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Greater White-fronted Goose
Anser albifrons

Greenland White-fronted Geese © Paul Marshall The Greater White-fronted Goose is the most widespread and numerous goose species in the Western Palearctic. Two subspecies occur in Great Britain. The subspecies flavirostris or ‘Greenland’ White-fronted Goose breeds in western Greenland and winters in Ireland and western Britain, mainly in the Scottish Hebrides but also a small flock on the Dyfi Estuary, Wales. The subspecies albifrons or ‘European’ White-fronted Goose breeds in arctic Russia and winters in Europe. It has traditionally been divided into four groups, based upon their winter distribution, and those occurring in the UK are from the Baltic/North Sea population. In the UK, they occur mainly in southern England, using a limited number of traditional sites from Gloucestershire to Norfolk and Kent.




The Goose & Swan Monitoring Programme (GSMP) monitors numbers and breeding success of geese and swans in the UK during the non-breeding season. GSMP is organised by WWT on behalf of WWT and JNCC.

Email: monitoring@wwt.org.uk

Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
Slimbridge, Gloucestershire GL2 7BT
T: +44 (0) 1453 891900 E: enquiries@wwt.org.uk
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