Conservation update: Red-breasted geese

The wild goose chase is over! The WWT team in Bulgaria has caught 93 Red-breasted and 28 White-fronted Geese! We have fitted 11 tags to Red-breasts to follow their movements. We have also x-rayed 20 birds to assess the level of illegal hun...ting of this Endangered species. There are lots of smiling faces here. This is our third winter in  Bulgaria, but with only one catch (and only two tags fitted) to show for our efforts until now, we were starting to doubt it was possible. Having 93 Red-breasts in our hands is making us very happy indeed!

Pictured below are WWT's Kane Brides and Anne Harrison after the catch. More photos to follow shortly, but in the meantime, check out Kane's blog http://tinyurl.com/a56ckk2 and the International Working Group’s website http://tinyurl.com/aq7j4ho. This work is part of the EU Life+ project 'Safe Ground for Redbreasts' to address threats to the geese on the wintering grounds.