The outlook for Iceland’s largest bird, the gray sea eagle, is good this year. More nests have been spotted than last year and one of them might even go online.
“This looks a lot better than last year” says Kristinn Haukur Skarphéðinsson, ornithologist at the Icelandic Institute for Natural History. There were 34 eagle couples that laid eggs last summer but now there are 43 nests known. The mild weather in May is a factor, but the chicks are very fragile and sensitive towards sudden weather changes in the beginning of summer. Mbl.is reports
Bergsveinn Reynisson and Signý M.Jónsdóttir, farmers at Gróustadir in Gilsfjördur are planning to set up a web cam nexto an eagle nest and have gained permission to do so from the Icelandic Environmental Agency. The plan is to have the web cam ready by the end of June and it will be possible to watch Icelandic eagles nest at www.reykholar.is
Skarphédinsson says that this technology has been used abroad for years and will not disturb the birds.
The Icelandic eagle stock was nearly extinct in the early 20th century, but has slowly been recovering since then and is under constant supervision.
