Saving wetlands for wildlife & people
Saving wetlands for wildlife & people
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Background
The Svalbard population of Barnacle Goose breeds in the Svalbard archipelago, mostly in western Spitsbergen, the largest of the islands. Migration begins in late August and early September, and many stage on Bear Island, Norway, for up to three weeks before continuing their migration southwards. Some, however, are known to migrate direct to the wintering grounds of the Solway Firth, on the border between Scotland and England. Return passage begins in mid April, and during this migration most birds stop over at Helgeland and Vesterålen, off the west coast of mainland Norway, for two to three weeks, before reaching Svalbard by the end of May (Griffin In press.). The wintering range of this population is small and the birds tend to remain within 5 km of their roost sites on the mudflats of the Solway coast, ranging along the firth to sites no more than 50 km apart. Winter habitat use is confined to saltmarsh and improved pastures on the Solway. Feeding occurs preferentially on Trifolium repens in autumn on saltmarsh habitats, supplemented by grasses and herbs, and on Lolium perenne on pasture. In autumn, the geese may also forage in stubble fields for spilt grain. Four principal areas on the Solway are used, namely farmland around Caerlaverock and Southerness on the Scottish side of the Solway and Rockcliffe Marsh and Newton Marsh on the English side (Owen & Black 1999; Griffin & Mackley 2004). With increasing numbers of birds in the population, conflicts have arisen as a result of damage to agricultural crops by grazing geese. Consequently, in 1993, Scottish Natural Heritage established a goose management scheme to help alleviate such problems. Monitoring of abundance began in 1957, following the establishment of a National Nature Reserve at Caerlaverock, with age assessments commencing in 1958. Management of a major part of the reserve was taken over by WWT and monitoring effort subsequently increased in the 1970s with regular counts, age assessments and field-use records being made throughout the winter. Detailed monitoring of this population continues as part of the long-term WWT commitment to the conservation of this population.
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