Vestmannaeyjar

Elliðaey Island (63.467°N x 20.171°W) is the northernmost island of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, 7 km south of S-Iceland´s coast and is 0.45 km² in area. The island is vegetated, encircled by tuff and lava cliffs reaching to a 114 m height, and with a central volcanic cone.

The island remains unsettled. Puffin GLS loggers deployment started in 2019.  Birdlife International identifies the archipelago as an important bird area. About 20 species of birds breed there, including Atlantic puffin (82.400 pairs, Hansen et al. 2011) and kittiwake (5498 pairs, Garðarsson et al. 2013). Common guillemot (7419 pairs) and razorbill (638 pairs) estimates by Garðarsson et al. (2019). A few pairs of black guillemots and eiders breed also, and of the three breeding gull species, the lesser black-backed gull is most abundant (120 pairs in 2018).

Elliðaey is however most famous for its tubenose inhabitants, but four species breed there. Northern fulmar is abundant but Manx´s shearwater less common. About 4563 Leach´s storm petrels pairs breed there in 2018 (Deakin et al. unpublished), an estimated 70% reduction since 1991! Elliðaey I. is Iceland´s main colony of the European storm petrel (<10.000 pairs in 2018 Bolton et al. unpublished). Elliðaey I. is a part of the Icelandic Puffin Population Monitoring Programme since 2008.  In 2017, the Cliff Breeding Seabirds Monitoring Programme installed an automatic camera system in the Háubæli cliff colony.