Survey results
recently published by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) reveal that the
population of Pink-footed Geese may have
dropped by around 100,000 in just the last two years. The majority of the
world's Pink-footed Geese winter in the UK,
having bred in Iceland and Greenland. They arrive in large numbers from their
breeding grounds this month and conservationists will be counting them at
roosts, mainly in Norfolk, Lancashire and Scotland, to
see whether their fortunes have bounced back. Though the population is still
estimated to be at least 250,000, and was once as low as 30,000 in the 1950s,
the apparent drop of more than a quarter between 2009 and 2011 is possibly an
early warning of changing fortunes.
Pink-footed Goose
The Pink-footed Goose - Anser brachyrhynchus - is a goose which
breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard.
It is miratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Great Britain, the Netherlands
and western Denmark.
There are two largely discrete populations of Pink-footed Goose. The Greenland
and Iceland population
winter in Great Britain,
while the Svalbard population winters in the Netherlands
and Denmark.
Southbound migration is from mid September to early October, and northbound
from mid April to early May.
Description
It has a short
bill, bright pink in the middle with a black base and tip, and pink feet. The
body is mid grey-brown, the head and neck a richer, darker brown, the rump and
vent white, and the tail grey with a broad white tip. The upper wing-coverts
are pale bluish-grey and the flight feathers blackish-grey.
Call
A high-pitched
honking call, being particularly vocal in flight.
Food
The diet is
almost entirely vegetarian. In summer, they feed on a wide range of tundra
plants, both on land and in water. In winter, they graze primarily on oilseed
rape, sugar beet, potato and various grasses.
Breeding
Nesting is often
on cliffs close to glaciers to provide protection from predators [mainly the
Arctic Fox], also on islets in lakes. Three to six eggs are laid in early to
mid May in Iceland, late May in Svalbard, with incubation lasting 26–27 days.
On hatching, the goslings accompany the parents on foot to the nearest lake,
where they fledge after about 56 days.
Conservation Status – Least concern
Populations have
risen spectacularly over the last 50 years, due largely to increased protection
from shooting on the wintering grounds. Numbers wintering in Great Britain have
risen almost tenfold from 30,000 in 1950 to 292,000 in October 2004. The numbers
wintering in Denmark and the Netherlands have also risen.
Birdwatching
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