The project aims to monitor the migration routes of tagged Pink-footed Geese from their moulting grounds in Iceland to their winter quarters in Britain. Once the geese arrive in Britain in early autumn we hope to be able to determine the feeding areas in relation to their night-time roosts. Two Pink-footed Geese were caught near Halslon Lake, east Iceland on 17 July 2013 and fitted with GPS tags. The maps and notes below help explain the autumn and spring migration routes and winter movements. Click on the season heading to reveal the location data.
Hörður (Tag13, blue symbols)
Adult male. Caught and marked on 17 July 2013 at Halslon Lake, Iceland.
- 16 Sept 2014. After a week of moving around NW Iceland, contact is lost with Hörður. The battery has probably finally expired.
- 9 Sept 2014. Hörður arrives back in NW Iceland.
- 5 Sept 2014. Contact with Hörður is re-established. The GPS tag reveals the moult migration that takes Hörður to NE Greenland for the whole of July and August. On 27 Aug 2014, Hörður begins the journey south back to Iceland.
- 24 June 2014. Contact with Hörður is lost soon after the nesting attempt failed (see below for details).
- mid June 2014. It appears that Hörður's mate has been unsuccessful in nesting, and Hörður is on the move again.
- late May 2014. Hörður's lack of movement, suggests that he is guarding his mate who is sitting on eggs.
- 8 May 2014. Hörður flies back to its breeding grounds near Halslon Lake.
- 2 May 2014. Hörður flies north east towards its breeding grounds but delays arrival for a few days, presumably due to extensive snow cover.
- 18 Apr 2014. Hörður heads west within Iceland to the southern lowlands. Much of the interior of Iceland is still covered in snow.
- 15 Apr 2014. Hörður moves down the east coast and settles at a farm near Breiðdalsvík (Iceland) at 4.30pm
- 15 Apr 2014. Hörður make landfall in east Iceland at 1pm. A journey of ~845km. Excluding any short breaks around 3am, Hörður maintains a steady flying speed of ~58kmph.
- 14 Apr 2014. At 7.30pm, Hörður leave Orkney (Scotland) and heads off north west on its spring migration to Iceland.
- 9 Apr 2014. Hörður has spent over a month feeding near the village of Harray (Orkney, Scotland) and roosting on small upland lochans.
- 25 Feb 2014. Hörður heads north towards Orkney (Scotland) arriving on Mainland at midday.
- 21 Feb 2014. Hörður moves to near Forfar, Angus (Scotland).
- 20 Feb 2014. Hörður leaves Norfolk (England) at dawn and heads north up the east coast of England arriving at Montrose Basin, Angus (Scotland) later that evening.
- 19 Oct 2013. Hörður moves to the Holkham, Norfolk (England) area. He settles here for the next three months, roosting on offshore sandbanks or flooded coastal meadows and making daily flights to feed in waste sugar beet fields.
- 11 Oct 2013. Hörður now roosting at Horsey Mere, Norfolk (England) and feeding in field 13km to the north.
- 10 Oct 2013. Hörður early morning continues south, arriving on the North Norfolk Coast at midday. By that evening, he's roosting at Breydon Water (Norfolk, England).
- 6 Oct 2013. Hörður continues south, roosting at Lindisfarne (SPA, Northumberland, England) and feeding on a stubble, 24km to the south.
- 1 Oct 2013. Hörður arrives near Coldingham Moor (Borders, Scotland) roosting on a small moorland loch and feeding of local stubbles.
- 30 Sept 2013. Hörður overnights at Fala Flow (SPA, Borders, Scotland).
- 26 Sept 2013. Hörður leaves Carsebreck Loch at first light and flies to a stubble field to the east of Lanark, where he feeds all day. He then roosts at West Water Reservoir (SPA, Lothians, Scotland).
- 25 Sept 2013. Hörður crosses The Minch and arrives at Carsebreck Loch (SPA, Perthshire, Scotland) at 20h00.
