Red-breasted Geese Goslings
Three Red-breasted geese goslings have hatched at WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre. It has been 15 years since the centre last bred this species successfully.
Martin Mere has had a very successful breeding season – in fact one of the best we have had, culminating in the hatching of three Red-breasted geese goslings. You'll be able to see the whole family in a safe and secure enclosure next to our duckery, on the way to the Ron Barker hide.
This strikingly-coloured goose breeds in Arctic Russia and winters around the Black Sea, especially in Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. At the end of the last century, there were around 90,000 birds but numbers crashed by around half over the next few years and the species was classed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
WWT has long been involved with Red-breast conservation. We led the development of an International Action Plan, bringing together experts to identify threats to the species and devise conservation solutions. Since 2010, WWT has been heavily involved in ‘Safe Ground for Redbreasts’, an EU-funded €3-million project in Bulgaria to address the major threats to the species on their wintering grounds.
WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre is open every day (except Christmas Day) from 9.30am to 6pm and parking is free of charge. Situated off the A59, it is signposted from the M61, M58 and M6. The Centre is also accessible via the Southport to Manchester and the Liverpool to Preston line by train from Burscough Rail Stations. Visit the web site http://www.wwt.org.uk/martinmere/ to find out what’s on all year round at Martin Mere and the other eight WWT Wetland Centres.
