On Tuesday BTO ringers from the SCAN ringing
group and RSPB staff at Ynys Hir caught and ringed 25 Barnacle geese from the
increasing winter flock there.
Barnacle geese breed in Greenland and Svalbard with small
populations in Finland and Denmark, a large proportion of these winter in
Britain and Ireland. In addition, there are substantial feral populations in
England.
The Dyfi birds arrive annually in early to mid-September and
leave by early January we do not know where they come from or go to. Since the
flock has increased in number and now numbers 300-400 birds it was felt important to know if it was a new, wild wintering
population or just feral birds.
Of the 25 birds, 23
were adults and two were juveniles. Each was ringed and measured and had a
special plastic colour ring added so that it could be easily identified in the
field
It is hoped that
birdwatchers in the UK and across Europe will look out for these birds so that
we can find out more about this beautiful bird.
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