Lögberg-Heimskringla - 24.09.1999, Blaðsíða 5

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Fðstudagur 24. september 1999 * 5
What’s happening in...
lceland Canada
Eagles recovering
Bird enthusiast Hallgrímur Gunnarsson with a young eagle near Faxafloi.
WE RAN AN ARTICLE IN THE PAPER
earlier on the poor situation of
the eagle population in Iceland.
Recently Morgunblaðið published an
update on the Icelandic eagle where it is
reported that the two last summers have
been favourable nesting years for the
eagles. According to Kristinn Haukur
Skarphéðinsson, bird specialist, nine-
teen eagle couples brought up twenty-
six chicks this past summer. Thirty-four
eagle couples laid eggs, as far as' is
known, with fifteen unsuccessful nests,
and seven couples either did not lay
eggs or did nót succeed in bringing up
chicks.
“This is the first time in twelve to
fifteen years that we have had two con-
secutive good years for the eagle popu-
lation. We really need ten such years,
however the outlook is satisfactory,”
said Kristinn in an interview with
Morgunblaðið. The reasons for failure
at fifteen nests are various, arnong them
disturbance by man, inadvertently or
not. “Nesting is generally successful in
the same areas, year after year, with
other areas not as successful. This year
was good at Faxaflói, where nine chicks
came from seven nests. This many
chicks have not come from this area
since before the tum of the century. At
one time eagles disappeared from
Faxaflói, but twenty-five years ago they
retumed and have managed to establish
themselves to this degree. Another suc-
cessful area this year was at the south
side of Breiðaíjörður, but on the north
side of Breiðafjörður and in the
Westfjords the situation is worsening,”
Kristinn said. He said that for the first
time in decades the outlook for eagles
nesting at Húnaflói was promising. “A
young eagle couple has settled in the
area and could begin nesting in the
years to come.”
Astra-Zeneca
Continued from page 1
according to Þorsteinn, the result of a
recent amalgamation between the
Swedish Company, Astra, and the
English company, Zeneca. According
to information from the company’s rep-
resentative in Iceland, Dr. Ola Camber,
chairman of Astra’s drug development
arm, Þorsteinn’s research is unique
worldwide. It was a pleasant surprise
for the company’s. management to dis-
cover that Icelandic researchers were
leaders in this area.
“A satisfactory method to bring the
drugs in question to the affected area of
the body has not been found.
Cyclodextrins could possibly be the
vehicles used to transport future dmgs
to precise locations in the body in an
effective and econoinical way, for
example in tablet form. We hope that
Þorsteinn can help us to improve the
drugs’ effectiveness, in order to
improve the absorbtion into the blood
from the digestive tract, as well as to
find a way to inject these drugs in water
solutions into the body,” said Camber.
Þorsteinn heads a research team of
seven people, along with Már Másson,
docent. He considers the team verj'
effective, such as in pubishing articles
in international science magazines on
their research. “We have obtained a
number of copyrights and are working
on others, such as a nose spray with
Einar Stefánsson. We have recently
applied for its licence in the U.S.A.,
Europe, and elsewhere and we are opti-
mistic about its progress,” Þorsteinn
said.
Translated from Morgunblaðið
Oldest member in chapter
still active
Selkirk Chapter Brúin
ICELANDIC NATIONAL LEAGUE
There is quite a.range in age at the
meetings of the Brúin Chapter of
the lcelandic League in Selkirk,
Manitoba. This picture was taken at a
Brúin meeting of the oldest and
youngest in attendance. The oldest
member is Kristín Stefansson, who is
101 years old and still an active mem-
ber who attends meetings regularly.
Kristín was born at Lundar,
Manitoba. Her parents were
Guðmundur Kristjan Breckman, from
Borgarbrekka, Iceland, and Jakobíná
Jónsdóttir, from the Skagafjörður
region. Kristín has been a member of
“Brúin” since moving to Selkirk in the
early 1960s.
The youngest “member” in atten-
dance was Benjamin Dahlin, 3 months
old. Benjamin is the son of Kathleen
Dahlin, Brúin treasurer, and Daniel
Dahlin. Benjamin is a grandson of
Lawrence and Edith Johnson and great-
great-great-grandson of 1876 pioneers
Þorgrímur Jónsson and Steinunn
Johannsdóttir from Akri, Icelandic
River.
This was Benjamin’s second meet-
Kristin Stefansson, 101, with Benjamin
Dahlin, 3 months. Photo courtesy L. & E. Johnson
ing. Older brother, Zakary two years,
has also attended at Brúin meetings.
NACS
Continued from page 2
gourmet rnaps of the world (you had to
be there). The day after the banquet
gave us Icelandic hospitality and beau-
ty at its finest. Tour buses took us to
Thingvellir, the beautiful valley where
the Althing, the first Icelandic
Parliament, took place every year and
still does on ceremonial occasions.
After the walk we were given cham-
pagne, orange juice, and chocolates
before we drove on to the site of Geysir,
the hot water eruption that gave the
word geyser to the world, now tired but
succeeded by Strokkur, which gushes
every five minutes to everyone’s awe
and satisfaction. We ate lunch there
(fish, of course), and then moved on to
Gullfoss, the Golden Falls, saved from
being harnessed for hydroelectric
power, they say, by the heroic action of
the daughter of the farmer on whose
land these breathtaking falls send their
rainbows into the sky.
Well, as they say, a good time was
had by all. I can’t wait for Stockholm!
Betty Jane Wylie is the author o/Letters
to Icelanders, published in August by
CDG Books Canada.
ThorThotfesfson
(204) 242-3284 or
(204) 825-7986
t-maíl:
thorltl @ investorsgroup.com
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