White-fronted geese with white GPS-neckbands

Date: 

Tue, 01/11/2016 (All day)

An international expedition team, with amongst others goose researchers Helmut Kruckenberg and Gerard Müskens, visited the island of Kolguyev in the Barents Sea in August 2016. They fitted 18 white-fronted geese with white GPS-neckbands with a black 2-digit code. Three of these ‘white white-fronts’ have been observed in the Netherlands, while two others were seen in Germany. Remarkably, the first observation of one of these birds was actually made by one of the expedition members himself, along the river IJssel in the northwest of Overijssel on 6 October 2016. The two German birds were spotted one day later, on 7 October. On 8 October, number four was spotted by two Frisian goose watchers and again the same expedition member along the Warrewei between Oldeboorn and Tijnje in Fryslân. The photograph left shows ‘white 41’ in the field along the Warrewei lying up front in the middle, on the photograph right it is in the left part of the flock (Photo’s made by Romke Kleefstra). Number five was spotted one day after by two goose watchers from Noord-Holland in Kaappolder close to Gaastmeer in Fryslân. This means that no less than five of the 18 birds with GPS-neckbands from Kolguyev were spotted in a four-day period and reported in www.geese.org. Maybe an indication of what we may expect in terms of white-fronted geese from Kolguyev this autumn? Please note, if possible, any relationships and behaviour in ‘geese’ of birds with GPS neckbands.

 

German