Winter visitor with very localised distribution, occurring mostly (up to 9,000 birds) at the Wexford Slobs, with smaller numbers (usually low hundreds) elsewhere. Wexford (North & South Slobs, Tacumshin Lake & Cahore Marshes), Loughs Swilly & Foyle in County Donegal, Lough Gara in County Roscommon, Midland lakes (Loughs Derravarragh, Iron, Owel & Ennell) in County Westmeath, Little Brosna in County Offaly and River Suck/Shannonbridge in County Roscommon are the most important sites.
Greenland White-fronted Goose
Irish Name: | Gé Bhánéadanach |
Scientific name: | Anser albifrons flavirostris |
Bird Family: | Geese |
Conservation status
Status
Scarce winter visitor to wetlands in Wexford and western Ireland from October to April.
Identification
Medium-sized grey goose, with orange legs, a long orange-yellow bill with a prominent blaze around the base of the bill (adults).
Voice
High-pitched, musical in quality (not nasal). Usually disyllabic.
Diet
Grazes on a range of plant material taking roots, tubers, shoots and leaves. Grasses, clover, spilt grain, winter wheat and potatoes are popular foods. Forages over peat bogs, dune grassland, and occasionally salt marsh, with the use of agricultural grassland increasing in recent years.
Breeding
Breeds on lowland tundra, often by lakes and rivers. Nests are widely scattered, though loose colonies may be formed.
Wintering
Winters in Ireland and Scotland. Highly gregarious. Traditionally occurred in peatland areas, though now mostly seen feeding on intensively managed grasslands
Monitored by
National Parks and Wildlife Service/ Greenland White-fronted Goose Study Group.
Blog posts about this bird
World Migratory Bird Day campaign underscores the importance of insects and shines a light on declines
Geese and Swans return to Ireland for the winter
Greenland White-fronted Goose
The first Greenland White-fronted Geese of winter 2019/20 arrived on the North Slob in Wexford yesterday (01 October 2019) - four adults and a juvenile. The Greenland White-fronted Goose is the species on the BirdWatch Ireland logo. If you want to get a good look at this species, make sure you visit Wexford Wildfowl Reserve this winter. Later this month there will be a number of public events for their annual 'Goose Week' and they will also be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the reserve.Light-bellied Brent Goose
The first Brent records of 2019 came at the end of August, which isn't actually unusual, though the bulk of birds arrived several weeks later (and are still coming!). When they first arrive in Ireland they head en mass for Strangford Lough. After refueling there, they gradually disperse around the Irish coast as the winter goes on. Many Brent have already returned to their usual haunts in Donegal, Derry, Louth and Dublin, where they'll feed on eelgrass and algae in the sea, before turning to terrestrial grasslands for a few months before making the return journey back to Canada!Pink-footed Goose
One of the first records in Ireland this year was via the WWT's Kane Brides who informed us of a satellite-tagged bird that arrived from Iceland on the 4th of September, spending a couple of hours in Roscommon before heading to Carlingford Lough on the east coast that night. Small numbers of Pink-footed Geese winter in Ireland, but hundreds of thousands winter in the UK and stop in Ireland en route from their Icelandic breeding grounds. Since the start of September there have been loads of Pink-foots (Pink-feets?!) spotted in Donegal and smaller flocks in Wexford, Louth and Dublin.Greylag Geese
In the last few days there have been multiple reports of large flocks of Greylag Geese at coastal sites in Donegal. Greylags are a tricky one - we have a resident population that breeds here, but we also get migrants from Iceland for the winter too. And there's no way to tell which is which in the field as they look the exact same! Donegal has many feral/naturalised Greylag Geese, but some of those recent large flocks probably have some Icelandic-migrants mixed in too. Barnacle Geese The first 'Barnies' of the season touched down in Donegal at the start of this week. This species prefers coastal grasslands and offshore islands in the west and north-west. Because of the remote locations they use, the NPWS recently carried out a Barnacle Goose census by plane!Whooper Swan
The first definite migrants have only appeared in recent days - in Donegal, Derry and today in Wexford. In the last census, there were nearly 12,000 Whooper Swans in ROI and >3,500 in NI. The I-WeBS office in BirdWatch Ireland, together with our colleagues in Northern Ireland and further afield, will be coordinating another census of Whooper Swans in January 2020 so please keep an eye on your local flock as the winter progresses! So there you have it - thousands of geese and swans are currently migrating from Iceland, Greenland and Canada to spend the winter in Ireland! Many of these species are of conservation concern and we're lucky to have the wetlands to support them, so do keep an eye out for them in your area as the winter goes on!Each winter we monitor Ireland's waterbird populations through I-WeBS - a survey coordinated by BirdWatch Ireland, funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and carried out by a network of bird surveyors who volunteer their time and expertise.
The I-WeBS office is interested in any records of Greylag or Pink-footed Geese this winter - please email us at iwebs@birdwatchireland.ie with numbers, locations and dates.
The website 'IrishBirding' was also a useful source for this article.