Greenland White-fronted Geese in Hvanneyri : studies during spring and autumn in 2017

Abstract

The Greenland White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons flavirostris is a distinct sub-species of the circumpolar Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons. The global population trend has been characterised by a significant decline in the late 1970s and an increase in response to protective legislation in the early 1980s. The farmland at Hvanneyri and areas surrounding Borgarfjörður in west Iceland is a well-known staging site for Greenland White-fronted Geese. It is the largest known single aggregation of these geese anywhere in their flyway and this significantly influenced the designation of the area by the Icelandic Government as a Wetland of International Importance, under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, in 2013. The primary aim of this project was to describe the timing and duration of the spring and autumn staging periods in Hvanneyri in 2017, as well as to assess body condition during spring, determine the proportion of juveniles in flocks in autumn, and monitor individually identifiable geese throughout both periods.