Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus)

Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus)

Scotland

There are three breeding areas in the world for Pink-footed Geese: Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard to the north of Norway. During the winter the populations of Greenland and Iceland migrate to Scotland and Northern England while the population of Svalbard migrates to the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.

Most birds arrive in Scotland in September and October where they congregate in large flocks at nature reserves such as Aberlady Bay, the Eden estuary and Montrose Basin. They are more susceptible to disturbance than Greylag Geese (Anser anser) and it is interesting that populations in these areas declined during the first half of the 20th century due to increased disturbance and wildfowling but increased significantly thereafter when the areas in question became nature reserves.

Pink-footed Goose, Aberlady Bay, Scotland, October 2002 - click for larger image

From January onwards the birds spread out and many more Pink-footed Geese are found in areas such as the Solway Firth where this photo was taken. The birds leave for their breeding grounds around April

Pink-footed Geese are similar to Bean Geese (Anser fabalis) and Greylag Geese (Anser anser) but Bean Geese are larger and have more orange legs. Greylags are significantly larger, have completely orange bills and lighter heads. In flight look for the darkness of the head and the bill colour (See photo of Greylag Goose)

There is an illustration in HBW, Volume 1, Page 580.

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