- 24 Sept 2013. Hörður arrives on Lewis (Outer Hebrides, Scotland) at 16h00.
- 22 Sept 2013. Hörður starts the autumn migration, south over the North Atlantic. Progress is at ~40km per hour. Meeting southerly winds and rain, Hörður rests on the sea. The journey starts again at 06h00 on 24 Sept.
- 17 Sept 2013. Hörður flies south to farmland in southern Iceland.
- end July/ early August 2013. Hörður spends the remainder of the moult period on the eastern shore of Halslon Lake.
- 17 July 2013. Hörður, caught during the annual moult on the eastern shore of Halslon Lake and fitted with a GPS tag.
Úlfar (Tag14, red symbols)
Adult male. Caught and marked on 17 July 2013 at Halslon Lake, Iceland.
- May 2015. The GPS tag remains stationary. The tag is found on the ground with a large crack in the collar. No sign of Úlfar. The tag could have become detached, but more likely, Úlfar has probably died and the body has been scavenged by an arctic fox leaving the cracked GPS tag behind.
- 12 April 2015. Úlfar moves east from the southern lowlands (Iceland) towards the breeding area and makes short local movements.
- 8 April 2015. Úlfar heads west within Iceland to the southern lowlands.
- 6 April 2015. Úlfar starts its spring migration at 05h00 flying north west towards Iceland. He arrives at 21h00 that evening, a crossing of 16 hours.
- 5 April 2015. Úlfar leaves Caithness at 20h30, but roosts on the sea overnight.
- 23 Mar 2015. Úlfar remains in Caithness
- 19 Feb 2015. Úlfar heads north and arrives in Caithness. He roosts at Loch Mey and feeds in the same areas as he did in spring 2014.
- 18 Feb 2015. Úlfar heads to the Dornoch Firth (Highland) for the evening.
- 9 Feb 2015. Úlfar heads to the Cromarty Firth (Highland).
- 6 Feb 2015. Úlfar heads north to Aberdeenshire, roosting at Loch of Skene, before heading to Findhorn Bay (Moray).
- 26 Jan 2015. Úlfar spends the evening roosting at Aberlady Bay (Lothians)
- 20 Jan 2015. After spending just over a month in Northumberland, Úlfar leaves Lindisfarne NNR in the morning and heads north to Fife (Scotland), roosting on the Eden Estuary.
- 2 Jan 2015. Úlfar remains near Wooler (Northumberland, England).
- 17 Dec 2014. Úlfar feeds and roosts just to the north of Wooler (Northumberland, England), making two trips to roost at the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve.
- 12 Dec 2014. Úlfar moves south to farmland just to the west of Stirling, before heading south east towards Grangemouth, then south to the Upper Forth. He arrives in Northumberland on 17 Dec.
- 30 Nov 2014. Úlfar moves south west to Carsebreck Loch (Perthsire, Scotland).
- 23 Nov 2014. Úlfar makes an unusual move east to Montrose Basin (Angus, Scotland) but only stays for one day. He then heads back again to Haugh of Kercock the next day. A round trip of 120km.
- 10 Nov 2014. Úlfar moves south west to the River Earn, near Forteviot (Perthshire, Scotland) but returns to Haugh of Kercock the next day.
- 22 Oct 2014. Úlfar moves west to Haugh of Kercock (Angus, Scotland), roosting on the river sandbanks and making daily feeding flights mainly to the north.
- 15 Oct 2014. Úlfar heads north to roost at Loch of Lintrathen (Angus, Scotland). He makes daily feeding flights to the south.
- 12 Oct 2014. Úlfar moves east to the Tay Estuary (Angus, Scotland).
- 2 Oct 2014. Úlfar moves to Carsebreck Loch (Perthshire, Scotland).
- 30 Sept 2014. Úlfar moves south Montrose Basin (Angus, Scotland).
