceland, September 2025.Common Eider, Reykjavik, Iceland, September 2025.Northern Fulmar, Vikurfjara Black Sand Beach, Iceland, September 2025. Northern Fulmar, Vikurfjara Black Sand Beach, Iceland, September 2025. Hooded Crow, Florence, Italy, October 2025.Hooded Crow, Florence, Italy, October 2025.Female Eurasian Blackcap, Florence, Italy, October 2025.Female Eurasian Blackcap, Florence, Italy, October 2025.Common Sandpiper, Arno river in Florence, Italy, October 2025.Common Sandpiper, Arno river in Florence, Italy, October 2025.Italian Sparrow, Florence, Italy, September 2025.Italian Sparrow, Florence, Italy, September 2025.Little Egret, Arno river in Florence, Italy, October 2025.Little Egret, Arno river in Florence, Italy, October 2025.Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull, Florence, Italy, October 2025.
Familiar favorites
European Robin, Florence, Italy, October 2025.European Robin, Florence, Italy, October 2025.European Blue Tit, Florence, Italy, October 2025.Common Blackbird, Florence, Italy, October 2025.Gray Heron, Florence, Italy, October 2025.Juvenile Black-headed Gull, Florence, Italy, October 2025.Whooper Swans, outside Reykjavík, Iceland, September 2025.Whooper Swans, outside Reykjavík, Iceland, September 2025.
I saw my first Eastern Towhee at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge back in March, but I’ve seen many more send then at the UCF Arboretum. The scrub bush landscape there is perfect for these colorful orange and black birds.
It was a very refreshing 66 degrees on Saturday morning when I arrived at Orlando Wetlands, hoping the cooler weather was attracting some returning birds.