Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A shallow freshwater lake, pools and extensive marshes/mires of sedge (
Carex,
Eriophorum), 14 km south of the town of Hella in southern Iceland. Grazing in the marshes is considerable.
The lake is important for staging waterbirds. Breeding birds include
Gavia stellata,
Cygnus cygnus,
Anas acuta and several other duck species,
Limosa limosa and
Numenius phaeopus.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Drainage is a major threat to this wetland, and has severely affected the lake. Excessive horse-grazing is also a threat. The effects on birds of disturbance caused by shooting are not known. 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: Skumsstadavatn (Iceland). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/skumsstadavatn-iba-iceland on 23/11/2024.
