Saving wetlands for wildlife & people
Saving wetlands for wildlife & people
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Background
The East Canadian High Arctic population of Light-bellied Brent Goose breeds in the eastern Queen Elizabeth Islands from eastern Melville Island to Devon Island and northern Ellesmere Island. Almost all of these geese winter in Ireland, with much smaller numbers reaching the west coast of Britain, the Channel Islands, and the north coasts of France and Spain. It undertakes one of the longest migrations of any Western Palearctic goose population, crossing the Greenland ice-cap, staging at sites in Greenland and Iceland before crossing the North Atlantic to Ireland. Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland hosts over 75% of the population during the late autumn and is now by far the most important site. Lough Foyle, on the north coast, has also become increasingly important in recent years as a landfall site. As winter progresses, these geese disperse around the coast of Ireland, favouring sites in the northwest, east, southeast, southwest and west of the country with notably high numbers at Dublin Bay and Wexford Harbour and Slobs. Over 3,000 also disperse thinly along the rocky coastlines of Ireland in the late winter. Much smaller wintering flocks also occur in northern France, the Channel Islands and occasionally along the west coast of Britain (Robinson et al. 2004). It has been suggested that Light-bellied Brent Geese may have relied almost entirely on Zostera during the winter, before a wasting disease caused almost the entire depletion of Zostera in Ireland during the 1930s. Since then, the diet in estuarine and salt-marsh areas has become more cosmopolitan, including algal foods such as Enteromorpha and Ulva, and salt-marsh plants such as Festuca and Puccinella. Inland feeding was first recorded in Ireland and Iceland during the mid 1970s. Feeding on grasslands has increased steadily since then, especially in east and southeast Ireland, with 25% of the population spending a large proportion of its time foraging on managed grasslands. In a few areas, most notably Wexford Slobs, Dungarvan Harbour and Strangford Lough, Light-bellied Brent Geese feed on cereal crops, both waste in autumn stubbles and spring seed, and waste potatoes. Although these food types remain available in early spring, most birds return to the saltmarshes at this time to exploit fresh growth of more natural foods prior to spring migration (Robinson et al. 2004). Annual site-based monitoring has taken place since the 1960s. Abundance is monitored through the All-Ireland Light-bellied Brent Goose Census, which was initiated in 1960/61. Coordinated counts take place annually in October and January, organised by the Irish Brent Goose Research Group. Regular site-based monitoring also occurs through WeBS. Breeding success is measured as part of the All-Ireland census at key sites throughout the wintering range, particularly Strangford Lough. This population has also been the focus of detailed migration studies by WWT in recent years.
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Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
Slimbridge, Gloucestershire GL2 7BT
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