Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
Lakes and associated extensive freshwater marshes dominated by sedges (
Carex,
Eriophorum), covering Fridmundarvötn, Eyjavatn og Mjóavatn and neighbouring areas south to áfangafell mountain. There are eroded, flat gravel areas. Ownership of the highlands is not resolved, but farmers have grazing and fishing rights.
No birdwatcher or ornithologist is known to have visited Lake Eyjavatn by land, and very little recent information is thus available, but the site is believed to support important numbers of moulting
Cygnus cygnus at least. Numerous duck species (Anatidae) breed in large numbers and at high density, but have only been surveyed from the air and no detailed information is available.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Predation by the introduced American mink
Mustela vison poses a threat. Austara-Fridmundarvatn is now a part of the water supply for Blanda hydroelectric power-station, with water from the glacial Blanda river running through. 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: Eyjavatn-Fridmundarvötn (Iceland). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/eyjavatn-fridmundarvötn-iba-iceland on 23/12/2024.
