Thousands of Pink-footed geese arrive in Montrose

Thousands of Pink-footed geese have arrived in Montrose as they migrate south for the winter.

So far, more than 25,000 have been counted, with more expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

Every year, the birds stop off at Montrose Basin after flying in from Greenland and Iceland.

This year the birds arrived earlier than expected, with the first sighted on 5 September. Usually, the geese are not seen in the Angus area until mid-September.  

Pink-footed geese travel in a ‘V’ formation called a skein, made up of a few generations of each bird’s family.

Joanna Peaker, Scottish Wildlife Trust Visitor Centre Site Manager, is delighted to see their numbers increasing. 

‘It is surprising that the geese have arrived early this year at the Basin,’ she said.

‘We often don’t see any until the middle of September. 

‘Their early arrival is a delightful surprise; however, we don’t know if they will move on earlier and how they will fare from this early migration from their summer breeding grounds.

‘The sonorous sound of up to 85,000 geese landing on the mudflats at sunset is a stunning spectacle. 

‘I never tire of hearing the geese every year, especially as their sunset roosting becomes louder as their numbers swell. 

‘Usually, mid-October is the best time of year to see the geese at their peak numbers when they return to the Basin every evening to roost. This year it might be earlier.’

The birds featured on BBC Wildlife three-part series: Scotland – The New Wild.

It captures the large number of pink-footed geese who have migrated, in family groups, from Iceland, to Montrose where nearly 20% of the world’s population are all in the same place before some move to other parts of Scotland and England.

Read more stories on Scottish Field’s wildlife and conservation pages.

Plus, don’t miss the October issue of Scottish Field magazine.