Lancashire. UK. Flocks, skeins of Migratory, skein of geese in the sky. The autumn sound of geese calling, or whiffing, whilst flying to the farmlands of Burscough will soon be a regular morning occurrence as the first flocks of Pink-footed geese have made the 500-mile journey from Iceland to spend the next month at WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre. In the next couple of weeks’ numbers will steadily increase with up to 100,000 geese expected. The geese spend the summer in Iceland and will spend the autumn & winter further south after using the North West as a refuelling point.
The geese use the Martin Mere reserve. and the associated farmland, as a stopping point on their migration from Iceland providing a rare opportunity to see the display of thousands of geese whiffling over the mere. The geese are in the area for few weeks during September and October. "The birds stop at Martin Mere to rest and re-fuel for up to three weeks before continuing on to their winter home in the Norfolk. The arrival of the pink-footed geese signals the start of the migration season. The UK provides the perfect sheltered conditions for birds to find a winter sanctuary. The geese will stay in this area for as long as they have a food source which is often grain on local fields. Ultimately they will move on to spend the winter in Norfolk. The pink-footed goose is a medium-sized goose. It is smaller than the mute swan but bigger than a mallard. It has a pinkish grey body and a dark head and neck. The pink bill, feet and legs give it its name. They arrive from their breeding grounds in Spitsbergen, Iceland and Greenland. they are classed as an amber status bird and numbers in England are on the increase." Source Liverpool Echo.
Size: 3600px × 2400px
Location: Burscough, Lancashire. UK
Photo credit: © MediaWorldImages / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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