Breeding birds in the Andakíll Ramsar site in 2017

Abstract

Iceland supports internationally important breeding populations of 21 bird species, including 10 species of wader. It supports a large proportion of the world population for some species, and is especially important for many breeding waders. Iceland is the second most important breeding area for waders in Europe, after the vastly larger Russia. It has been estimated that 4–5 million adult and juvenile waders migrate from Iceland each autumn. Wetland habitats are of major importance for breeding birds in Iceland. The abundance of breeding birds is generally highest in wetland and semiwetland habitats, with most ground nesting species preferring open areas to nest and avoiding woodland.