- 28 Sept 2014. Úlfar begins the second leg of his migration and heads towards NE Scotland. He arrives at Findhorn Bay, Moray (Scotland) at 6pm.
- 26 Sept 2014. At first light, Úlfar begins his migration south and at 8am he has begun to cross the Atlantic. He arrives on the Faroes at 2pm later that day.
- 16 Sept 2014. Úlfar remains to the east of Halslon Lake, Iceland.
- 13 Aug 2014. Úlfar regains flight after the summer moult and moves a few km to the east.
- June 2014. A lack of movement by Úlfar suggests that his mate is nesting.
- 19 May 2014. Úlfar settles to breed with his partner
- 1 May 2014. Úlfar flies north east back to its breeding grounds near Halslon Lake.
- 16 April 2014. Úlfar remains at the farm in the southern lowlands (Iceland).
- 7 April 2014. Úlfar heads west within Iceland to the southern lowlands. Much of the interior of Iceland is still covered in snow.
- 6 April 2014. Úlfar leaves Scrabster Loch (Caithness, Scotland) and crosses the Atlantic, arriving in south east Iceland (very close to where it stayed before heading south on the autumn migration - see entry below for 17 Sept 2013).
- 5 April 2014. Úlfar spends Most of February and March feeding in Caithness (Scotland).
- 8 Feb 2014. Úlfar heads north arriving in Caithness (Scotland).
- 4 Jan 2014. Úlfar moves back to Strathearn (Perthshire, Scotland) and spends the next month feeding there.
- 29 Dec 2013. After a brief overnight stop near Forteviot (Perthshire, Scotland), Úlfar arrives in Angus feeding and roosting near Airlie (Angus, Scotland)
- 18 Dec 2013. Úlfar arrives in the Loch Leven (Perthshire, Scotland) area.
- 13 Dec 2013. Úlfar arrives back at Aberlady Bay (Lothians, Scotland), feeding on the southern Fife shore.
- 18 Nov 2013. After nearly a month in Perthshire (Scotland), Úlfar heads south. After roosting at Aberlady Bay (Lothians, Scotland), he heads south to the northern part of Northumberland (England) roosting either at Lindisfarne or feeding at night on stubble fields.
- 10 Oct 2013. Úlfar continues west to Endrick Water (Scotland).
- 8 Oct 2013. Úlfar moves to the Inner Firth of Forth (Scotland).
- 3 Oct 2013. Location data provided by Úlfar shows that he has moved to Loch Leven (SPA, Perthshire, Scotland), although contact is still patchy.
- 28 Sept 2013. Location data provided by Úlfar shows that he has arrived in Perthshire, although contact is still patchy.
- 19 Sept 2013. The GPS tag on Úlfar develops an electronic fault. Location data are being collected only occasionally and contact is patchy.
- 17 Sept 2013. Úlfar flies south to farmland in southern Iceland.
- end July/early August. Úlfar spends the remainder of the moult period on the eastern shore of Halslon Lake.
- 17 July 2013. Úlfar, caught during the annual moult on the eastern shore of Halslon Lake and fitted with a GPS tag.
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WWT/SNH are extremely grateful for the support given during fieldwork in Iceland by Arnór Þórir Sigfússon, Verkís, Halldor Stefansson and the catching team from the East Iceland Natural History Institute and from Landsvirkjun. Our thanks also go to Landsvirkjun, Toyota Iceland and Vatnajökull National Park for their support. Our thanks also go to Clive McKay, Les Hatton and members of Tay Ringing Group for their efforts in attempts to catch at Loch of Lintrathen, and to Raymond Duncan, Judy Duncan, Skitts, Mick Marquiss, Philip Bacon, Ewan Weston, Jenny Lennon, Ian Francis, Nicky Penford, Euan Ferguson, Moray Souter, Alistair Clunas and Walter Burns (all Grampian Ringing Group) for successfully orchestrating a catch near Aberdeen.
Data and map may not be used without prior written consent of WWT/SNH.
Updated 31 March 2020
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