Local movements of Greylag Geese Anser anser in South Sweden during the non-breeding season

Abstract

During 1984–2009, Greylag Geese Anser anser were neck-banded at two lakes six kilometres apart in south-west Scania, southernmost Sweden: 2,308 at lake Yddingen and 633 at Klosterviken (part of lake Börringe). Through 2013 we recorded 51,132 and 29,937 resightings, respectively. We analyse the distribution patterns within Scania during the post-breeding months July–March. In spite of the short distance between the breeding sites, marked differences in the local distributions were found. In late summer and early autumn, Greylags from Klosterviken stayed longer inland close to the breeding lake than geese from Yddingen, the availability of good inland feeding sites close to Klosterviken explained the difference. In late autumn, when many resightings were made along the western coast, it seemed that the distance from the breeding lake explained some of the differences, geese from Yddingen dominated in the northern part, whereas geese from Klosterviken were found further south. There was also a time difference in that the birds from Yddingen moved to the coast earlier than those from Klosterviken.