Bird Sightings : Pink-footed Geese

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Hebrides Bird Sightings : Pink-footed Geese

Pink-footed Geese
(Pinks, Pinkfeet, Pink Foots)
Anser brachyrhynchus

Photograph © Andy Robinson
Loch Stiaphat - Isle of Lewis - Outer Hebrides (Western Isles)
April 23rd, 2006

Our Pink-footed Geese photographs

Pink-footed Geese

Pink-footed Geese

Pink-footed Geese

Pink-footed Geese (Pinks, Pinkfeet, Pink Foots)

Anser brachyrhynchus

UK: AMBER LIST. Winter visitor. 241,000 birds BTO (October - April)

WI: Fairly common passage (occurs in small numbers) and scarce winter visitor (very small numbers recorded in most years) .

Breeds: On cliffs near glaciers & on small islands in lakes avoiding predators (Arctic Fox). 3-6 eggs laid. On hatching, goslings walk with parents to nearest lake. Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard.

Winters: Migrates south mid-Sept to early Oct (heads north mid-April to early-May). (Two populations: Greenland & Iceland population winter in UK.Svalbard population winters in Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Northern Germany, Belgium

Habitat: Tundra lakes, rivers, wet meadows, large estuaries, & on nearby grazing land

Diet: Grazing: Plant material: grass & other leaves, roots, tubers like potatoes, shoots, grain

Medium-sized dainty looking goose. Pinkish-grey-brown with darker head & neck. Short, pink bill with black base & tip. Pink feet & legs. Grey tail with broad white tip. The upper feathers pale bluish-grey. White rear. Flight feathers blackish-grey. (Bean Goose has orange instead of pink legs & on bill, & paler, greyer plumage).

Typical lifespan 8yrs. Max recorded lifespan 38yrs 7mths

Listen to a Pink-footed Goose (RSPB site) High-pitched honking, particularly vocal in flight, with large skeins being said to be almost deafening!

Similar birds: Bean Goose, White-fronted Goose, Greylag Goose

Numbers wintering in the UK are on the increase now that birds on the wintering grounds are protected from shooting. There were 30,000 birds in 1950 and in 292,000 birds in 2004 - almost a tenfold increase. The flock formed when the birds gathered in just one Aberdeenshire site in 2003 reached 66,000 birds!

Pink-footed Geese in the Western Isles

Fairly common passage (occurs in small numbers) and scarce winter visitor (very small numbers recorded in most years)
(Source: Outer Hebrides Bird Report)

On the chart below the darker the shade of blue the more abundant the bird is during a month or the more likely you are to see it.

J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

(Source: Outer Hebrides Birds Checklist)

Branta and Anser Geese

The Branta genus of geese are those species with largely black plumage, the Anser genus are the species which are largely grey.

Collective nouns for Geese

A nide of geese

A gaggle of geese

A flock of geese

A wedge of geese (flying)

A skein of geese (flying)

From WIKI

Other local bird photographs

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