Migration

Map courtesy of

Bean geese (Anser fabalis) breed across northern Eurasia and in winter they head south to the Baltic and North Sea areas of continental Europe. This population comprises both Anser fabalis fabalis and Anser fabalis rossicus.   

A smaller population of Anser fabalis fabalis breeds in Swedish Lapland and it is from this population that the British birds are thought to originate (Nilsson and Pirkola 1991, Parslow-Otsu 1990).

The two wintering flocks that now occur in Britain are to be found in the Yare Valley near Norwich, East Anglia and on the Slamannan Plateau near Falkirk in Central Scotland.

Previous ringing results suggested that bean geese wintering in England and Scotland bred in different areas of Scandinavia with some evidence that the Central Scotland flock may derive in part from a re-introduction project which started in 1974 in central Sweden (Allport 1991, Parslow-Otsu 1990, 1991). The majority of the birds visiting central Scotland probably belong to a fully wild sub-population (Parslow-Otsu 1990). It is distinct from the one wintering in Norfolk.

The Scottish geese arrive in late September or October (usually some 4-6 weeks earlier than the Norfolk geese).

 Arrival dates in Scotland are:

• 1994/95 – 17th September - 41 birds
• 1995/96 – 30th September - 15 birds
• 1996/97 - 4th October  - 4 birds
• 1997/98 - 21st September - 6 birds
• 1998/99 - 10th October - 104 birds
• 1999/00 – 6^th October  - 100 birds
• 2000/01 – 25^th September – 4 birds
• 2001/02 – 24^th September – 20 birds       
• 2002/03 – 6^th October – 18 birds
• 2003/04 – 1^st October – 41 birds
• 2004/05 – 2^nd October – 94 birds
• 2005/06 – 24^th September – 11 birds

Several observations in and around the Forth estuary would indicate that the  Scottish flock fly direct across the North Sea using the Forth estuary as their landmark and fly directly up river to the Slamannan area.

The Carron Valley Reservoir which used to be a staging post on arrival has not been used in recent years.  

The flocks’ departure in late February or early March would seem to indicate an intermediate staging post before returning to their breeding grounds in Sweden. It is thought that this may be in northern Denmark. To confirm this would require a marking scheme, using neck collars or a few birds fitted with radio transmitters.