Red-breasted geese tagged for the first time
In one of the largest and most ambitious initiatives aimed at the conservation of a threatened wildfowl species to be conducted in Europe - the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) have joined forces to implement a project to save the endangered red-breasted goose.
In an amazing first, red-breasted geese were caught and tagged on a recent trip to Bulgaria - a feat which has been tried in the past without success. The first transmitters have been attached to strong, healthy male birds’ backs with a small harness, and data on the birds has started to come in.
While the satellite transmitters will give information about the birds' migratory pathways, the GPS transmitters will provide several location fixes every day and store the data until it is downloaded by researchers using a radio aerial.
This will give very precise information as to where the birds are going, which roost sites they use, which fields they feed in, their flight paths and whether, for example, they are forced to move regularly when hunters are around - which is crucial as every short flight uses up valuable energy.
Migration Mystery
Scientists are concerned that this endangered goose - which has suffered a 56% population decline in the last 10 years and is one of Europe’s most threatened birds - may eventually become extinct in the wild.
The conservation effort is being focused on finding out more about this enigmatic goose – its migration patterns and the threats it faces on its wintering grounds.
On its migration the red-breasted goose passes through five countries but the exact route is little known. Small numbers can be seen in countries from Azerbaijan to Greece, so to properly protect it we need to learn more about it.
The satellite transmitters that have been fitted in Bulgaria will keep tracking the birds as they migrate to and from the Arctic, sending back valuable information on where the geese go.
These wintering grounds on the Black Sea coast of North East Bulgaria support 80-90% of the world population in winter. Here a combination of hunting, agricultural changes and rushed through development like wind farms tourist facilities are potential threats.
Four years to save the goose
With its red, white and black colouring the red-breasts look incongruously tropical. Yet they have travelled many thousands of miles with their young to escape the harsh winter weather of their breeding grounds on the Taimyr Peninsula in Arctic Russia.
When they get to the Bulgarian coastal wetlands they are rewarded with roosting sites on the coastal lakes and the Black Sea with plentiful feeding potential provided by the surrounding farmland.
Feeding on winter crops potentially brings them into conflict with farmers, so compensation schemes are being drawn up for discussion with the Bulgarian government so that the geese continue to have safe places to feed but the farmers don’t lose out.
Although hunting red-breasted geese is illegal the hunting of other species of geese isn’t and many birds are killed accidentally or simply massively disturbed because they eat and fly with other geese. The hunting association has become a partner in this ground-breaking project.
Conservationists have funding for four years to find out everything they can about this spectacular bird and save it from extinction, and it is off to a flying start.
The project is coordinated by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds in association with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, the RSPB, Kirilovi Ltd and Shabla Hunting and Fishing Association
The European Life + Fund has awarded €1,990,635 for Conservation of the Wintering Population of the Globally Threatened Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis) in Bulgaria
The project is coordinated by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds in association with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, the RSPB, Kirilovi Ltd and Shabla Hunting and Fishing Association
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