Gyrfalcon monitoring
![Fálkaungar í hreiðri á Norðausturlandi](/sites/default/files/styles/original_small/public/2022-07/okn_falkaungar_img_5049.jpg?itok=MNQyfyCr)
Up to a quarter of Europe’s gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) population breeds in Iceland. Iceland’s gyrfalcon population is believed to number only around 400 breeding pairs in a good year. This population is small and vulnerable, and the gyrfalcon is therefore protected under Icelandic law.
The gyrfalcon monitoring project has a dual focus:
- To monitor changes to the gyrfalcon population in order to track its development.
- To study the behavioural and population response of gyrfalcons to 10-year population fluctuations for rock ptarmigan and determine what part gyrfalcons play in these 10-year cycles.
IINH Contact: Ólafur K. Nielsen