NORDIC GREYLAG GOOSE PROJECT

Leif Nilsson, Arne Follestad & Hakon Persson                 

The populations of Greylag Geese in the Nordic countries as in a number of other European countries started to increase very markedly during the late seventies and early eighties, an increase that is still continuing. This population increase and change in distribution of the Greylag Geese led to a lot of management discussions and accordingly a Nordic project was started in 1984 by the Nordic Collegium for Wildlife Biology.

The research programme that started in 1984 included two main parts: regular censuses of Greylag Geese to follow the population development in the different countries and a neck-banding programme to study the movement patterns and migrations of Nordic Grealag Geese. The censuses still continues as a part of the International Goose Counts, whereas the marking programme has widened to include various other aspects of Grerylag Ecology.

After the termination of the original joint Nordic Project Marking Programme it has continued as a Norwegian (Arne Follestad) - Swedish (Leif Nilsson & Hakon Persson) Project. The aims have also been widened through the years to include various aspects of the population dynamics and breeding ecology of the Greylag Goose using the large data-base of neckband readings that has been built up through the years. A new marking area was established in south Sweden in 2004, at Lake Hornborgasjön.

To learn more about the project and to see some results follow the links below:

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Page last updated 2006-06-05