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The Greylag Goose used to breed in the wild in the East Anglian fens, Lancashire, the Lake District and probably many other parts of Britain. By the early 1900s, however, the species was restricted to the extreme north and west of Scotland as a result of almost continuous persecution that caused a dramatic decrease in numbers and range contraction.
Numbers began to increase from the 1950s, probably due to a reduction in persecution through changes in legislation in Britain, the establishment of protected areas, and the fact that the geese began to take advantage of the increase in the quantity and quality of the improved pasture available. In England and Wales the creation of gravel pits and other man made waterbodies provided additional habitat for nesting. Greylag Geese breeding in Britain, were, until recently considered to comprise two separate populations: one breeding in Scotland primarily on the Outer Hebrides, Coll and Tiree, and in parts of Caithness and Sutherland, other Hebridean Islands (e.g. Mull), on coastal areas of Wester Ross, and in Orkney and Shetland, thought to derive from the native stock present for many hundreds of years (Mitchell 1999, Mitchell et al. 2011); the second breeding in many areas of Scotland to the south and east of the Great Glen and in England and Wales is largely derived from re-established stock taken as eggs from sites in north and west Scotland, primarily Loch Druidibeg in the Outer Hebrides (Owen & Salmon 1988, Mitchell & Fox 1999). Both segments of the population have recently increased greatly in number and range. In some parts of Scotland the populations overlap and are therefore indistinguishable. The geese now breed throughout Britain and there is modest interchange of individuals between the two populations making delineation difficult to justify. As a consequence, since 2010 Greylag Geese breeding throughout Britain have been treated as one population. Most birds moult close to the breeding areas, although large numbers of non-breeders are known to gather at key moult sites. For example, Loch Loyal, Sutherland, attracts non-breeding birds from a large part of northern Scotland and Loch Leven, Perth & Kinross attracts non-breeding birds from the Lothians and Fife. The main winter habitat is thought to have been saltmarsh and coastal Scirpus beds, but as little of this now remains in Britain, the geese switched to feeding on arable land and improved pastures centuries ago. The birds favour cereal stubbles, oats and ryes during the autumn and grass is used throughout the winter. This has brought them into conflict with crofters and farmers who believe the birds damage their crops and cause reduced yields. Sown grass and permanent pasture are used in the spring, and, in Scotland, moorland vegetation is particularly important in June/July during the moult period. The birds roost on estuaries, coastal sandflats and freshwater lakes, lochs and mires. Most breeding areas include extensive open waters (coastal or inland) with dense vegetation, such as heather, and have ready access to suitable grazing pasture and wetlands. Annual monitoring of all British Greylag Geese is not undertaken, in part due to the remoteness of the northwestern reaches of the population's range. Annual counts are, however, conducted in two key areas, namely on the Uists in the Outer Hebrides and on the Inner Hebridean island of Tiree. Both areas are Local Goose Management Schemes (LGMS) administered by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) in order to alleviate damage to farming interests and are therefore of high interest to conservationists and land managers alike. A count is carried out in late August to provide a post-breeding population total before the shooting season starts in September. On the Uists, a second count is carried out in early February to provide a post-shooting population total before the birds start to move off crofting land to the more inaccessible breeding areas. The difference between the two count totals provides an estimate of winter mortality. To assess reproductive success, assessments of the proportion of young in the flocks and of brood size have been made in August. Greylag Geese are also monitored throughout Britain by the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) and, although this does not provide an assessment of abundance, an index of population change is generated (e.g. Holt et al. 2011) and shows a steady increase of c. 9.4% per annum (Austin et al. 2007).
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
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