In accordance to contract with the town of Akureyri, the municipality of Eyjafjarðarsveit and ISAVIA [the national airport and air navigation service provider of Iceland] bird censuses were repeated in the delta area of river Eyjafjarðará in year 2020. The results were compared to earlier census results for the area, especially counts from year 2010. The counts were undertaken in spring 2020 and with consideration to land use. The census area was divided into subsections and results reported for each subsection. Counts were implemented throught the use of line transects, using dense counts where all birds seen and nests were noted as well as counts from distance using telescope as appropriate, depending on species involved in order to obtain as precise results for each subsection. Bird monitoring of the river delta areas shows how some of the species have changes between years, variable from species to species. The core area, which is the delta area north of the old main road, is the most important part, where birdlife is most concentrated and diverse, but part of Staðarey [which is south the the former ring road] also held dense populations of breeding birds. Numbers of Grey-lag Geese declined from earlier years while some increase took place in numbers of Common Eiders, Black-headed Gulls, and Common Gulls in the core area. These populations declined however within the airport area. The diversity of ducks was high and most populations were stable in comparison with former censues. The numbers of wader was similar as in former years but unusually many Redwings were breeding which is consistent with the vegetation changes that have taken place in the study area. The report indicates the redlisted species breeding in the area and recommendations are given concerning conservation and planning arrangements of the delta area.

Translation of the Icelandic summary in: S.B. Ragnarsdóttir, S. Thorstensen & S. Metúsalemsson 2021. Fuglalíf í óshólmum Eyjafjarðarár: Könnun 2020 með samanburði við fyrri ár. [The birdlife of the delta area of river Eyjafjaðará, N-Iceland: The results of a survey in year 2020 in comparison to former years.] Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands NÍ21001. 62 pp. (In Icelandic).

Aevar Petersen
