SW Scania

During the summer, Greylag Geese marked in SW Scania gather in large flocks in the lakes of the marking area or at a site on the neighbouring coast. Most geese remain in the area until October, when the major exodus is found but quite a number of geese remain in south Sweden until November. In mild winters some have been overwintering. A few geese leave Scania earlier and are found in Denmark and northern Germany.

During autumn migration the Netherlands is a major staging area for Greylag Geese from SW Scania, with a large number of observations reported from all major goose areas but also scattered on a number of smaller sites. During autumn the majority of Scanian geese are found in the province and Flevoland but also in the Dollard, whereas Scanian Greylag Geese are more sparse in the Lauwersmeer area. A number of Greylag Geese from Scania are also found staging in the Delta area.

The staging Greylag Geese from Scania only stay for a relatively short period in the northern part of the Netherlands. During the first years of the study the majority of the geese migrated to the traditional wintering area in the Marismas in south-western Spain, but in later years an increasing proportion of the geese from Scania winter in the Dutch Delta. Some staging geese are found in the Villafafila area in northern Spain. Few observations were made in France during autumn migration.

Spring migration start early from Spain and the geese are only staging for a short period on the migration north. Many individuals are not seen at all on spring staging areas. A number of observations were also obtained from France during spring migration. As an effect of the mild winters Greylag Geese in Scania have been returning earlier and earlier during the last few years. Normally, the first Greylags wintering abroad are back in January, but the earliest to arrive back after being seen in the Dutch wintering areas was back in Sweden already in November.

During the first years of the study a large proportion of the Scanian young Greylag Geese and failed breeders migrated to Flevoland in the Netherlands for the moult. During the 1990s a new moulting site was established on the island of Saltholm between Sweden and Denmark. In the last few seasons only few were seen in Flevoland during the moult, whereas many marked Greylags were found moulting on Saltholm.

Page last updated 2003-01-08

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