The condition of the birdlife at the Reykjavík Pond has never been worse than this summer. There were only 24 ducklings in July and many of them were on the brink of death. In 2010, there were 54 ducklings at the pond.
The Reykjavík Pond. Photo by Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir.
The average number of ducklings at the pond in the summers of 1974-2010 is 156, Morgunbladid reports. In the past few years the worsening situation of the city’s birdlife has been a matter of concern.
Ornithologist Jóhann Óli Hilmarsson and ecologist Ólafur K. Nielsen submitted a report on the situation to the City of Reykjavík’s gardening director in January, which wasn’t passed on to the city’s environment council until August 9.
They criticize city authorities for their lack of reaction to the report, which states that the Gadwall has almost disappeared from the Reykjavík Pond, and Scaup and Eider Duck will disappear in the coming years but that the situation of the Mallard and Tufted Duck is a little better.
“The ducklings have to be fed over the summer in order for them to survive. The main problem lies in an absolute lack of food and the ducklings that survive by the end of the summer are marked by starvation,” Nielsen said.
Seagulls, which eat ducklings, are not as big a problem as some people claim, Nielsen stated, and neither are cats and minks.
Click here to read more about the birdlife at the Reykjavík Pond.
ESA
