Trends in goose numbers wintering in Britain &amp; Ireland, 1995 to 2008

Carl Mitchell,Chas Holt,Larry Griffin,Kendrew Colhoun,Anthony D Fox,Colette Hall,Alyn Walsh,Richard Hearn

doi:10.34080/os.v20.22619

Abstract

Twelve migratory and native goose populations winter in Britain and Ireland and up to date information on their abundance and distribution is provided. Seven populations are increasing: Barnacle Goose (Svalbard, current estimate 26,900 birds), Barnacle Goose (Greenland 70,500), Pink-footed Goose (288,800), North West Scotland Greylag Goose (34,500), re-established Greylag Goose (50,000), Light-bellied Brent Goose (East Canadian High Arctic 34,000) and Light-bellied Brent Goose (Svalbard 3,270). Two populations appear stable: Taiga Bean Goose (432 at two sites) and Icelandic Greylag Goose (98,300). Three populations are decreasing: European White-fronted Goose (2,760) due to short stopping in mainland Europe, Dark-bellied Brent Goose (82,970), due to a recent population decline (due to poor breeding success) and short stopping, and Greenland White-fronted Goose (24,055) due to recent poor breeding success and, up to 2006, hunting. An estimated 120,000 migratory geese wintered in Britain and Ireland in 1960 compared to 500,000 in 2008. Despite many goose species demonstrating high degrees of site faithfulness (responding to safe roosts and regular food supply), shifts in winter distribution of several goose populations have occurred (notably Icelandic Greylag Goose).

Highlights

Of the eight species of geese (Anser and Branta) considered naturally occurring in the Western Palearctic region, 27 “populations” or “flyways” were defined in Madsen et al (1999)
Information on goose abundance and distribution is important for four primary reasons: (i) international legislation and conventions to which the UK is a signatory require such information as evidence that the state of biodiversity is being maintained; (ii) for supporting site-based conservation measures using the “1% criterion”; (iii) many geese are quarry species and international legislation requires hunting to be sustainable; (iv) many goose populations have become reliant on agricultural land, especially during the non-breeding season, which brings them into conflict with farmers
For three populations, where no specific national surveys are carried out, geese are counted via the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS)

Summary

Introduction

Of the eight species of geese (Anser and Branta) considered naturally occurring in the Western Palearctic region, 27 “populations” or “flyways” were defined in Madsen et al (1999). Information on goose abundance and distribution is important for four primary reasons: (i) international legislation and conventions to which the UK is a signatory require such information as evidence that the state of biodiversity is being maintained; (ii) for supporting site-based conservation measures using the “1% criterion” (see Madsen et al 1999); (iii) many geese are quarry species and international legislation requires hunting to be sustainable; (iv) many goose populations have become reliant on agricultural land, especially during the non-breeding season, which brings them into conflict with farmers (see Fox et al, this volume) This assessment updates abundance data since the review by Madsen et al (1999) for geese belonging to the 12 populations that winter in Britain and Ireland

Methods

Results

Conclusion