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4.1. P<strong>in</strong>k-footed goose<br />

Anser brachyrhynchus<br />

Summary<br />

Table 1.<br />

Global IUCN Red List<br />

status [6] , European<br />

population and SPEC<br />

status [7] and EU<br />

population status [8]<br />

of P<strong>in</strong>k-footed goose.<br />

There are two flyway populations of P<strong>in</strong>k-footed<br />

goose: the Icelandic breed<strong>in</strong>g population, which<br />

w<strong>in</strong>ters <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>, and the Svalbard breed<strong>in</strong>g<br />

population, which w<strong>in</strong>ters <strong>in</strong> cont<strong>in</strong>ental northwest<br />

Europe. Both populations have <strong>in</strong>creased greatly<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce the 1950s, thanks to improved protection<br />

from shoot<strong>in</strong>g and to the <strong>in</strong>creased availability<br />

of high quality food <strong>in</strong> the w<strong>in</strong>ter<strong>in</strong>g grounds, as<br />

a result of <strong>in</strong>tensification of agricultural practices.<br />

The <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g population of the species has<br />

resulted <strong>in</strong> a conflict with farmers <strong>in</strong> parts of the<br />

flyway, as the P<strong>in</strong>k-footed goose causes damage<br />

to agricultural land. International cooperation is<br />

necessary <strong>in</strong> order to effectively manage this issue<br />

at the flyway scale.<br />

Background<br />

General description of the species<br />

The P<strong>in</strong>k-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus)<br />

is a migratory goose species found <strong>in</strong> northwest<br />

Scale Status Justification<br />

Global<br />

Least Concern Very large range and population size, which<br />

(s<strong>in</strong>ce 1988) appears to be <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

Europe<br />

EU25<br />

Secure (Non-<br />

SPECE)<br />

Secure<br />

Increas<strong>in</strong>g population.<br />

Europe and Greenland. It breeds <strong>in</strong> loose colonies<br />

from mid-May to early July and then undergoes<br />

a flightless moult<strong>in</strong>g period until August. After<br />

moult<strong>in</strong>g, P<strong>in</strong>k-footed geese migrate to their<br />

w<strong>in</strong>ter<strong>in</strong>g grounds. Outside the breed<strong>in</strong>g season,<br />

P<strong>in</strong>k-footed geese are gregarious, form<strong>in</strong>g large<br />

but loose flocks <strong>in</strong> autumn and w<strong>in</strong>ter [1] .<br />

Distribution <strong>in</strong> Europe<br />

There are two populations of P<strong>in</strong>k-footed goose,<br />

with almost no <strong>in</strong>terchange or overlapp<strong>in</strong>g<br />

of breed<strong>in</strong>g or w<strong>in</strong>ter<strong>in</strong>g distributions [1] . One<br />

population breeds <strong>in</strong> Svalbard and w<strong>in</strong>ters <strong>in</strong><br />

northwest Europe (nearly the entire population<br />

concentrates <strong>in</strong> Denmark, and a decl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />

proportion of birds moves further south to the<br />

Netherlands and Belgium). The second breeds <strong>in</strong><br />

Iceland and east Greenland and w<strong>in</strong>ters <strong>in</strong> Scotland<br />

and England [2, 3] .<br />

Habitat preferences<br />

In Greenland, P<strong>in</strong>k-footed geese nest on cliffs,<br />

riverbanks and hummocks near dense vegetation.<br />

In Iceland, P<strong>in</strong>k-footed geese used to forage <strong>in</strong> the<br />

uplands <strong>in</strong> spr<strong>in</strong>g and autumn, but currently the<br />

majority forage on farmland, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g potato<br />

fields and improved grasslands. In the UK, salt<br />

and fresh marshes were used <strong>in</strong> the past, but the<br />

majority of P<strong>in</strong>k-footed geese now forage on<br />

160

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