Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A brackish coastal lagoon with intertidal mudflats about 30 km north-east of Hornafjardarbær (Höfn) town, south-east Iceland. There are extensive beds of aquatic plants (
Ruppia, eel-grass
Zostera and algae). The area is surrounded by farms, grasslands and marshes. The marshes are grazed, and there is fishing in the lagoon (nets and traps).
Over 3,000 staging waders were recorded here during an aerial survey in May 1990. There has been no regular counting of birds at the site, apart from moulting
Cygnus cygnus (annually since 1992).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Nutrient run-off from adjacent hayfields, which are fertilized on a regular basis, could affect the water quality in the lagoon. 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: Lonsfjordur (Iceland). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lonsfjordur-iba-iceland on 23/12/2024.
