Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A wetland area, 20 km east of Lake Thingvallavatn, which comprises the Brúará river up to Brúarfoss and adjacent wetlands near the Hvítá river outlet (Selsflód, Reykjanes, Mosar, Skálholtstunga and Höfdaflatir). There are hot-springs at Reykjanes. Anglers fish along parts of the Brúará river.
An important area for breeding wildfowl and waders, especially
Anser anser (also moulting, e.g. 550 at Höfdaflatir in 1983), as well as for staging geese and wintering
Bucephala islandica (one of the few wintering sites away from Mývatn-Laxá (site 044).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Hunting causes disturbance to birds, and parts of the area are threatened with further drainage. Horse-grazing also poses a threat. The IBA is on the list of sites of conservation interest in the Nature Conservation Register. However, it is listed there as a number of individual sites: Brúará; Skálholtstunga and Mosar as one site; Selsflód; Höfdaflatir; and Reykjanes.
National None
International None
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Brúará (Iceland). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/brúará-iba-iceland on 26/12/2024.
