People Coming Into Iceland To Steal Rare Bird Eggs

There are concerns that individuals will come to Iceland for the sole purpose of stealing rare eggs, Vísir reports.

The chairman of the board of the Icelandic Falcon Centre says that it is unusually common these days for falcon eggs to disappear, but hopes that surveillance cameras at the country’s main falcon nests scare the thieves away.

No, we’re not yolking

There have been few egg thieves in Iceland in recent years and even decades, not least due to increased measures to combat such thefts.

Sources from Vísir believe that two men have recently come to Iceland with a story about the theft of falcon eggs, which has raised concerns that egg theft is on the rise again.

Aðalsteinn Örn Snæþórsson, chairman of the Icelandic Falcon Center and director of the Nature Center Northeast Iceland, told the news agency: “We have been worried that it could be that falcon nests are being stolen, at least here in the northeast. We do not have any evidence for this, but it has been noticed that falcon pairs in certain areas that nest year after year do not breed young and it is not known why.”

This isn’t eggcellent

Aðalsteinn says that the the Icelandic falcon is a sought-after hunting falcon.

“Such falcons go for very high amounts, so there is a demand for these birds,” he said. “Of course, there are falcon farms that breed falcons from scratch, but there is always a demand for new blood into such stocks and the Icelandic falcon is considered in demand as it is the largest falcon species in the world and is considered powerful for hunting. So, of course, it’s the money that people are probably looking for.”

The Falcon Centre received permission from the Environment Agency in 2018 to install surveillance cameras to prevent thieves from approaching the falcons and spoiling their nests, especially in Húsavík and elsewhere in the northeast.

Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.

You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.

Also you can get regular news from Iceland—including the latest notifications on eruptions, as soon as they happen—by signing up to our newsletter.