2015 Ásbrú, Reykjanesbær, Iceland

Registration will close tonight (3 July 2015)

You can still submit abstracts for the 2015 Annual Wader Study Group Conference, which  will be held in Ásbrú, Iceland, 02 – 05 October 2015, until mid August 2015.

The conference will be kicked off on a Friday by a full day of excursions, and completed by a workshop day on Monday. Please visit the Programme tab to plan your travels accordingly.

If you have any enquiries, contact us via conference@waderstudygroup.org

Location

Update 24.9.2015. Interested delegates should now have registered for being picked up from the airport but if you are travelling on your own, here is a pdf of the location. WSG-Location

The conference will be held at Ásbrú on the Reykjanes peninsula in SW-Iceland (the international airport Keflavík is about a 15 minutes drive away). Ásbrú is located within the municipality of Reykjanesbær (formerly Keflavík) and there is just a short walk to town.

Ásbrú is located on a former NATO defense area  and after U.S. forces evacuated in 2006, a part of the base not needed for current defence activities, was re-invented as a community of entrepreneurs, students and businesses. Ásbrú offers various academic programs at Keilir and has the largest university campus in Iceland.

All accommodation is within walking distance and we will offer affordable packages. Please come back soon for more details.

The international airport in Iceland is called Keflavík. The airport is only a 15 minutes drive away from the conference venue. Keflavík has daily direct services to numerous European and North American airports.

We will arrange a pick-up during rush hours of incoming flights. If you arrive at times when pick-up will not be available, there are taxis located at the airport.

Hekla volcano, Iceland

For other options to travel to Iceland visit the Iceland tourism websites.

Accommodation and excursions are booked separately through an Icelandic travel agency. When you have completed the Registration form on the IWSG website, visit the Icelandic website to book your accommodation, remembering to indicate your gender and any room sharing preferences (which we will do our best to accommodate).

All accommodation is within walking distance to the conference venue (10 -15 min.).

We have arranged 3-, 4- and 5-day packages including:

• pick-up service to and from the airport
• bed & breakfast in the hotel, https://bbkeflavik.com/
• lunches (except Friday)
• evening meals
• coffee/tea during the lecture sessions

Lunch and dinner will be buffet-style and include: soup, fish/meat, pasta, rice/potatoes, bread, salad bar, fruits, juice, coffee and tea. Sunday night dinner will be fancy – you’ll be surprised. Please let us know via the registration form whether you are vegetarian or have any other dietary requirements.

As Friday is excursion day, lunch will have to be organized differently. Opportunities to purchase food on the way will be organized.

Prices for the packages are given per person:

5-day package               4-day package                    3-day package

   THU-TUE                   THU-MON | FRI-TUE                   FRI-MON

single  room                         470€                                    440€                                     410€

double room                         420€                                   390€                                      360€

3- or 4-bed room                 390€                                  360€                                      330€

5- or 6-bed room*               350€                                   320€                                      290€

* 5- or 6-bed rooms are limited and available for students only.

On arrival day, only dinner is included; on departure day, breakfast and lunch are included.

Accommodation and excursion bookings: https://travice.is/waderstudygroup-2015.aspx

Icelanders wishing to pay using Icelandic Krona should book here

Please be aware that there will be a deadline for bookings: 1 July 2015

IWSG conference – Iceland 2015 – preliminary program

Thursday, 1. October 2015

10:00-17:00 EXCO meeting

From 10:00 Registration at Bed and Breakfast (B&B)

19:00 Dinner 

Friday, 2. October 2015

Excursions: departure from B&B at 09:00 am.

South Iceland excursion

„The Golden Circle“. The most popular tourist trip in Iceland (our version will include some birding!) We will leave from Ásbrú and travel south and east along the coast of the Reykjanes peninsula and stop at a few bird sighting sites. From Eyrarbakki, we will travel inland to see the magnificent waterfall Gullfoss and the famous Geysir geothermal area. Finally we‘ll visit Thingvellir national park, a location of historical significance, unique geology and natural features.

Time: 09:00-18:30

Reykjanes peninsula

Birding trip around the Reykjanes peninsula. The area is one of the best sites in the country for birding this time of year and we will follow the coastline and stop at all the local hot spots. Among species that will likely be spotted are the Harlequin duck and the Great Northern Diver, both of which are rarely seen elsewhere in Europe. If time allows, we might also visit the geothermal area in Krýsuvík.

Time: 09:00-18:00

Saturday, 3. October 2015

Sunday, 4. October 2015

Monday, 5. October 2015

Wader productivity on agricultural land (program below)

copyright Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust

Workshop attendees are asked to briefly answer the following questions and preferably e-mail their responses to the conference organisers (michael.macdonald@rspb.org.uk and ahoodless@gwct.org.uk). The answers will be discussed and summarised at the workshop.

1. What interventions to improve wader productivity on farmland are you aware of in your home country?
2. What evidence (published or otherwise) is there for their effectiveness?
3. Based on your own knowledge, name one management intervention that you think might be introduced to improve wader productivity on farmland?

Populations of waders breeding on agricultural grasslands and arable land have been declining throughout Europe since at least the 1980s owing to the intensification of farming methods. Rates of decline have varied between countries and species, but nearly all populations now require dedicated conservation management to remain viable. Reduced productivity is recognized as the main driver of declines in most situations and a vast amount of research has been conducted into the factors influencing breeding success and potential solutions.

Grassland breeding waders have received greater attention and we are probably closer to a consensus on the most effective solutions for agricultural grasslands. However, arable land comprises an important breeding habitat for some wader species in Europe. In recent years, there have been several studies investigating ways of improving productivity of waders on arable land, working particularly on lapwing and stone curlew, but not restricted to these species.

