Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A vast wetland area in the highlands, c.30 km north and west of Langjökull glacier, with extensive flat, eroded areas of gravel. Ownership of the highlands has not been resolved, but farmers hold grazing and fishing rights.
One of the main breeding areas of
Cygnus cygnus in Iceland (e.g. 286 moulting on two lakes in Arnarvatnsheidi in 1976).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Road construction, and predation by introduced American mink
Mustela vison, pose threats. The area is on the list of sites of conservation interest in the Nature Conservation Register.
National None
International None
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Arnarvatnsheidi-Tvidaegra (Iceland). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/arnarvatnsheidi-tvidaegra-iba-iceland on 23/11/2024.
