Greenland White-fronted Goose News
Update...
Unfortunately, from the four geese that were given satellite transmitter tags during the winter season of 2009/2010, only one transmitter remains.
Bird #98652 returned to the North Slob in October 2010 but was found dead after the heavy snow of November/ December.
Bird #98653 is our last remaining satellite goose and thankfully he has safely made his way back to Iceland.
He left Ireland on the 8th of April and hit the east coast of Iceland on the 9th. He spent the next 5 days working his way around southern Iceland. After a month's rest in Iceland, he arrived on the breeding grounds in western Greenland on May 6, 2011 Keep an eye on our website for further updates.
October 2010
Courtesty of http://www.lrwc.net
The two male white-fronted geese, that we have been monitoring with satellite transmitters, recently began their Autumn migration.
Bird #98652 (red track line) left the breeding grounds in western Greenland on September 7th, to undertake the arduous flight over the Greenland icecap. After several days rest in eastern Greenland, he made the one-day flight to Iceland on September 14th.
Bird #98653 (blue track line) headed out a bit later on September 19th, but flew straight to Iceland, arriving on the September 20th. Both remained in Iceland until October 19th, when they began the final flight back to Ireland.
The two geese arrived into the North Slobs on October 21st, 2010 just in time for our annual Goose Festival, to welcome this wonderful migration of white-fronted geese to the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve!
Satellite transmitters on Geese
During the summer of 2009 an international team of 13 from Ireland, Britain, Denmark and the USA, traveled to Greenland to track, catch and fit Greenland White-fronted Geese with satellite transmitters in order to track their migration over the Greenland ice cap during their autumn journey to Ireland.
Due to the lack of helicopter availability and infrastructure, the tracking had to be carried out on foot, across a terrain of steep hills and tundra, which made the expedition very difficult. Not only was the terrain difficult to walk across, but all of the satellite equipment, catching equipment and portable kayaks had to be carried to each location.
The efforts were centered on prime breeding habitats for White-fronts, but numbers of geese were dramatically down from previous years. After three weeks of work, the group had only managed to catch and fit satellite transmitters on two adults.
After a disappointing summer expedition in Greenland, the American contingent was invited to come to Wexford to try their luck again and fit transmitters on the geese while they wintered on the North Slob. Alyn Walsh from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, along with Dr Sue Sheaffer and Dr Rich Malecki from the Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy, based in Connecticut, USA, spent a number of days in December 2009 netting geese, and fitting four individuals with satellite transmitters.
Alyn Walsh releasing geese with satellite transmitters
These are solar powered transmitters with a built-in solar panel across the top of the unit to keep the battery charged. Inside the transmitter is a GPS receiver to record the daily locations of the birds. Each device weighs only 45 grams, and is tied on to the bird with a number of elasticated straps. The device is programmed to collect six GPS locations each day, and the locations are downloaded to an orbiting satellite every three days.
To find out more about the Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy, and to read about the expedition, visit their website.
These transmitters have also given us an insight into how the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokul, has impacted on the goose migration through Iceland. The data received from one of the transmitters on April 16th 2010 shows how the goose had to take a detour north in order to avoid the volcano, and reach the staging ground in the western part of the country. It is unsure as of yet the impact that this volcano will have on the goose population.
Map showing how one of the satellite geese had to fly around the volcano
The data from the transmitters has been put onto Google earth maps, and you can follow their progress through the Livingstone Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy.
Map showing the locations of all four satellite transmitters (as of 10/5/2010)
If you would like to follow other birds that have been tagged in Britain and Ireland, go to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust website.