The aim of this workshop is to facilitate sharing of experience from studies across national borders and make researchers aware of work that is going on elsewhere. A combination of short presentations and informal discussions will bring together people working on wader productivity on arable land and grassland, to inform researchers of projects being carried out, to share experiences and results of such projects.

We hope to draw broad comparisons between the main factors influencing productivity of waders on grassland and arable land, examine knowledge gaps and discuss potential management solutions that will ultimately lead to increased wader productivity.

The workshop will take place on Monday 5 October. More information on the programme will be published soon, in the meantime contact the workshop organiser Michael MacDonald (Michael.MacDonald@rspb.org.uk).

Monday, 5. October 2015

Updated Information about the excursions (booking is already completed). The Reykjavík excursion was cancelled due to (total) lack of interest.

Excursions on Friday 2 October – information for participants 

South Iceland (Golden Circle) excursion

The bus will leave the accommodation at Ásbrú promptly at 9 am. We will head through lava fields to the south side of the Reykjanes peninsula. The bus will take us past some scenic seaside bays and brackish lagoons where we have good chances of spotting harlequin ducks, scaup and some seabirds. At the entrance of the southern lowlands (the largest lowland basin in Iceland) we will stop at Þorlákshöfn, a fishing village. There  we will sample the gull variety in the harbour and hopefully see some Iceland gulls among others and if people need to use the lavatories they can pop in to the gas station located there (approx. at 10:40). Next stop is Óseyrarnes which is a sandy shoreline with black basalt sand (like pretty much all sand in Iceland) next to the estuary of river Olfusá which is the country’s largest river. With some luck we will see long-tailed ducks and some seabirds. Next we will probably make a short stop at the coastal town of Eyrarbakki and look in the harbour to see if we can spot some waders. After that we sample the landscapes of the southern lowlands for about an hour by bus before arriving at Fridheimar (approx. 13 pm) which is a greenhouse station which specialises in environmentally friendly growing of several tomato strains. This is where we will have our lunch among the tomato plants. The lunch is a Tomato Soup served with crème fraîche and cucumber salsa, fresh-baked bread, butter and fresh herbs plus coffee and tea. Included in the lunch is a presentation about how tomatoes are grown year-round with geothermal energy and the technologies involved (including bees). The cost is ca. 14 euros per person (this is not included in the excursion price). We plan to be at Gullfoss (which is a decent waterfall) at 14:30, after that we will go to Geysir (the original but dormant geyser) for a short stop to hopefully see Strokkur, Geysir‘s smaller cousin erupt a couple of times. Then we will head to Thingvellir, which is a UNESCO world heritage site, where the American and European tectonic plates meetand used to host the Icelandic parliament in Viking times. We aim to be back at Ásbrú for dinner around 18:30.

What you need to know:

• Bring warm wind- and waterproof clothes!
• Good optics are essential as ranges are often long.
• The cost of the lunch is not included and is ca. 14 euros. They take all major cards.
• Synchronous peeing is optional at ca. 10:40, at lunch time and at one or two stops between lunch and 18:30.
• If you are allergic to tomatoes beware!

What we need to know:

• If you have special dietary requirements for the lunch please let us know as soon as possible at iwsg.conference@gmail.com. The soup is cream (lactose) free and gluten free bread is available.

Reykjanes Peninsula excursion

This field trip will be focused on birding. The bus will leave the accommodation at Ásbrú promptly at 9 am. We will head to ponds in Keflavík and then directly to Garður, the northwestern point of Reykjanes Peninsula. We will search for seabirds such as auks, divers, gulls and seaducks. This site holds good numbers of pre-migrating golden plovers and various other waders including purple sandpipers. We will gradually move southwards along the western coast and stop at well known birding spots. In this area we will enjoy the remains of migrating birds such as Greenlandic wheatears, white wagtails and meadow pipits as well as look for the resident islandorum ptarmigan, islandicus wren and gyrfalcons. The bus will take us to Hafnir where we have good chances of spotting harlequin ducks and great northern divers. South of Hafnir we will enter really barren land where the division of the European and American continental plates diverge. Participants have the chance to walk over the bridge between continents. We will mainly stay in “Europe” after this stop. At the southwestern tip of the peninsula we will look for seabirds and have a look at Eldey island – where the last known great auk in the world was killed in 1844. A geothermal area will be visited at this site where hot springs and a “green lagoon” can be seen. We will head to Grindavík vicinity where a selection of waders and gulls can be seen. In general, the whole area is good for birding and is well known amongst birders for vagrants both from Europe and America. We might stop at some isolated plantations, depending on the weather the days before the trip.

In Grindavík we will stop at a restaurant where participants can buy a selection of food items such as simple sandwiches to more complex ones such as hamburgers and club sandwiches. A soup, hot-dog or pizza is also on the menu and the prizes are affordable – typically 10-15 euros. However, as we will most likely be in Grindavík in the afternoon (c. 14.00) it might be a good idea to bring some food with you along the way. If you have not already prepared food before the trip you will have the chance to do so at a groceries store by the ponds in Keflavík (our first stop).

We will be back at Ásbrú in the afternoon but surely in time for dinner which is around 18:30.

What you need to know:

• Bring warm wind- and waterproof clothes!
• Good optics are essential as ranges of some species can be long.
• There will be an optional lunch in Grindavík and the restaurant accepts all major cards.
• A toilet is on board the bus which is essential as we will be out of towns for most of the time. Toilet stops in Sandgerdi (early in the trip) and again in Grindavik in the afternoon.

For those that are thinking about arriving early or extending their stay, we would also like to point out that the traveling agency offers various other interesting trips that can be found here.